July 4, 2025 • 30 mins
A Virginia family answered the call on their hearts when they made the leap from being homesteaders to a full scale farming in 2022. The Weldon Cooper Center reports the number of farms in Virginia was falling and dropped 18 percent between 2002 to 2022 - not to mention the drought that year. In 2025, Maranatha Farms seems to be thriving with a new storefront. On this episode, we're talking to Phil Miller the Farm Retail Manager of the farm to learn more about the journey.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Virginia Focus. I'm Rebecca Hughes of the Virginia
News Network. A Virginia family answered the call on their
hearts when they made the leap from being homesteaders to
full scale farming. In twenty twenty two, the Weldon Cooper
Center reports a number of farms in Virginia was falling
and had dropped eighteen percent between two thousand and two
(00:25):
and twenty twenty two, not to mention the drought that year.
In twenty twenty five, Marantha Farms seems to be thriving
with a new storefront. On this episode, we're talking to
Phil Miller, the farm retail manager of the farm, to
learn more about their journey. Welcome to the show. I'm
so glad you could visit with us today and talk
more about Marantha Farms.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, thank you for having me. So glad to be
here with you.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So, why don't you start by telling everybody who you
are and what you do.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah. So my name is Phil Miller. I'm the farm
retail manager at Maranantha Farms. I kind of oversee our
general operation of getting our products from the field to
people's mouth. So I just get we I work for
a regenerative farm in Forest, Virginia. And our goal is
(01:16):
just simple. We want to raise food that is good
for the land and good for you. How's that?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I love that? I love that? And how long have
you been with them?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So since the beginning? So the farm is relatively pretty new.
So we started in July of twenty twenty two, and
so we're coming up on our three years here.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Okay, Now some people would say twenty twenty two, I
mean the farming business has been, you know, kind of
struggling and really having a hard time. What made you
dive into that?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Truly? I would say it's a divine thing. So for
me personally, I had no background actually farming, and so
it kind of just came as like a possibility as
part time thing, and I've kind of just fallen in
love with it and really just wanted to be a
part of something that I think is really pivotal for
(02:14):
the future of our country and just our future generations
in terms of like food and what we're eating and
all that. And so I think we've always, like I
could speaking on behalf of like the owners, they've always
kind of dabbled in like homesteading and that type of thing,
and they've always wanted to have their own farm, and
(02:34):
so it just kind of all fulminated together and the
farm became available that we're at, and it all just
allowed us to started. And so I don't know if
that is helpful there.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, that's that's great. So you said y'all started in
twenty twenty two, and you said the owners kind of
already dabbled in homesteading. I know that's a huge thing
right now, which is part of the reason I wanted
to talk to you. So what relation are you to
the owners if you don't mind, and we give us
an idea of how old you are.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, so I'm basically, they say, I'm adopted. It essentially
of like part of their family. I got to know
them through their son. Actually, So a little background on
me is I went to college at Liberty University and
I played golf there and their son was on the
golf team as well, and so I got to know him.
(03:28):
He became one of my best friends and he was
actually the best man in my wedding. And so that's
how I got pretty close with their family and knew
them before they even started the farm here in Virginia.
And so that's kind of like I would say, very
close almost adopted member of their families. And then so
(03:49):
I'm pretty I'm fairly young. I'll just press this that
I'm only twenty five.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
So yeah, okay, awesome, Well that's awesome. I ask because
I know Farmington to be a family affair, because you know,
that's not something you can really do alone. You kind
of have to have a lot of support. And it's
usually family friends. You know, community support too, but family
and friends for like the the the muscle work.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
You know, oh, like for us we have it is
a family affair, I can tell you that. So we
have Fortney and Rubens. They're there, the owners of the farm,
and then they have four kids who all like participate
on the farm in different capacities, some with like outside
with the animals, some with like farmers' markets and that
(04:36):
type of thing, so that they all we all do
a different thing. And then there's a Gaga and Granddad.
They're the grandparents of the farm and they help out.
They do every little small task that you can't think
of that we all seem to forget about. They always
have that covered. So we all kind of pitch in.
It's a whole. It is a family affair.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
That's awesome. That's awesome. So now it's mine understanding that
this particular farm is more based on livestock than it
is on crops. And I know we've heard a lot
lately about how livestock farms are actually doing pretty well
in twenty twenty five, whereas row crops and things like
that are struggling more so was that part of I mean,
(05:19):
did they kind of foresee that happening and that's why
y'all got into livestock or was there something else?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
I would say, I wish we maybe had predicted that,
but not necessarily. It was more of just meat in particular.
They've always wanted to do livestock, and they've always wanted
to raise their own beef and pork and chicken and lamb,
and we've it's kind of always been their goal rather
than doing vegetables or produce or what have you. But
(05:48):
ultimately we have the goal of kind of being a
completely sustainable and all facets. So we hope in a
few years we can actually have our own garden and
we can grow into more of that type of fig
as well. We just want to be able to control
everything and be able to see how it's actually raised
or produced, and that's the ultimate goal for us.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Yeah, I can understand that. I think there's a big
push for a lot of people feeling the same way.
