Every Monday is Member Photo Monday where we feature a member photo on our Instagram and Facebook pages. Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) is proud of our members, and we take great pleasure in highlighting their operations and the awesome work they are conducting in sustainable farming, animal husbandry, artisanal production, and homesteading. See below for a roundup of July’s member photos!
Farmer’s Gold, Inc.
Amy Jo Farmer runs Farmer’s Gold, Inc. in Cicero, Indiana. Honey bees are permanent residents of Amy Jo’s and Jay’s central Indiana apiary. The apiary is a certified organic alfalfa-grass hay field buffered by a Conservation Resource Program perimeter of native grasses and wildflowers. Back at the homestead, the Oberhasli Dairy Goats, American Guinea Hogs, and heritage chickens do their food production/land maintenance jobs while eagerly anticipating rewards from the field and garden. All this action keeps the Sheltie dogs very busy trying to keep everyone organized. The Farmers sell certified organic alfalfa grass hay, produce, and herbs. She offers goat herd shares for people and raw goat milk pet treats for cats and dogs. Farmer’s Gold products are available at the farm stand. The photo is of Amy Jo with Mary the Dairy Goat and her twin Annie.
Golden Rule Dairy
Jared and Joyce Strite were both brought up on dairy farms. After getting married, they had a small dairy farm of their own for eight years. When they moved out west to Elfrida, Arizona, the Strites got into milking goats just as a side job and raised their family in the country. Joyce and Jared had dreamed of getting back into milking cows, so a few years ago they sold the family goat and replaced her with a Jersey cow and shared her milk with their friends and family. They soon had to purchase another and another until they ended up with six beautiful, healthy Jerseys. The herd continues to grow and they are now milking 45 cows. The Strites along with their four children (out of ten!) produce rich butter, soft cheeses, sour cream, cold glasses of milk, frozen kefir sherbets, heaping bowls of ice cream and so much more from their Jerseys. Their priority is to provide fresh unprocessed milk through Golden Rule Dairy, LLC, the way the cows give it to them and the way they serve it to their family.
Sweet Donkey Milk of KY
Nicholas and Natasha Brueggemann own and operate a small family farm called Sweet Donkey Milk of KY in Verona, Kentucky. They offer a herd share program for donkey milk and donkey milk products. Like most people, they had never heard of milking donkeys until a cousin visited them from Montenegro one summer. The Brueggemanns stayed up late that night researching donkey milk and its incredible benefits. At the same time, their close friend was undergoing chemo for bladder cancer, and they read about donkey milk’s abilities to support the immune system. The Brueggemanns now have 18 head of donkeys and are currently milking three. This photo was taken at their farm with Mamma Daisy and Baby Rose during the golden hour of the evening.
Riffle Farms
Husband and wife U.S. Navy veteran duo Jimmie and Liz Riffle raise grass-fed and finished bison in Terra Alta, West Virginia. Their Riffle Farms was the first commercial bison operation in the state, and also the first to field harvest an animal for state certified commercial sale. Liz is passionate about meat transparency and humane practices. She also runs a sister company, The Honest Carnivore, which offers farmers a route to field harvest their animals in preparation for a butchery class where customers buy tickets for a meat share as well as the instruction; all made possible by the legal guidance of FTCLDF! Photo credit: Lauren Somero Photography
Membership
Thank you to all of our wonderful members! We are membership-based and couldn’t do the work we do without you! Learn more about membership here.
If you’re a member and would like to share your photos with us, email [email protected] for more details.
YOUR FUND AT WORK
Services provided by FTCLDF go beyond legal representation for members in court cases.
Educational and policy work also provide an avenue for FTCLDF to build grassroots activism to create the most favorable regulatory climate possible. In addition to advising on bill language, FTCLDF supports favorable legislation via action alerts and social media outreach.
You can protect access to real foods from small farms by becoming a member or donating today.