Dancing Oaks Farm

08/01/2026

The difference between pasture raised/cage free chickens and mass production poultry and eggs is that our chickens get fresh air, fresh grass, insects, sunshine, and a more natural life.

The only reason we don't free range is because of bob cats and coyotes.

07/31/2026

Our farm hosts several of these animals and will be a permanent safe haven for them even as we establish operations.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DZ528a92A/

Florida's gopher tortoise just received troubling news 😥

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has reclassified the gopher tortoise as critically endangered, citing decades of population declines driven largely by habitat loss. Florida, home to one of the species' largest remaining populations, was singled out as an area where numbers have fallen significantly since the 1960s.

Known as a keystone species, gopher tortoises dig burrows that provide shelter for more than 350 other kinds of animals. While the reptiles are protected under state law, conservation experts say preserving and restoring their habitat will be critical to their long-term survival.

07/31/2026

06/25/2026

I used to wonder where all the lightning bugs went. For years, I just assumed they didn’t care for my neighborhood anymore. Turns out, they were just waiting for me to stop being so fussy. We tend to over-garden these days, and we accidentally clean up the exact spots these beetles need to survive. There's a particular weekend chore you're probably doing right now that’s actively evicting them. There’s also a very specific kind of tree-mess you should absolutely leave exactly where it falls if you want a summer light show. And the best part? If you manage to coax them back with a little strategic laziness, they’ll spend all night hunting down the absolute worst pest in your vegetable patch. I always appreciate a good excuse to do less yard work.

06/09/2026

Farms need water more than data centers.

10/05/2023

I HAVE SOME VERY SAD NEWS:

As some may have noticed, Merryman Family Farm has not been open to the public or even producing food for our community as we had intended.

Unfortunately, we have run into a major snag with the reliability of our water that may not be resolved in the foreseeable future. We even allowed our nursery permit to lapse because of the resistance we have encountered in fixing these problems and I reached out to Representative Sam Garrison and Senator Jennifer Bradley for help.

Residents in our area may have noticed a large pond project off of Tynes Blvd between Pine Ridge Parkway and Trail Ridge Road, between the Two Creeks and Pine Ridge Neighborhoods.

Because of the impact I believe this project may have caused to our water resources and the St. Johns River Water Management District's decision to NOT substantially act on the complaints we began filing with them in July 2022, I have filed a Petition for Declaratory Statement. This all comes on the tail of testimony under oath claiming this water management district has accepted bribes in the past. https://www.gainesville.com/story/opinion/2022/09/23/ryan-smart-questions-john-miklos-st-johns-river-district/10397482002/

To see a more complete list of questions and complaints we have filed, you may email the following individuals to obtain a copy of the Petition for Declaratory Statement : [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

To ensure you obtain all associated documents, be sure to request both the petition for declaratory statement filed by William Merryman on October 2, 2023 AND the appendix of evidentiary documents filed to support that petition. The appendix shows two distinct sets of plans for this project depicting what we believe to be significantly different scopes of adverse impact to the area.

Notices of filing have been published to the Florida Department of State website:
https://www.flrules.org/Faw/FAWDocuments/FAWVOLUMEFOLDERS2023/49194/49194doc.pdf on pages 3761 and 3762

We are hopeful to eventually get this resolved so we may serve our community as originally intended.

First Coast News Clay Today Newspaper The Florida Times-Union Jacksonville Daily News Action News Jax

09/30/2023

Lost one of our precious birds today. One of the ugly and sad realities of farm life.

The snake is only doing what is natural to them, they have likely ridded our property of dozens of mice, and will continues to rid our property of dozens more as the varmints are attracted by the animal feed...

So instead of killing the snake for it being a snake, I relocated it to the back of our property and will be working on securing the coop better.

07/11/2023

We are raising our future egg production... or more like our future egg producERS.

30 hatchlings being added to our flock.

05/27/2023

His momma needs to teach him some manners.

It ain't polite to stand on the dinner table.