You know, We've seen some videos, you've heard some stuff
and it doesn't sound good, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
So yeah, that's important.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Can you tell us a little bit about the journey.
What you said it was divine inspired and God led.
Can you tell us a little bit about that story,
what led them to start this farm? Tell us about
the name, what that means, and maybe the first few
years some of the difficulties.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, for sure, So I would say it's been so
go back a few years. I'll speak. This is me
speaking on behalf of the odor, so I don't want
to say too much into it. But essentially, they felt
like the Lord had placed on their heart to start
a farm, and they have been there rich really from Florida,
(07:00):
so they were looking for places there. It never really
quite worked out, and they finally, like when their son
came to Liberty and forced like twenty minutes from there,
and they came and visited this farm, and all the
doors just essentially opened up and anything that was could
have been a hindrance or a blockade kind of was
like vanished and it kind of became the perfect opportunity
(07:23):
for them to move up here in a quick amount
of time and just start the farm. And so I
know for the owners, it was something that the Lord
really placed on their heart and really pressed on them
to like start something and really create something in this
community in particular. And so they were like, Okay, we're
gonna be obedient. We don't really know what the future has,
(07:46):
what we have in store for us. We're like newbie
farmers for the most farm It's not like we're a
fourth or fifth generation farm were like the first timers,
and so there's a lot of a learning curve and
we had to learn. We've gotten thankfully, we've had a
lot of help from other farmers and from people that
(08:08):
have helped us not make as many mistakes. But there's
been a plusor of mistakes throughout the entire journey and
we're we're still learning and we're still it's a constant
that I think that's the beautiful part of farming is
you're always learning, and you're always going to be learning
from nature and God's creation and being able to learn
from all of it, and it's a constant ecosystem in itself,
(08:33):
and so you're every day you're you're learning something new
that you're like, oh, I didn't realize that, Oh we
got to do this different and it's teaching you, which
is super cool. So I would say when we first started,
we definitely had our issues where we got like the
chickens and we were putting them in the wrong spots
(08:54):
and we were raising them. We tried doing like winter
birds and that was proved to be very chalent to
raise like meat bird chickens in the winter, and or
like with pigs, we didn't have the right setup. We
we didn't give him enough space, or we we because
we always wanted to have him out in pastures. So
we were like, okay, we'll do this, and then they
broke out, like whatever first batches of pigs we put
(09:17):
out this like yeah, we had this first that we
had this fence, like an electric fence type thing, but
like with poly braid, and so we set it up
and immediately within a few weeks, well actually that day
they broke out, and then so the way for the
next week we had to try to get them and
so it's been a little bit of trial and error,
(09:37):
and I will say we've been fortunate enough to like
I don't know if your audience is familiar with like
Joel Salladin and that poly face, but he was. Yeah,
so we we partnered with him. So are We actually
have ownership in a USDA processing facility in Harrisonburg, which
is the same one he does, so we co ow
it with him. And so so we've been able to
(10:01):
learn quite a bit from Holly Base and we've put
in a lot of the same practices with a little
bit of our own spin, but primarily keeping it the
same in terms of like his regenerative practices. And so, yeah,
we had to learn the hard way a few times,
and we definitely have learned in three years, like certain
(10:23):
things not to do. But I'm sure we're continuing to
just learn and grow from that experience each time.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I don't know if the rest
of the audience is familiar with Joel Selton. I know
I am. I think he is a wealth of resource
for anybody in the AG community. He's just revolutionary with
regenerative farming and you know, knowing how to work with
(10:53):
the land instead of against it, which is what I
think we've tried to do for quite some time in
the past.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
He's definitely the father of our generate agriculture.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Yeah, so why don't you tell us about the name
of the farm. Where did that come from?
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah? So Maranatha it means come Lord Jesus, and it's
in the Bible and Revelation. It's actually an Arabic, it's
not actually a Hebrew for Greek. And so it kind
of is what we're about at a farm. It's just
like we're waiting for the day of our savior, Jesus
Christ a return, and so we thought what better name
(11:30):
than Maranatha for our farm. And really what we're all
about is just stewarding the land that He gave us
and stewarting the animals and all creation and then waiting
for him to return. So that's really what it comes
down to for us.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
I love that. Now, did they start the farm with
the intention of having a farm store like you do?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Now?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I know that just recently opened. Was that always the intention?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, well, I wouldn't necessarily say a farm store. We've
kind of been unsure of exactly the direction we wanted
to go in terms of being able to get our
meats in front of people. But the store definitely seems
like a great option. We thought about it and then
it just we had so many people like saying we
wish we could come see you here and now and
(12:18):
like rather than at the market or having to come
to you. So we're just like, Okay, we need to
do this. And so it's been a great addition to
the farm and just for people to be able to
come out and see the actual farm in person and
see how seeing the animals, the cows, the sheets, chickens,
how we move them, the Plus we're looky to ride
(12:40):
on the Blue Ridge Mountains just about so you have
a beautiful backdrop, you have our pastures, and then we
have a pond we've creaked so it's beautiful. And then
being able to see the animals raised there, knowing what
we're doing, and then being able to get your meats
right there or eggs or what have you, is I
think it's a very unique experience for a lot of people.
