Jan 30 Multi-species and Multiple generations: A Millennial’s Return to the Land

Multi-species and Multiple generations: A Millennial’s Return to the Land

Imagine that your family runs a business – any business. You’ve grown up with your parents as your employer, and they’ve set the expectation that you will work for the business, no questions asked. You don’t necessarily enjoy the work, and you’re eager to move on and explore greater things. After you and your siblings move out of the house, your parents are left to wonder who will continue their legacy. Your siblings aren’t particularly interested in the business, but perhaps you, with the autonomy to turn the business into something that aligns with your life goals, would consider moving back home. This situation is all too common in family business. Today, we’ll be discussing family business through the lens of a multi-generational, multi-species farm. Jacob Marty of Green Fire Farm, in Monticello, Wisconsin, runs livestock between his rows of young nut trees. The land was formerly a conventional dairy farm, and was planted to corn. Jacob sells grass-fed beef and pastured pork to a network of health-conscious consumers.

Jacob’s cattle eat grass for their entire lives. They are moved to fresh pasture daily, such that they only eat the tips of the grass. The ends of the grass have the most energy, and help the cattle grow into large, healthy beasts. The slaughterhouse has a hard time believing that they are grass-finished because their fat content is on point. MORE