About us
About Our Farm
Traceable family farmers back to 1746 in Germany and my ancestors were commissioned to bring progressive farming to native Ukraine by the Queen. We feel there is currently a huge disconnect from the vast population as to the methods used to sustainably care for the land and the livestock. We strongly feel the need to be a steward of the land and livestock, not just an "owner".
Our farm was originally purchased in 1957 by Joyce’s uncle Keith Holty. He bought this farm to raise his family by milking dairy cows, raising beef calves, farrowing and finishing pigs, and no farm is complete without chickens. The farm was able to provide most of the feed for the animals as corn, alfalfa, oats and pasture. Keith sold the farm to his nephew Jim Holty in 1986 and began his family in 1991. The dairy cows were replaced by steers, the pigs and chickens had to go but the beef cows stayed and are still here yet today. In 2020 Tony and Joyce (Holty) Heppner bought this farm to continue the farming legacy held by both of our families. Our kids are/were very involved with the farm as Luke was our shepard, Moriah was our rabbit and chicken keeper, Noah is our calf feeder and Joshua is learning the ropes.
We feel honored to be able to be a steward of the land and animals pass on a sustainable resource.
Land is a limited resource there’s not any more being “made”. In fact a lot of areas in this country are losing productive farmland to commercial and urban growth. We need to become better stewards with what we have. I am fortunate to have a farm family that believes in this. Practices such as no-till or minimum tillage protect our land from erosion and provide soil health. Contours and crop rotation aid in pest and weed control. All of our animal waste is placed back on the land in a rotation to ensure no build up of certain elements. Our land is rich in nutrients and abundant earth worms do the job of mixing the soil! We live in a bluff country area of MN that requires us to rotate grazing and keep animals off to prevent mud and erosion certain times of the year. We use organic or non-gmo byproducts and grains to meet the different animals nutritional requirements that vary by seasons. We provide our livestock with spacious protections from our winter weather with natural bedding and clean fresh water. Animals need to be comfortable and healthy to provide a wholesome product. We will use an antibiotic as a treatment for serious health concerns and all withdraw and USDA protocols will be followed. We work with the USDA and MN Dept. of Agriculture to further process our animals in our inspected facility. This ensures food safety, traceability and unprecedented freshness. Sometimes harvest to delivery in 2 weeks!