(13:01):
You don't you don't get that at your local Walmart
or Proger Right.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Definitely, it's and I think it's important for all parents
to teach their kids where does this food come from?
Because you know, we've seen in previous generations when we
don't go to a farm, when you stay in a
city for too long and you don't get outside and explore,
you know, the more rural areas, kids don't know you
ask them, where's your food come from? What you know,
(13:27):
what are you eating? They don't know. They think it's
just comes from the grocery store. And you know, they
don't put together that beef is the same as a
cow and pork is the same as you know, a pig,
et cetera. So I think that's really important. Do you
guys do like tours and stuff like.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
That too, Yeah, so we do tours. We do like
official farm tours about every two weeks on Saturdays from
two to four and people can sign up for that.
We have a haywagon that will use that will pull
you around and then also there's walking portions where we're
get out and so that way a lot of kids
(14:02):
are able to experience what you're talking about, because there
is a huge disconnect right now from kids. And I
could even say that to myself, like growing up, like
I was very much raised in like city suburbia, and
I was amazed at, like, oh, I didn't realize that's
how that works. So I didn't realize that that's where
that came from. Like there's so like when I first started,
(14:24):
there's so many aha moments, you know, And I can
see that with all the kids that will have come out,
or even adults that come out, and they'll be amazed
at like, oh, I didn't realize that that's where that
beef is telling that's where bacon's from. Bacon's from the
pig on the belly, and just stuff like the chicken
tender it's actually cut from the it's not from the breath.
(14:44):
The separate part of me, Like, there's these things that
we have no idea about or a lot of people.
So and so just being able to show that to
people and do the farm tours, and then we also
like if people want, they can they reach out to
us and we'll bring up like schools come out. We'll
have like homeschool groups come out, and we'll just tore
(15:05):
them around and get them exposed to what it's like
to be on a farm.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
That's awesome. That's awesome, and they can do that all
through your website.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Correct, Yeah, So our website Marinavafarms dot com. It would
have like all of our farm tours and our events
that we're going to probably start trying to do a
lot more events as well, which will be super fun
and you can just sign up there, purchase your ticket
and just show up when the day of. But yeah,
we're definitely gonna try and start doing a lot more
(15:33):
events as well. Where we've had a pig roast in
the past, with like line dancing, square dancing, We're going
to try and do like worship nights on the farm.
We're going to try and do some like even like
a five k type of race through the farm, and
then fall festivals, We're going to try and do a
bunch of different stuff like that, which I think is
it's just cool to be able to invite the community
(15:54):
and be a part of it with us.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, but I have to ask you because I mean,
I personally didn't grow up on a farm, but I've
met a lot of farmers, and you know, you learn
real quick that this is not a nine to five,
This is not even necessarily a twelve hour a day job.
Sometimes it's longer than that. When in the world are
you going to do all these other all these other
(16:17):
things in addition to what you regularly have to do.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah, that's a that's a very good point. It is
a it's almost a twenty four to seven hour thing.
You never know when you might have a cat dropping
or piglets or and then you need to go attend
to them so or the calcar lose, you know. So
we were trying to build a team to be able
to do that because it's really something that's important to us,
(16:44):
is to be able to one ten to the farm
needs for sure, but also be able to be a
part of the community and have them be a part
of it as well and get to see these types
of things. We're not going to be a huge event space,
I'm not. I'm not saying we're doing it every week.
I'm saying, like once every couple of months that type
of thing where we can and maybe at least we
(17:06):
can build in the strong enough teams where we can
do that, because that's really what we want to be
able to do too. So, but yeah, that is a
very valid point. The farmer does not see many rests, Okay,
we'll just say that.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Yeah, but going on vacation is not like you just
board your dogs and go like.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
No, unless you want to board up thousands of animals
or hundreds right.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Right, So let me ask you this. You said you
grew up in suburbia and this has been a learning
experience for you getting into it. What has been the
most surprising thing to you that you didn't anticipate?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Uh? I would say at first, the hardest thing for
me was just how much work goes into it, like
to truly raise an animals well, and obviously there's shortcuts
you can take to make it as hard, but the
way we go about it is it's a lot of work.
It truly is like every single day we're moving our
(18:08):
animals because we're moving in the fresh pastures. We rotationally
raised all of our beef, our all of our cows,
all of our sheets, all of our pigs, all of
our chickens. So every single day those coops the chickens
are in, they're getting moved. Every single day the cows
are getting moved into new pasture. And so it's a
lot of work. And that doesn't even include like making
(18:31):
sure all the other things are getting taken care of.
