Edible Michiana Holiday 2022
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year-round. Five thousand chickens and 500 turkeys are cycled in during the warm months. All the animals are raised on pasture, outside, with non-GMO feed and hay that is produced on-site. The farm is annually certified through an Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) program. Another branch under the canopy of this 150-year-old family tree is Nate and Lou Ann’s son, Jake. An agronomist, Jake manages the farm’s cropland while maintaining and sustaining the integrity of the soil and pastures. “The heritage part of our farm is in the way my great great-grandfather raised his animals.” The first roots though, were put down by Robinson ancestors from the Netherlands. “All the generations endured with just good hard work,” says Nate. “They helped each other survive, and neighbors helped neighbors.” Nate and Lou Ann have farmed together for nearly 50 years and live around the corner and over the hill from Renee. They experienced the extremes of a volatile and wildly fluctuating pork industry market, and through the years they gradually shifted to a path toward a better product that could sustain their farm for the future. Nate sums it up: “The farmers were getting paid by quantity, not quality. I wanted to flip it around and get paid for Top: Sixth-generation farmer Nate Robinson has big boots to fill at age 3 with his father, A. J. Robinson, in 1958. Photo provided by Robinson Family, Jake's Country Meats. Bottom: Generations of knowledge are passed down, and new ideas are evaluated. Nate (left) stands with his son-in-law, Nick Seelye. Nick’s wife and Nate’s daughter, Renee, says, “This is why farms can last generations, creating a rich heritage. You continue to look back while moving forward.”
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| HOL IDAY 2022
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