A “food business” begins with a transaction. A company has a product. A customer has a need. Marketing brings the two together, money changes hands, and success is measured by what remains on the balance sheet.
There are two struggles in regenerative farming. One is visible. The other is hidden. The visible struggle is obvious. Small farms like ours compete against companies with enormous marketing budgets, national distribution, investor backing, and public relations teams. A company...
We could make a living if the farm was a fraction of its current size. We are not chasing growth for growth’s sake. We are not trying to become a national brand. We are not looking for outside investors. We are not building this business so that one day....
Every characteristic that makes food desirable—flavor, aroma, texture, color, and nutrition—begins with sunlight. Plants are nature’s solar collectors. Through photosynthesis, they convert solar energy into sugars, proteins, fats, antioxidants, and countless other compounds that ultimately become the building blocks of every grazing animal on earth.
Can You Actually Taste Nutrient Density? I Believe You Can. I’ve been farming long enough now—and eating my own food long enough—to trust my senses as much as I trust the science. And the more the years go by, the...
Food for Ohioans — On Purpose We have made a very specific and deliberate decision: we serve only Ohioans, with food raised 100% in Ohio. This isn’t a limitation—it’s a choice, a conviction, and a line in the sand rooted...
"That was the best (steak/burger/roast) I have ever eaten". It is a quote we hear a lot. I want to take a moment to share with you a snippet of how we do it with purely grass.
Twenty years ago, Erin and I had to fight through conflicting books, nutritional dogma, and a food system that told us eggs were bad and margarine was healthy. ZOE Farms was born from that journey—and while AI is now helping families cut through the noise faster, our mission has remained unchanged: doing the real work of raising food with integrity, not chasing marketing trends.
Regenerative Farming Starts Underground People often ask what I’m most passionate about when it comes to farming. The answer surprises them. It’s not cattle genetics.It’s not the business.It’s not even livestock management I love all of these aspects of what...
Egg yolks reflect what hens eat. By thoughtfully adjusting our grain ration—reducing high omega-6 inputs like corn and integrating more stable fats such as high-oleic soybeans—we are steadily improving the fatty acid balance of our eggs. 509 words 2min read
Growth in regenerative farming often pulls founders away from the soil and into the business. But living ecosystems aren’t scalable systems — they require deeper stewardship, not delegation. This season, we’re investing intentionally into 400 acres of soil health, because when the foundation strengthens, everything downstream strengthens with it.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how quickly the word regenerative has been adopted in agriculture. In many ways, it reminds me of other well-intended terms like “free-range”, “grass-fed” or even “organic”. All of these lost their true meaning, eventually becoming marketing shortcuts. Today, just about everyone....
We love seeing young families choose to raise children intentionally. Parents who are budgeting for nourishment instead of luxuries. Moms and dads who are thinking long-term about health, resilience, and what kind of foundation they’re....
The modern farm-to-fork marketing model looks good on the surface, but when you really examine it, it starts to resemble a pyramid scheme. Most food businesses today spend heavily on customer acquisition through sponsored listings, paid ads, influencers, discount codes, and referral incentives. All of that money has to come...
As winter approaches, we are often asked how we manage “grass-fed” cattle during the winter months. It’s a fair question. After all, grass doesn’t grow in Ohio from November through March. We solve this problem by feeding....
At least once every day, we are asked - "do you feed corn or soy". Oftentimes, the person asking this question does not know why they are asking. There is a tremendous amount of misinformation about the use of these feed sources, so we want to clearly state our position on the matter.
The organic, free-range, all-natural, grass-fed (insert marketing word HERE) movement has swept the nation. Every major grocery chain is on board for a simple reason – IT SELLS. Now, more than ever it is easy to hit the supermarket to get the...
It is becoming a daily question we are asked, "Are your chickens grass-fed?" The short answer is: "There's no such thing as a grass-fed chicken". Here is a bit more of an explanation as to why this is the case.
The supplementation programs we have developed for our poultry are based on proven science. In this short article you will learn why our chicken and eggs stand in a class of their own in nutrient density and flavor.