Just moving the animals alone is it's quite attacked. And
so I think for me it was like, okay, in
order to actually raise an animal the way we want
to and to raise it well, for it to be
outside out and sun eating brass, having a good life,
having ample space, like, it's a lot of work, and
(18:52):
I it's much different than when I just would go
to the store and be like, oh, you know, I
want some chicken breast today, and that's you know, it's like,
well that that chi get had a whole life before that,
like from the time attached to what we we'll hatch
a lot of chicks too, and so we will hatch
them and then that chicken needs to we have to
raise it the whole way up and then it's getting
(19:14):
moved on pasture. Then the whole processing side of it
as well is very time is it's a lot of work,
a lot of work. We have, like the whole team
for just chicken processing a loan. And so I think
that would be the biggest thing that I didn't. I
underestimated the amount of time, work and energy that had
to go into raising an animal well. Is the biggest
(19:35):
thing for me.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah, I think that most people that decide they want
to get into it, I think that's I think you're
right I think that's probably the most unanticipated part is
just how much physical labor, not just mental labor, but
physical labor as well. And both of them are in
high amounts. It's not like you know, sometimes we watch
(19:58):
you know, farm shows YouTubers who are farmers, and we think, oh,
that looks so easy because they just drill it down
to like a twenty thirty minute video right right.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Well here. The other thing is, like we were saying earlier,
is the picks don't take a vacation, they don't wake up.
But we're in a fast today. We don't need any water,
we don't need any feed, don't worry about us today.
They don't do that.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
You know.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
They constantly need to be fed every single day. They
need water every single day. And so you have to
be there every day. You have to be there to
move them, you have to be there to feed them,
to water them, to take care of them, make sure
they're doing well, you know. And it's not just a
we're gonna work nine to five today, you know. It's
not like that at all, and I think it's hard.
(20:42):
The other part is it's really hard to find good health.
It's really hard to find people that are able and
willing to put in that amount of effort. And also
it's not like you're getting paid a ton either, because
there's not a lot of money to be had in farming,
and so you're doing it for a love for agricultural,
(21:03):
love for animals, love for just whatever, your love for farming.
So it's have to come from there because from a
physical sense, from a work life sense, like it's not
necessarily there, you know right now.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I imagine there's also a love of people. I mean,
you know where your your product is going to go,
and that's important too, I would imagine, Yeah, it's a love.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
For people, and that's a big passion of mine actually
is being able to provide something like that for the
people in our community and eventually outside of that as well,
I think is what I truly love. Because there's not
a lot of places it's to get your meat, like
how we're doing it. We're very different, and so that's huge,
(21:51):
it really is. And I think also the community aspect
of like the farm teams, Like we have a great team.
I love our team, I love the family. I love
the people that we get to work with, and so
that also makes it much easier to do as well.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, most definitely. So if anybody's listening and they're like,
you know, I think I might be interested in doing
something like that. Can you give us an idea the
people that started this farm you said they were already
kind of into homesteading and all. How much equipment and
land and things like that did they already have or
was this truly a start from like total fresh Can
(22:28):
you give us an idea of that?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yeah, so it was a hard start. It was. They
had nothing. So what they had done is they had
they had raised like a few animals, but none of
that stuff that they had before carried over. So we
had to restart with everything, including infrastructure, the equipment, the animals,
a lot of it. We were just started from ground zero.
(22:50):
So it was quite a daunting task at first, and
it still is. We're still trying to like grow like
our cattle herd significantly. That takes It takes years and years.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Oh yeah, for sure, for sure. So so in other words,
it can be done if you let's say, you know,
you're living in suburbia. I don't know, I don't know
where they came from exactly, but let's say you don't
have more than an acre or two acres of land.
But you want to get into this and you don't
have the infrastructure, you don't have those things. It can
be done, is what.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Oh, Okay, for sure, it can be done. Yeah, it
can definitely be done. I think the harder part for
us was the scale at what we were trying to do.
We weren't just trying to feed ourselves or like a
couple of people. We're trying to really feed like a
larger community, or at least the community we're in, And
so that was what would make it a little more
challenging for us. It's like at the start to try
(23:41):
and scale to a quick level. But if you're trying
to do like, hey, let's I want to I want
a dairy cow. I want like two meat cows, a
couple pigs, and like fifty meat birds and then like
ten layers, Like that's very doable, but you do have
to be prepared, like you're not going to be able
to leave once you start that, and once you get
(24:02):
into it, it's a daily commitment or you need to
find someone that's willing to help you along with it.
And I think if you have a family and you
have kids, that can help out too. That helps make
it want. It gives them responsibility and task to it
helps create that as well. But also it just creates
community in your family. It really creates like a mission
(24:25):
of togetherness. And we're in this together to raise like
meat and raise food for our family.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
I love that special.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
I know that there's a philanthropic side of this business
that's not even in our country. Can you talk about
that and tell us more?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah, So we elevate Orphan is what you're referring to.
