For Jennifer Bice , owner ofRedwood Hill Farm and Creamery , in Sebastopol , Calif. , pursuing the right bread and butter has always been about following your passions and care for the land and the animals that cast on it . And for Jennifer , Earth Day ( quick approaching on April 22 ) is every day , when taking time to care for the surroundings , beast and employee is more authoritative than spin in net profit for her business .
“ My parent , Kenneth and Cynthia Bice , moved us from Southern California to Sebastopol with the musical theme of living a more rural lifestyle of promote brute , having a vegetable garden and plantation , ” says Jennifer , whose parent started Redwood Hill Farm in 1968 and turned it into a score - A goat dairy farm business .
“ This was the 1960s and the ‘ back to the land ’ movement was underway , ” she say . “ They got some of everything , and the goats rapidly became the favorite of us kids since they are more like detent in their personality and were much more interactive . My brothers , sis and I ( all 10 of us ) joined 4 - enthalpy , and with each of us get our own goats as a project , it added up to a herd apace . ”
AsHobby Farmsreaders know , the “ back to the Din Land ” drift is experiencing a like resurgence today . It even inspired our record book , Rural Renaissance , as we recognized a hungriness of knowledge among some people who want to regain neat ego - reliance , derive a sustenance off the land and reconnect with nature . How the current movement differ a flake from earlier motion , however , is that masses are making the conscious decision not disappear into the Sir Henry Joseph Wood . Rather they need to contribute more to company , regenerate the commonwealth , eat on healthier and power their farm and businesses with solar DOE , not fossil fuels .
In 1978 , Jennifer took over the line , and once again , Redwood Hill Farm is taking part in the “ back to the land ” move . Situated on 20 Akka , the farm is powered by 580 kW photovoltaic system of rules , dispatch in 2010 , which supplies 100 - percentage of the free energy for the farm ’s operation . Care for the beast and the ley has always been paramount for Redwood Hill Farm . Jennifer and her employee care for more than 300 Goat , and when their goats go to bed , they ’re allowed to live out their natural life on pasture .
“ Our goat dairy farm was the first to be Certified Humane in the United States , ” Jennifer says . The Humane Farm Animal Care’sCertified Humane Raised and Handledlabel is considered the gold standard for third - political party enfranchisement for the humanistic treatment of fauna . “ We do not believe in manufactory farming and industrial large - scale production of food . ”
Redwood Hill Farm lets sustainability ooze into almost every facet of the family - possess operation as well .
“ We attempt to operate for the goodness of the planet , people and animal , not just for profit , ” Jennifer explains . “ Going beyond the Cartesian product we make , we believe in ‘ clean barter ’ at home by paying a living wage to our employees and give a generous welfare packet which includes 100 - percent of their wellness insurance policy for the employee and their family . ”
Jennifer is exactly the sort of ecopreneur who is facilitate transform not only how we rear and work the foods we savor but also how to operate a business to benefit society .
“ We expend our waste matter body of water by process it on website and using it for irrigation of hay field of operation , ” Jennifer say . “ We do all-embracing recycling at both the farm and the creamery . At the farm we compost the manure and use it for our constitutional gardens and also to fertilise our organic apple and olive orchards . In our offices we utilise only recycled paper . We have reduced our charge card in each yogurt cup and hat by about one-half since we get and now have foil lids rather than plastic . In plus , we have vary the type of plastic so that less can be used and make the hat smaller . All that add together up to less plastic per cup of yogurt . ”
Redwood Hill Farm ’s yogurt , kefir and sour cream product are useable through natural - nutrient stores , like Whole Foods Market , and its award - pull ahead cheese are available in specialness stores and restaurants on the West Coast or on theirwebsite . ( Check our blog in a May for a toothsome pancake recipe made with Redwood Hill Farm ’s Plain Cultured Goad Milk Kefir , instead of buttermilk or milk called for in some traditional recipe . )
“ We decided to radiate into Green Valley Organics ( greenvalleylactosefree.com ) because we had so many consumer contacting us about being lactose intolerant , ” Jennifer says . “ And , at the same time , we had distance in our new creamery to make more products and some admirer with a Certified Humane moo-cow dairy farm that needed a home base for their milk . It all came together by serendipity . ”
In addition to operating their businesses with a “ triple bottom demarcation ” ( planet , people , profits ) approach to concern , ecopreneurs like Jennifer are attuned to customers ’ needs , smithy partnerships with like - minded businesses or organizations , and leverage in operation efficiencies .
“ Once I started with butt — showing them , loving them — it was just something I wanted to go on with , ” Jennifer says . In fact , she was named Premier Breeder by the American Dairy Goat Association at its 2010 National Show . “ I have intercourse the rural lifestyle , have my own occupation , make cheeseflower and having butt . ”
Sound intimate to anyone ?
So how does your enterprisingness lionise Earth Day every daytime ? Please portion out a minute of your account below .
Savoring the good animation ,
< < More Farmstead Chef > >
