In late 2007, our family sold our business and packed up our home in Texas
to move
to the beautiful Snohomish area. We now share a farmhouse
with Shawndra’s parents and enjoy an amazing view across the valley. As we
contemplated moving to
the northwest, we discussed and researched several
possibilities for what we would do
in our
new home. Our search led us to
raising chickens. So early in 2008, after we had
settled in, our adventure began.
We had planned for the first year to be a feasibility test. Our first batch of little
peeping
chicks arrived in the mail in mid-March and the season began. Paul, our
three sons
(Nick, Austin and Ryan) and Shawndra’s father, Bartly, put in the
manual labor of feeding,
watering, moving the pasture pens and, finally,
processing the grown birds. Then we ate our first chicken dinner celebrating our
own poultry. We haven’t looked back since.
As our farm has grown, we have learned much and keep making improvements.
Over
the winter, Paul has spent hours sourcing non-GMO grains from local
Washington farmers.
New brood buildings and brooders have been built and we
have added pigs and laying hens, with plans to offer eggs and pork later in
the season.
Thank you for supporting our family farm.
Paul, Shawndra, Nick, Austin and Ryan Johnson