And so the owners is actually their nonprofit as they
started or have taken over, i should say. And so
we donate ten plus percent of our profits or our
sales actually every year to do that. And so it's
(25:05):
Elevate Orphan. A little background one. It's an organization that
is based in Ethiopia, Africa. And so they take they
create a family unit and so they take widowed moms
and then they take orphan kids and they bring them
(25:26):
in together. And so the widowed moms they act as
like the moms for these kids that have been neglect
are not neglected, they've just been completely they don't have
a home their orphans and so then they create a
family unit. They'll have one nanny, one of the widowed moms,
and then she will oversee about like eight to ten
(25:47):
of the kids and they'll grow up together. And then
they provide schooling, we provide food. There's basically all that
they need in order to start like actually getting out
of poverty and like neglect and actually have community. And
it's been really cool. It's actually like in the last
few years there's been quite a lot of the kids
graduating from the university and starting like careers. We've had
(26:09):
our first marriage from it, and they've they've helped say,
like over one hundred and twenty kids that were stuck
in the system over there, and so it's something that's
been the I should oh so part of the reason
that Ethiopia is even the owner Ruben he's from Ethiopia,
(26:30):
and so he's always had a heart and a love
for those people and giving back there and trying to
help all these kids that it's really sad, like they
just have nowhere to go, and like we I've actually
been able to go there and serve there on a
missions trip and so we got to be with the
kids and teach them. We did some classes and stuff
(26:52):
with them and just loved on them. And so it's
it's incredible, but it's very sad, like the they have
kids every single day just coming into the they don't
have running water, and like their shelter there, uh and
like the government funded agents where they're supposed to be
the government housing and there's no water there. There's like
(27:15):
a hundred kids cramps into a small space like it.
It's so sad. So we try to be able to
we say I shouldn't say we I'm not as well.
I don't do a whole lot for it, but and
just try to give the kids better future, be a home,
(27:36):
give them a home, given people that will love on them,
and just a community. So it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
So you guys are just spreading positivity here and overseas.
That's amazing. I love that we're actually coming up a
part of our time, if you can believe it. Oh wow,
I know, right. So what I want to do is
make sure you get an opportunity to plug the website
again and tell people where you're located. If they want
to come see the farm for themselves, you know, where
(28:03):
do they need to go or to shop at your store?
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah? So Maranatha Farms. Our website is Maranatha Farms dot com.
It's all aids, it's the easy way to remember that.
And then our address is twelve eleven Elkhill Lane, Forest, Virginia,
two four five five one. And we're just off of
(28:28):
this paradela row far from like honestly majority of the
town here. And our stores open from eleven to five
Monday through Friday, and Saturdays from nine to two. And
then we're closed on Sunday, but you can order through
our website. You can come visit us. You should come
(28:50):
see us. That's probably the best way. We love being
able to tell people like exactly how we farm and
what we do, and being able to showcase it to them. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
And I was gonna to say, even though the storm
might be closed on Sunday, that doesn't mean the animals
and you guys aren't working like I'm sure you.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Guys exactly every day, exactly every single day, seven days
a week.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Yeah, all right, Well, I really do appreciate your time.
I know you're busy, and I know we had a
you know, it took us a minute to get this scheduled,
but I really do appreciate you making time for us.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Yeah, of course happy to do it. I'm so glad
I was able to speak to you. I hope that
your viewers or your listeners and they're able to learn
something or just find out look into us the World War.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
I hope you've enjoyed today's show. Thanks for tuning into
the show on your favorite local radio station. You can
now listen to this show or past shows through the
iheartapp or on iHeart dot com. Just search for Virginia
Focus under podcasts. I'm Rebecca Hughes with the Virginia News Network,
and I'll be here next week on Virginia Focus
Welcome to Virginia Focus. I'm Rebecca Hughes of the Virginia
News Network. A Virginia family answered the call on their
hearts when they made the leap from being homesteaders to
full scale farming. In twenty twenty two, the Weldon Cooper
Center reports a number of farms in Virginia was falling
and had dropped eighteen percent between two thousand and two
(00:25):
and twenty twenty two, not to mention the drought that year.
In twenty twenty five, Marantha Farms seems to be thriving
with a new storefront. On this episode, we're talking to
Phil Miller, the farm retail manager of the farm, to
learn more about their journey. Welcome to the show. I'm
so glad you could visit with us today and talk
more about Marantha Farms.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, thank you for having me. So glad to be
here with you.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So, why don't you start by telling everybody who you
are and what you do.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah. So my name is Phil Miller. I'm the farm
retail manager at Maranantha Farms. I kind of oversee our
general operation of getting our products from the field to
people's mouth. So I just get we I work for
a regenerative farm in Forest, Virginia. And our goal is
(01:16):
just simple. We want to raise food that is good
for the land and good for you. How's that?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I love that? I love that? And how long have
you been with them?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So since the beginning? So the farm is relatively pretty new.
