I didn’t grow up farming, but after nearly 20 years of operating this family farm, it's hard to imagine our family without a farm, and vice versa.
Days on the farm begin before daybreak and often end after dusk. Our youngest children’s favorite “chore” is bottle feeding and naming the new calves born on the farm with sweet names like “Honeybun” and “Graham Cracker”. For our children, the farm is the perfect place for them to be kids. They’re able to run in open spaces, make noise without disturbing anyone, and let their imaginations expand. For myself, too, the act of tending to our docile herd of cows and watching them graze can actually be a stress reliever. If you happen to visit the farm for an order pickup, we’d love to share our little world with you and give you a mini tour of how things are done on our Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farm.
In all of our family’s farming endeavors, it’s our goal to give glory to God, the Creator responsible for our very existence. We treat our livestock with the utmost respect and practice regenerative farming methods, all with the goal to let our natural environment thrive the way God intended it to.
Our Practices
In 2005, we changed the way we farmed, shifting from conventional practices to regenerative ones. The term “regenerative agriculture” can mean a lot of things. To us, it’s a holistic approach to farming that isn’t just sustainable, but actually regenerative.
The practices we apply leave our farmland (soil and pastures) in better condition for future generations.
All of our animals are rotationally grazed throughout the growing season on about 60 acres. We move the chickens and cows not once, but twice a day! Once first thing in the morning, and a second time in the late afternoon. The morning feeding and moving are all completed before the family breakfast at 7:00 am.
When we move our animals to fresh grass, it’s like we’re swinging open the doors to an all-you-can-eat buffet… of their favorite foods. Unlike a pasture that has been continuously grazed and picked over, a fresh paddock of grass has lots of our cows’ favorite nutritionally-dense plants, in plenty. The chickens have a new batch of bugs and grasshoppers to peck and scratch for.
Our Animals
Our animals get to live like animals - with access to sunshine, shade, water, and forage. We strongly believe in farming practices that mimic the natural cycles. In fact, this is partly why we chose our farm’s name, Nature’s View. The other reason? Our family home sits on top of a small rise that blesses us with the perfect view of the surrounding nature (and urban areas).
Moving our animals twice daily also helps us protect our pasture and support healthy soils that are alive with microbial activity. While they eat, our cows disperse piles of manure throughout the area which acts as future fertility for our pastures. Because the cows don’t stay in one spot for long, it prevents them from eating the grass down to the roots and minimizes soil compaction which can wreck the soil ecosystem. Too much animal impact in any particular area will lead to muddy areas… resulting to poor production.
The animals on top of the soil are only a tiny part of an entire ecosystem of critters living within the soil. By using regenerative farming practices, we aim to keep the entire ecosystem healthy.
Our Community
Our family farm extends beyond our grassy pastures and includes our incredible customers. Farming is hard work, but we are continuously encouraged by the response of our community. We are here to provide you with an opportunity to learn about and connect with your food. We strongly believe healthy food choices are a God-given right and should not be taken from us by regulations.
We encourage you to join our community effort in building and supporting small family farms, inspiring a connection to the land, and growing opportunities for locally sourced nutrition.
Yes, we’ll have your order delivered straight to your house. But also, we encourage you to schedule a pickup from the farm at least once! We’d be happy to give you an informal tour and introduce you to our newest Honeybun. Thank you for reading and supporting local, regenerative agriculture.
Sincerely,
Steve & Marian Fisher & Family
