By Kate Scriven
Sometimes you walk into a place and it just feels right. It’s hard to explain what that means, but my guess is most people understand. When I first visited The Farmstead, it felt right. I drove through the gate and was greeted by the site of an almost unfathomably large mother pig, named Savannah, stretched out luxuriously in the shade, nursing her gaggle of piglets, their curly tails lined up facing me.
As if that wasn’t perfect enough, a handful of yards further, a handsome ram goat gazed at me from the center of the driveway as if saying, “Ummm…I’m standing here right now. You’ll just have to wait.” I stopped and we contemplated each other for a bit, my children shrieking with joy in the backseat at this unlikely roadblock. Soon, an equally handsome man appeared from the wooded pasture on the side and shooed Samson, his name I discovered later, from the road and waved me on.
I parked near the chicken coop and as my girls piled out of the van doors, I couldn’t help but smile. On the door of the coop was an ornate gilt frame filled with robin’s egg blue words stating, “Farm Fresh Eggs from Very Happy Chickens.” I’d been here all of two minutes and I was happy. I imagined a life spent here, as a chicken or human, and knew I’d arrived someplace special.
This magical place is the home, and working farm, of Nick and Rachael Taylor. They met at the Air Force Academy where Nick played football and Rachael was captain of the track team, competing in sprint hurdles. The two were married just after graduation and crossed their fingers to be stationed at McChord Air Force Base, as they had fallen in love with the Pacific Northwest during trips to visit Rachael’s parents in Coos Bay, Oregon. Their wish was granted.
The following years were consumed by saving their pennies, enduring deployments (Rachael to Iraq and Nick to Kyrgyzstan) and completing their schooling, all the while searching for the perfect land to grow their dream and a family. They relocated to Lacey in 2006 and knew they had come home. “When you cross that bridge into Thurston County, it just feels different. Thurston County is our place,” the couple recounted.
They found land just off Johnson Point Road in Olympia in an area slated for a large-lot housing development called Cross Creek. They bought up the back three lots and reclaimed the land as their farm. The front lots remain for sale and their hope is to have like-minded neighbors who, if not farmers, at least support The Farmstead’s philosophy.
The farm itself exudes a sense of peace and purpose, that “thing” I felt when I first drove in. The animals – including sheep, pigs, goats, chickens and a newly arrived donkey – are blissfully happy, ranging throughout the shady pastures and foraging as nature intended. The Taylors started small, however. “We got the chickens first and you kind of fall in love with creating your own eggs,” shares Rachael. “It’s true. Chickens are the gateway animal,” jokes Nick.
From there, the couple added goats to the mix, mostly rescues, but found they truly wanted to provide healthy, happy meat to Thurston County families and their goats provided only perfect milk and companionship.
Pastured Pork was next to join The Farmstead. The herd of Tamworth Heritage breed pigs is adorable. And delicious. And important to their commitment to ethically raised meat. “Raising something that has never been changed or altered is amazing. The pork tastes how it is supposed to,” shares Rachael. The pigs forage and root, as nature intended, through the forest and pasture and is finished on creamy goats milk making it extra sweet. By breeding their animals and raising the piglets on the farm, the Taylors can provide delicious, ethically raised pork that is healthy for your family and helps ensure the continuation of the rare Tamworth Pig.
In addition to pigs, The Farmstead raises pastured lamb. The sheep range on the land with very little interference from the Taylors. The popularity of lamb, a staple in the Mediterranean and Australian diet, is increasing across the country, as more people discover it’s health benefits as well as amazing flavor when raised properly.
The chickens provide eggs to the Taylors and the pigs, but they are not for sale. Instead, they are hatched out, producing a year-round supply of laying pullets. Purchasing Black Star “Sex-Linked” pullets was the reason for my first visit to the farm. Finding chickens hatched and raised, locally and organically, is rare and something the aspiring chicken “farmer” in me such appreciates. The Black Star pullets are strong, hardy layers that, due to their breeding, are guaranteed hens.
The Taylors are clear on their goals. “Everything we do is to support the farm. We have an apple orchard to feed the goats and pigs, our vegetable garden is planted with things the animals will eat and next year we are planting a hazelnut orchard for the pigs. Our ultimate goal is that no food comes in. We hope to have everything that these animals live and thrive on is grown on the farm.” This goal controls the animal’s diets, ensuring the healthiest and best tasting meat, but also limits their global impact, creating truly responsible meat for our community.
Long term, they hope that at least one half of the couple will be able to be a full-time farmer. “To raise a family doing this is our goal,” shares Nick. The couple is expecting their first child soon.
In addition, they would love to source local restaurants and recognize Olympia as a great area to support the meat they produce. “To have a restaurant serve Farmstead Pork would be amazing. That’s our next big goal for expansion,” shares Nick. “To get people more knowledgeable about what we are producing is very important to us.”
Their most recent offering of pastured pork sold out in a week with little to no advertising on their part. “It’s really encouraging to be in a community that’s conscious of what’s going into their family’s bodies and making choices to support that,” shares Rachael. “That’s why it’s neat to be in Olympia. I don’t know that we could do this everywhere in America right now.”
As you can tell, I have a bit of a crush on The Farmstead. Follow them on Facebook to watch their growth, or simply for the amazing photos, and you might find yourself falling for them, too. It seems the feeling is mutual. “We love Olympia. We wouldn’t want to be doing this anywhere else.”