So we started in July of twenty twenty two, and
so we're coming up on our three years here.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Okay, Now some people would say twenty twenty two, I
mean the farming business has been, you know, kind of
struggling and really having a hard time. What made you
dive into that?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Truly? I would say it's a divine thing. So for
me personally, I had no background actually farming, and so
it kind of just came as like a possibility as
part time thing, and I've kind of just fallen in
love with it and really just wanted to be a
part of something that I think is really pivotal for
(02:14):
the future of our country and just our future generations
in terms of like food and what we're eating and
all that. And so I think we've always, like I
could speaking on behalf of like the owners, they've always
kind of dabbled in like homesteading and that type of thing,
and they've always wanted to have their own farm, and
(02:34):
so it just kind of all fulminated together and the
farm became available that we're at, and it all just
allowed us to started. And so I don't know if
that is helpful there.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, that's that's great. So you said y'all started in
twenty twenty two, and you said the owners kind of
already dabbled in homesteading. I know that's a huge thing
right now, which is part of the reason I wanted
to talk to you. So what relation are you to
the owners if you don't mind, and we give us
an idea of how old you are.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, so I'm basically, they say, I'm adopted. It essentially
of like part of their family. I got to know
them through their son. Actually, So a little background on
me is I went to college at Liberty University and
I played golf there and their son was on the
golf team as well, and so I got to know him.
(03:28):
He became one of my best friends and he was
actually the best man in my wedding. And so that's
how I got pretty close with their family and knew
them before they even started the farm here in Virginia.
And so that's kind of like I would say, very
close almost adopted member of their families. And then so
(03:49):
I'm pretty I'm fairly young. I'll just press this that
I'm only twenty five.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
So yeah, okay, awesome, Well that's awesome. I ask because
I know Farmington to be a family affair, because you know,
that's not something you can really do alone. You kind
of have to have a lot of support. And it's
usually family friends. You know, community support too, but family
and friends for like the the the muscle work.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
You know, oh, like for us we have it is
a family affair, I can tell you that. So we
have Fortney and Rubens. They're there, the owners of the farm,
and then they have four kids who all like participate
on the farm in different capacities, some with like outside
with the animals, some with like farmers' markets and that
(04:36):
type of thing, so that they all we all do
a different thing. And then there's a Gaga and Granddad.
They're the grandparents of the farm and they help out.
They do every little small task that you can't think
of that we all seem to forget about. They always
have that covered. So we all kind of pitch in.
It's a whole. It is a family affair.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
That's awesome. That's awesome. So now it's mine understanding that
this particular farm is more based on livestock than it
is on crops. And I know we've heard a lot
lately about how livestock farms are actually doing pretty well
in twenty twenty five, whereas row crops and things like
that are struggling more so was that part of I mean,
(05:19):
did they kind of foresee that happening and that's why
y'all got into livestock or was there something else?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
I would say, I wish we maybe had predicted that,
but not necessarily. It was more of just meat in particular.
They've always wanted to do livestock, and they've always wanted
to raise their own beef and pork and chicken and lamb,
and we've it's kind of always been their goal rather
than doing vegetables or produce or what have you. But
(05:48):
ultimately we have the goal of kind of being a
completely sustainable and all facets. So we hope in a
few years we can actually have our own garden and
we can grow into more of that type of fig
as well. We just want to be able to control
everything and be able to see how it's actually raised
or produced, and that's the ultimate goal for us.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Yeah, I can understand that. I think there's a big
push for a lot of people feeling the same way.
You know, We've seen some videos, you've heard some stuff
and it doesn't sound good, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
So yeah, that's important.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Can you tell us a little bit about the journey.
What you said it was divine inspired and God led.
Can you tell us a little bit about that story,
what led them to start this farm? Tell us about
the name, what that means, and maybe the first few
years some of the difficulties.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, for sure, So I would say it's been so
go back a few years. I'll speak. This is me
speaking on behalf of the odor, so I don't want
to say too much into it. But essentially, they felt
like the Lord had placed on their heart to start
a farm, and they have been there rich really from Florida,
(07:00):
so they were looking for places there. It never really
quite worked out, and they finally, like when their son
came to Liberty and forced like twenty minutes from there,
and they came and visited this farm, and all the
doors just essentially opened up and anything that was could
have been a hindrance or a blockade kind of was
like vanished and it kind of became the perfect opportunity
(07:23):
for them to move up here in a quick amount
of time and just start the farm. And so I
know for the owners, it was something that the Lord
really placed on their heart and really pressed on them
to like start something and really create something in this
community in particular. And so they were like, Okay, we're
gonna be obedient. We don't really know what the future has,
(07:46):
what we have in store for us. We're like newbie
farmers for the most farm It's not like we're a
fourth or fifth generation farm were like the first timers,
and so there's a lot of a learning curve and
we had to learn. We've gotten thankfully, we've had a
lot of help from other farmers and from people that
(08:08):
have helped us not make as many mistakes. But there's
been a plusor of mistakes throughout the entire journey and
