• Legal Stuff

A: We've been in farming for over 20 years, but we've only been selling to the public since 2001. The first Greenwood Farms was a 100 acre homestead near Salem, Missouri, where we lived from 1981-1989. That was the farm of Julie and David's youth and our first farm as a family. Steve grew up raising and training Arabian horses on a ranch near Springfield, Missouri then had a sheep farm near Rolla in the 1970s. Holly grew up in the Rolla area and her family had a small farm near Rolla during her youth.

In 1989, Julie and David went off to college and Greenwood Farms I was sold. Steve and Holly bought the current farm in 1994, intending it to be a nature preserve. They built a lovely lodge-style house and lived quietly with the foxes and deer while Julie and David finished college and entered the corporate world - Julie in banking and David in computer security. Time passed and in the year 2000, Steve and Holly decided to get a few horses and cows and do a little hobby farm for their retirement (Steve is also a dentist in Rolla). Shortly thereafter, Julie, David, and Kindra (David's wife) pitched the idea of starting a grass-based, all natural farming enterprise. All three young Atkinsons were tired of the corporate rat-race and wanted more than just jobs - they wanted a way of life that would make a difference in people's lives, and, with luck, provide them a steady income as well. And so, in 2001, Greenwood Farms II was born and the dream is alive and well today.

Q: What does it mean when you say you're "cruelty free?"

A: Here on Greenwood Farms, we're committed to raising food that's healthy and chemical-free, but we're also committed to raising it in a way that treats our animals with the love and respect they deserve. To that end, we strive to give all of our animals a "spa experience" while they're here with us on Greenwood Farms.

One of the reasons we decided to do pasture-based farming is because it is so pleasant for the animals. Instead of fattening in a dirty, crowded feed lot, our steers and sheep grow fat and sassy on fresh grass, pure spring water, and lots of sunshine. They are free to roam about their pastures, eating tender grass or resting under the shady oaks on warm summer afternoons. Our laying hens (who never go to market) are free to range over as much of our farm as they like during the day, before retiring to their cozy hen house for the night and our broiler chickens live all summer on pasture, sheltered and protected by an enclosure that's moved to fresh grass every morning. Our pigs live in a pasture of lush green grass, where they have a spring-fed pool to drink from (and swim in when its hot) as well as a small cave where they can stay cool in summer. They are fed a gourmet diet of fresh Jersey milk, corn, and tender grass. In addition to all of this, we also spend a lot of time with our animals. We enjoy their company and treasure our friendship with them.

Is it hard, then, to send animals to market? Absolutely. But even at the end, we do our best to assure that the animals are processed quickly and humanely, so they do not suffer pain or fear.

Happily, only a small percentage of the animals on Greenwood Farms actually go to market. Many of the animals you'll meet when you come to the farm are our breeding stock and they will live their whole lives with us, giving us the opportunity to share many years of friendship.

We understand completely the reason Native Americans honored and thanked every animal they killed for food. We revere every life here on Greenwood Farms and we truly give thanks to each animal for giving us the gift of life.

Q: Is "lamb" raised like veal (i.e. baby animals kept in confinement and processed at a young age)?

A: Absolutely not. In the shepherding business, a "lamb" is any sheep that has not reached breeding age. Sheep mature quickly - their lifespan is only about 7 years - so when a "lamb" goes to market, it weighs about 100 pounds and looks like a full grown sheep. Our sheep are never confined and all of our market lambs live their whole lives on green pasture.

Q: When you talk about your meat being "processed," does this mean it is altered in some way (like processed cheese)?

A: No. "Processing" is a word we use instead of "butchering." Its just a matter of semantics and since "processing" sounds a lot less like a mass murder, we prefer to use that word instead.

Q: Are your products organic?

A:  We are not certified organic. Part of the reason is the fact that our farm runs along 1/4 mile of the Little Piney river and, since the river also passes other, non-organic farms upstream, the government will not certify us. To read the other, more philosophical reasons why we aren't certified organic, please click here.

Despite the fact that we aren't government certified, we do raise all of our food products without the use of hormones, steroids, antibiotics, or other chemicals. Our beef and lamb are raised on 100% grass and our pigs and chickens are on pasture with natural grain feed. In addition, our bacon and sausage are prepared without the use of MSG, nitrates, or other chemical preservatives. It all adds up to food that's a lot safer and healthier than those available in most grocery stores.

Q: Do you process your own meats?

A: No.  In order to sell our meat at farmer's markets and stores, it has to be Missouri State or USDA inspected, so we have a professional butcher shop prepare our meat for sale. At this time, we use The Butcher Shop (in Freeburg, MO) for our beef, lamb & pork and Aurora Grand Meats (near Springfield, MO) for our chicken.

Q: Can I come out and visit the farm?

A: Right now, because of the time it takes to keep Greenwood Farms running and give us the time we need to care for our land and our animals, we aren't open for farm tours or on-farm shopping. All of our wonderful products are available through our weekly deliveries to Rolla and St. Louis and at several retail stores in the St. Louis area. If you are not in the Rolla or St. Louis area and would like to purchase Greenwood Farms products, please call us toll-free at 800-253-6574 to discuss other options. Thanks!

Q: What's a typical day like on Greenwood Farms?

A: Our days start around 7:00, when we go out to do morning chores. David, Kindra and Holly do the morning milking and milk-barn clean-up while Julie feeds the bottle calves and our 29 year-old Suffolk draft horse "Baldy," then cleans the calf barn, and halter trains the young cows.

In the winter, there are added responsibilities for everyone: Breaking ice so the animals have water, feeding hay to animals on pasture, and spending extra time making sure the animals are in good health. In late winter, lambing begins and that adds even more barn-time to Julie, Holly, and Kindra's daily routine as they tend our ever growing flock of new lambs. In the late afternoon,  Julie does a second round of barn chores, feeds the laying hens and gathers eggs, then helps  with the evening milking.

We bottle milk on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Generally, Julie and David bottle on Tuesdays and Steve and Holly bottle on Fridays, while Kindra takes that time to work on orders. Bottling takes two to three hours and is very labor-intensive.

On Wednesdays, Kindra is gone all day making deliveries to St. Louis and Rolla and Steve and Holly are gone on Saturdays, making a second run to St. Louis. Between deliveries, Kindra has the awesome responsibility of receiving and packing orders, as well as entering each order onto the computer, processing payments, and printing receipts for each customer.

Often, between morning and evening chores, we tackle larger projects like deworming the sheep, fencing, preparing fields for planting, taking animals to market, and bottling milk and there are always "smaller" projects demanding attention as well: Kindra manages our meat and milk orders as well as our bookkeeping; Julie runs the laboratory in our dairy and does graphic design, marketing and website design for the farm. David specializes in equipment maintenance and does most of the plowing, planting, and mowing of pastures that insures our animals a constant supply of healthy pasture. Holly uses her skills as a published writer to design great marketing for the farm and is the trainer who has made our border collie, Owain, an invaluable helper when it comes to herding everything from sheep to chickens - plus she does the never-ending work that goes into making our house a home. Steve, in addition to being a dedicated farm manager, is also a dentist and his hard work in town has given us the financial means to make Greenwood Farms a reality. Without Steve, none of this would be possible.