About Us
About the Red Gate Farm Family
We are a family of 7. We have a passion for Christ, believe children are a blessing from God, and are thankful God has made us a family. Our children have joined us through both biological birth and domestic adoption.
Many folks who knew us a few years ago think we lost our minds somewhere along this journey called life. Back then, we were the “normal,” average American family. We ate at McDonalds, watched too much television, and grocery shopped for processed foods several times a week. Then God put us on a path that we could have never imagined. After the birth of our first child, we experienced a series of health issues that doctors couldn't explain. This led us deeper into the Bible, in search of better health and God’s plan for our lives. Within a year, we threw out the television and began learning about our health and stewardship of the land. That started us in the direction of an organic lifestyle -- and by that, I don’t mean “USDA Certified Organic.” Rather, I mean the natural, organic, pure way of doing things in a way that God originally intended (as best we can interpret His Word, at least!).
We were able to combine my past experience as a vet tech, my degree in farm management, and many years of animal experience, and Sean’s business and engineering background, with the amazing amount of information we had gathered regarding natural, chemical-free and drug-free farming. This allowed us to have a good start with our little farm.
Over the years, we have mutated into a homesteading farm family, seeking to be God-sufficient (as opposed to self-sufficient), such that we and our children can see and appreciate His blessings on a daily basis.
About the Farm
Located in central IL, Red Gate Farm sits on top of a bluff, nestled deep in the woods. It is comprised of 25 acres, some of which is woodland and some fenced pasture, a cozy little farmhouse, and a barn. Our goal here at Red Gate Farm is to be as God-sufficient and sustainable as possible, rather than to be dependent on our nation's economy. While it's a work in progress, we have taken many steps toward reaching that goal. We have raised all of our family's meat for over 6 years already. Rather than a tractor, we utilize the power of a team of Belgian draft horses to move heavy loads around our farm, selectively log our woodlands, and even run short errands to town by horse-drawn wagon. When time permits, we also hire our horse-drawn vehicles and services. We designed rain-collection systems for household use, and to supplement the often-dry well. In addition, we have compost systems, a fruit and berry orchard, salad, herb, and vegetable garden, and are working to line most of our perimeter fences with bush, bramble, and vine fruits to feed our family, supplement our animals, and provide for our customers. In 2016, we constructed a walipini, or pit greenhouse, to allow year-round, off-grid food production. We dug water-retention berms and a pond in our pasture, to help improve soil moisture and health and decrease erosion. We maintain a variety of livestock to compliment foraging habits, meaning grasses, weeds, and forbs are grazed more evenly. Our horses live in a "Paddock Paradise" track that meanders through our back acreage, providing a variety of activities, terrains, and natural systems to simulate the movement and environment of wild horse herds and help our horses thrive. We rotate our steers and meat birds to fresh pasture every day, to ensure the land is never desertified, to help build topsoil, and to ensure our animals always have clean, fresh, uncontaminated forage and lounging areas. Open range hens in a portable coop follow the larger stock to help scatter manure piles, reduce parasite and fly populations, and in return, we are blessed with a plentiful supply of the most wholesome, nutrient-rich eggs nature can provide. We use pigs to dig up invasive honeysuckle in the woods, and to massage the humus-rich top layers of our forests.
We've even taken the local wildlife into consideration. In order to live in harmony with most of the wildlife, we utilize Colorado Mountain Dogs and Great Pyrenees as poultry, livestock, and crop guardians. This keeps the predators and pests outside of our fences, which means we don't have to take extreme measures to get rid of them. Even in the barn, we don't use chemicals for smaller pests. We just have friendly barn cats to patrol our feed storage areas. We selectively log and flash-graze livestock in our woodlands to open up the underbrush and control invasive species, allow more sunlight through, and improve wildlife habitat.
As time goes on, we hope to go more off-grid with solar and/or wind power, dig more ponds and swales to diversify our water distribution and wildlife habitats, increase our crops to include a variety of wholesome grains, and more.
About the Business
Within a short time of beginning our farming ventures and raising our family's food, many of our friends and neighbors were expressing interest in purchasing products from us, as well as learning more about what we were doing. Over the next few years, the business evolved, and has continued to expand and morph ever since.
We believe very firmly that the best food available is food that is raised without pharmecuticals, on nutrient-rich, chemical-free land, cared for by the family that will evenutally consume that food. As a result, we keep our farm small enough that we can dedicate the required attention and care to each aspect of our farm. We refuse to sell anything that we wouldn't eat ourselves. We have no employees. The farm is run by our immediate family, as well as the occasional intern, WWOOFer, or CSA volunteer.
At this time, we sell direct to consumers, and do not sell wholesale to restaurants or grocery businesses, nor do we offer our products at farmers markets currently. We love building relationships with our customers as much as we love raising our animals! We offer tours and educational clinics to give you a "behind the scenes" look. We welcome visitors, and love to introduce others to the idea of stewarding the land with management, symbiotic relationships, and farming in a way that honors God's amazing design through our husbandry methods.