we're we're still learning and we're still it's a constant
that I think that's the beautiful part of farming is
you're always learning, and you're always going to be learning
from nature and God's creation and being able to learn
from all of it, and it's a constant ecosystem in itself,
(08:33):
and so you're every day you're you're learning something new
that you're like, oh, I didn't realize that, Oh we
got to do this different and it's teaching you, which
is super cool. So I would say when we first started,
we definitely had our issues where we got like the
chickens and we were putting them in the wrong spots
(08:54):
and we were raising them. We tried doing like winter
birds and that was proved to be very chalent to
raise like meat bird chickens in the winter, and or
like with pigs, we didn't have the right setup. We
we didn't give him enough space, or we we because
we always wanted to have him out in pastures. So
we were like, okay, we'll do this, and then they
broke out, like whatever first batches of pigs we put
(09:17):
out this like yeah, we had this first that we
had this fence, like an electric fence type thing, but
like with poly braid, and so we set it up
and immediately within a few weeks, well actually that day
they broke out, and then so the way for the
next week we had to try to get them and
so it's been a little bit of trial and error,
(09:37):
and I will say we've been fortunate enough to like
I don't know if your audience is familiar with like
Joel Salladin and that poly face, but he was. Yeah,
so we we partnered with him. So are We actually
have ownership in a USDA processing facility in Harrisonburg, which
is the same one he does, so we co ow
it with him. And so so we've been able to
(10:01):
learn quite a bit from Holly Base and we've put
in a lot of the same practices with a little
bit of our own spin, but primarily keeping it the
same in terms of like his regenerative practices. And so, yeah,
we had to learn the hard way a few times,
and we definitely have learned in three years, like certain
(10:23):
things not to do. But I'm sure we're continuing to
just learn and grow from that experience each time.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I don't know if the rest
of the audience is familiar with Joel Selton. I know
I am. I think he is a wealth of resource
for anybody in the AG community. He's just revolutionary with
regenerative farming and you know, knowing how to work with
(10:53):
the land instead of against it, which is what I
think we've tried to do for quite some time in
the past.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
He's definitely the father of our generate agriculture.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Yeah, so why don't you tell us about the name
of the farm. Where did that come from?
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah? So Maranatha it means come Lord Jesus, and it's
in the Bible and Revelation. It's actually an Arabic, it's
not actually a Hebrew for Greek. And so it kind
of is what we're about at a farm. It's just
like we're waiting for the day of our savior, Jesus
Christ a return, and so we thought what better name
(11:30):
than Maranatha for our farm. And really what we're all
about is just stewarding the land that He gave us
and stewarting the animals and all creation and then waiting
for him to return. So that's really what it comes
down to for us.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
I love that. Now, did they start the farm with
the intention of having a farm store like you do?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Now?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I know that just recently opened. Was that always the intention?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, well, I wouldn't necessarily say a farm store. We've
kind of been unsure of exactly the direction we wanted
to go in terms of being able to get our
meats in front of people. But the store definitely seems
like a great option. We thought about it and then
it just we had so many people like saying we
wish we could come see you here and now and
(12:18):
like rather than at the market or having to come
to you. So we're just like, Okay, we need to
do this. And so it's been a great addition to
the farm and just for people to be able to
come out and see the actual farm in person and
see how seeing the animals, the cows, the sheets, chickens,
how we move them, the Plus we're looky to ride
(12:40):
on the Blue Ridge Mountains just about so you have
a beautiful backdrop, you have our pastures, and then we
have a pond we've creaked so it's beautiful. And then
being able to see the animals raised there, knowing what
we're doing, and then being able to get your meats
right there or eggs or what have you, is I
think it's a very unique experience for a lot of people.
(13:01):
You don't you don't get that at your local Walmart
or Proger Right.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Definitely, it's and I think it's important for all parents
to teach their kids where does this food come from?
Because you know, we've seen in previous generations when we
don't go to a farm, when you stay in a
city for too long and you don't get outside and explore,
you know, the more rural areas, kids don't know you
ask them, where's your food come from? What you know,
(13:27):
what are you eating? They don't know. They think it's
just comes from the grocery store. And you know, they
don't put together that beef is the same as a
cow and pork is the same as you know, a pig,
et cetera. So I think that's really important. Do you
guys do like tours and stuff like.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
That too, Yeah, so we do tours. We do like
official farm tours about every two weeks on Saturdays from
two to four and people can sign up for that.
We have a haywagon that will use that will pull
you around and then also there's walking portions where we're
get out and so that way a lot of kids
(14:02):
are able to experience what you're talking about, because there
is a huge disconnect right now from kids. And I
could even say that to myself, like growing up, like
I was very much raised in like city suburbia, and
I was amazed at, like, oh, I didn't realize that's
how that works. So I didn't realize that that's where
that came from. Like there's so like when I first started,
(14:24):
there's so many aha moments, you know, And I can
see that with all the kids that will have come out,
or even adults that come out, and they'll be amazed
at like, oh, I didn't realize that that's where that
beef is telling that's where bacon's from. Bacon's from the
pig on the belly, and just stuff like the chicken
tender it's actually cut from the it's not from the breath.
(14:44):
The separate part of me, Like, there's these things that
we have no idea about or a lot of people.
