Every Monday is Member Monday where we feature a member photo or video 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 December’s member photos!
Pygmy Harbor Farm
Bonnie Panettieri along with her husband Robert own Pygmy Harbor Farm on five acres in Knoxville, Tennessee. She handcrafts a variety of beautiful and unique goat milk soaps and lotions on the farm and hosts goat yoga. All skin care products from this small, family-owned company are carefully made without detergents or harsh chemicals and are available from the online store. Pygmy Harbor Farm also offers for sale registered pygmy goats and working livestock guardian Great Pyrenees puppies.
Crossing Creeks Farm
Shane and Elizabeth, along with Elizabeth’s parents Reid and Susan, own and operate Crossing Creeks Farm in Shelbyville, Tennessee. They are passionate about producing great food for their community. With a commitment to producing pasture-raised, organic-fed and soy-free everything through regenerative farming practices, their focus is grass-fed meats and eggs. Their second passion is hosting guests on the farm with unique farm stays. At Crossing Creeks Farm, they specialize in small batch, handcrafted and premium quality by taking their animals’ nutrition to the next level with fresh, home-grown sprouts, called fodder (shown in video). They are proud to sell their products direct-to-consumer. Shane and Elizabeth say this about their membership: “We could not be where we are as a farm if it was not for the help of Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. They work all over the country fighting for our food rights—both farmer and consumer. We highly recommend everyone support them through an annual membership or donation.”
Weathered Silos Farm
Weathered Silos Farm in Hanover, Michigan is a 67-acre raw milk herd share operation with 25 cows and heifers of mixed grazing genetics. Kellie Benzing is the farmer at Weathered Silos Farm. She started milking cows at age 14, and spent three years after college gaining experience as a herdswoman for an organic dairy. In addition, she spent several years employed in digital and catalog marketing while building Weathered Silos Farm on the side as her passion project. She is now living out her dream farming full-time and married to her husband, James. Their herd consists of cross-bred American Holstein, New Zealand Jersey, Fleckvieh, and Montbéliarde cattle, with an emphasis on raising A2 replacement heifers. The milk cows are entirely grass-fed, apart from organic mineral supplements. The Benzings love stewarding quality pastures and healthy cows for over 200 families through grass fed raw milk herd shares. They love the life they lead and are grateful for the relationships they get to build through farming. Kellie feels honored and privileged to do what she loves while farming alongside their daughter. They are thankful for Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund’s legal representation and guidance.
Seldom Creek Farm
Jon and Rachael O’Brock established Seldom Creek Farm in 2021 in Ada, Michigan. The pair met in the spring of 2017 building a giant chicken coop so Rachael could scale up her egg business. The O’Brocks use small-scale, sustainable farming practices to care for the health of the soil, insects, plants, and animals. The O’Brocks are excited to be able to offer the following to their community: chicken and duck eggs, pastured poultry and pork, as well as maple syrup they produce from surrounding woods. The specialty hens they raise–such as Black Copper Marans, Lavender Orpington, and Ameraucana–lay colorful eggs and the rich, dark yolks are packed full of nutrients and flavor. Seldom Creek Farm chickens and ducks roam through fields, woods, creek, and marshes, eating a varied diet and paying this health forward into their eggs. Duck eggs can be used the same way as chicken eggs and may help those who are allergic to chicken eggs. In the spring, they tap maple trees, boil the sap, and bottle maple syrup straight from the woods of Ada and Cannon Townships.
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.