10/03/2026
Yesterday I spent the day in Virginia with Farmer Focus and Red Ants Pants | Women’s Workwear celebrating women in agriculture, and a visit to Ann Schooley’s farm to learn more about a side of agriculture I don’t know nearly as well: poultry.
Ann’s farm was originally centered around cattle and they added poultry as a way to diversify and create another source of income.
I always advocate for purchasing directly from farmers whenever possible, but I know that isn’t an option for everyone, which is why I found the Farmer Focus model so interesting. In the traditional vertically integrated poultry system, growers typically own the houses and provide the labor, while the integrator owns the birds and feed. But with Farmer Focus, the farmers actually own their chickens and feed, giving them more ownership while also bringing more traceability to the grocery store. Each package even has a Farm ID that lets you trace your chicken back to the farm where it was raised.
We also got to tour King Family Vineyards, another family run agricultural operation that has built an impressive direct-to-consumer winery.
Chef S A R A H G L O V E R then beautifully connected us with the final step before our food reaches our plates, she always does a beautiful job of this! Of course we were served Farmer Focus chicken and some veggies and yogurt from Lauren Palmer Painterland Sisters Skyr Yogurt
And Red Ants Pants | Women’s Workwear couldn’t have been a more fitting partner for a day celebrating women in agriculture. Their name comes from female ants being the workers in their colonies, and the company was built around making workwear specifically for women. And yes, they actually do look great on everyone!!!
Thank you Natalie Kovarik for bringing us together and giving us the opportunity to connect with other women in agriculture!
