Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Heitke
Hi Samantha, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When we got married in 2009, owning a farm was a dream that Rob had and soon shared with Samantha, who had a growing appreciation for the “real food” movement and an interest in other health-related topics.
On a small hobby farm, we started raising our own beef and pork because we truly enjoyed the challenges and rewards of animal husbandry. We noticed that our time and efforts were producing really great tasting meat and also started learning about the health benefits of grass-fed beef, forage-based pork, and pastured poultry.
Starting our own family solidified the idea that we wanted to invest our time and resources into farming on a larger scale and we made the leap to buying acreage in Milaca, where we now live. Farming is a good way to cooperatively leverage our combined skills and interests. We find joy in being good and faithful stewards of our land and take pride in implementing farming practices that are both creative and intelligent.
Our boys work alongside us in many ways but their strengths are: taming barn kittens, playing with chickens, climbing trees, constructing bike jumps, and building roads and rivers in the gravel driveway.
We love being a family that has outdoor adventures year-round. We all enjoy riding single-track on our mountain bikes (sometimes competitively but mostly just for fun), gardening, and canoeing in the warmer months. When temperatures drop, we get out the fat tire bikes & snowshoes, and flood the backyard rink for skating and broomball.
We are hopeful that our work is making a difference in our community. The farming lifestyle allows us the time to help a neighbor, the opportunity to listen to the stories of the people we meet, and the chance to raise our kids in an environment that builds character on a daily basis. We all have a certain sphere of influence and we look forward to including you in our journey of sustainable agriculture!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has taken a lot of physical, emotional, and financial investment to get our farm business to where it is today. At first, the challenging part was having the time to create the infrastructure needed to raise livestock successfully. At the beginning, we were both working off-farm and essentially had weekends to do things, with two young children.
Once we had the structure for the farm, it was a risk for Rob to quit a well-paying job in city parks to become self-employed. It has been challenging to develop a brand and a consistent customer base. There are a lot of people who like a glimpse into the farm life, being a few generations removed from the family farm. This is clear from the social media following we have gained. We can only keep operating however if people take it a step further and buy directly from the farm.
As you know, we’re big fans of Tillering; a Forage-Based Farm. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are known for “grassfed beef that actually tastes good.” That sounds like a joke but it’s the actual words of more than one customer. You can’t buy our meat in the store. (This goes for pork too.)
Additionally – we are incredibly proud of being able to bring a full lineup of meat products to customers that uses as much of the animal as possible. For example, we offer marrow bones, hocks, organ meats, and lard. These products are typically thrown away. The best product is beef tallow balm. It’s an amazing moisturizer that is 100% chemical free. This is a trendy thing right now, but ours comes directly from our own farm!
Pricing:
- Grassfed Beef: From $9-$30/lb
- Heritage Pork: From $6-$14/lb
- Tallow Balm: $15-$25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tilleringfarm.com
- Instagram: tillering_farm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tilleringfarm
- Other: Https://tillering-farm-market.square.site/
