I was born and raised in a Mennonite/Amish Community in Weatherford, OK. The Mennonite background produces a simple way of living with a strong Christian faith. Mennonites are basically more liberal than the Old Order Amish in their beliefs about education. As a result, my brother and sisters attended public school instead of being home-schooled or attending a Church school. I was introduced to Fu
ture Farmers of America (FFA) in high school. That’s
where my educational horizons expanded to farming and raising livestock. Our charter had a gilt rotation program in place, which allowed a student to get involved in pig production without having to purchase the animal out right. A Poland China gilt was given to me at no cost. From the first litter, I gave a gilt back to the program so another student could participate in the pig production program. Over the next four years, my brother and I had the Grand or Reserve Championship at most local, county and state fairs in Oklahoma. We proudly displayed a wall of trophies and ribbons in our living room. I relocated to Virginia to buy and raise Poland China pigs at Belvedere Plantation. I purchased my first Poland China gilts at the Southeast Type Conference, Virginia. This was the beginning of a successful career at local, county and Virginia State Fairs. It was a major accomplishment to win the Open July Gilt Class the following year. During the same year, I won the Grand Championship Pen of Five Feeder Pig Class at the Virginia State Fair. Through many twists and turns of life, my farming passion waned until I purchased my 25 acre farm in Orange County, Virginia in 1996. Two weeks after signing the paperwork from the bank, I had two litters of Poland China pigs and my dream came true. I butchered my own stock and shared with neighbors and friends. I found out there was a market for naturally grown pork products. Word of mouth was an excellent resource of advertising. I conducted additional research about the pork market and learned that Poland China pigs were one of the five tastiest breeds of hogs. Now I have expanded my farming program to raising chickens for eggs/meat, Boer goats for meat production, and a variety of vegetables.