So and so just being able to show that to
people and do the farm tours, and then we also
like if people want, they can they reach out to
us and we'll bring up like schools come out. We'll
have like homeschool groups come out, and we'll just tore
(15:05):
them around and get them exposed to what it's like
to be on a farm.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
That's awesome. That's awesome, and they can do that all
through your website.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Correct, Yeah, So our website Marinavafarms dot com. It would
have like all of our farm tours and our events
that we're going to probably start trying to do a
lot more events as well, which will be super fun
and you can just sign up there, purchase your ticket
and just show up when the day of. But yeah,
we're definitely gonna try and start doing a lot more
(15:33):
events as well. Where we've had a pig roast in
the past, with like line dancing, square dancing, We're going
to try and do like worship nights on the farm.
We're going to try and do some like even like
a five k type of race through the farm, and
then fall festivals, We're going to try and do a
bunch of different stuff like that, which I think is
it's just cool to be able to invite the community
(15:54):
and be a part of it with us.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, but I have to ask you because I mean,
I personally didn't grow up on a farm, but I've
met a lot of farmers, and you know, you learn
real quick that this is not a nine to five,
This is not even necessarily a twelve hour a day job.
Sometimes it's longer than that. When in the world are
you going to do all these other all these other
(16:17):
things in addition to what you regularly have to do.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah, that's a that's a very good point. It is
a it's almost a twenty four to seven hour thing.
You never know when you might have a cat dropping
or piglets or and then you need to go attend
to them so or the calcar lose, you know. So
we were trying to build a team to be able
to do that because it's really something that's important to us,
(16:44):
is to be able to one ten to the farm
needs for sure, but also be able to be a
part of the community and have them be a part
of it as well and get to see these types
of things. We're not going to be a huge event space,
I'm not. I'm not saying we're doing it every week.
I'm saying, like once every couple of months that type
of thing where we can and maybe at least we
(17:06):
can build in the strong enough teams where we can
do that, because that's really what we want to be
able to do too. So, but yeah, that is a
very valid point. The farmer does not see many rests, Okay,
we'll just say that.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Yeah, but going on vacation is not like you just
board your dogs and go like.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
No, unless you want to board up thousands of animals
or hundreds right.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Right, So let me ask you this. You said you
grew up in suburbia and this has been a learning
experience for you getting into it. What has been the
most surprising thing to you that you didn't anticipate?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Uh? I would say at first, the hardest thing for
me was just how much work goes into it, like
to truly raise an animals well, and obviously there's shortcuts
you can take to make it as hard, but the
way we go about it is it's a lot of work.
It truly is like every single day we're moving our
(18:08):
animals because we're moving in the fresh pastures. We rotationally
raised all of our beef, our all of our cows,
all of our sheets, all of our pigs, all of
our chickens. So every single day those coops the chickens
are in, they're getting moved. Every single day the cows
are getting moved into new pasture. And so it's a
lot of work. And that doesn't even include like making
(18:31):
sure all the other things are getting taken care of.
Just moving the animals alone is it's quite attacked. And
so I think for me it was like, okay, in
order to actually raise an animal the way we want
to and to raise it well, for it to be
outside out and sun eating brass, having a good life,
having ample space, like, it's a lot of work, and
(18:52):
I it's much different than when I just would go
to the store and be like, oh, you know, I
want some chicken breast today, and that's you know, it's like,
well that that chi get had a whole life before that,
like from the time attached to what we we'll hatch
a lot of chicks too, and so we will hatch
them and then that chicken needs to we have to
raise it the whole way up and then it's getting
(19:14):
moved on pasture. Then the whole processing side of it
as well is very time is it's a lot of work,
a lot of work. We have, like the whole team
for just chicken processing a loan. And so I think
that would be the biggest thing that I didn't. I
underestimated the amount of time, work and energy that had
to go into raising an animal well. Is the biggest
(19:35):
thing for me.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah, I think that most people that decide they want
to get into it, I think that's I think you're
right I think that's probably the most unanticipated part is
just how much physical labor, not just mental labor, but
physical labor as well. And both of them are in
high amounts. It's not like you know, sometimes we watch
(19:58):
you know, farm shows YouTubers who are farmers, and we think, oh,
that looks so easy because they just drill it down
to like a twenty thirty minute video right right.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Well here. The other thing is, like we were saying earlier,
is the picks don't take a vacation, they don't wake up.
But we're in a fast today. We don't need any water,
we don't need any feed, don't worry about us today.
They don't do that.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
You know.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
They constantly need to be fed every single day. They
need water every single day. And so you have to
be there every day. You have to be there to
move them, you have to be there to feed them,
to water them, to take care of them, make sure
they're doing well, you know. And it's not just a
we're gonna work nine to five today, you know. It's
not like that at all, and I think it's hard.
(20:42):
The other part is it's really hard to find good health.
It's really hard to find people that are able and
willing to put in that amount of effort. And also
it's not like you're getting paid a ton either, because
there's not a lot of money to be had in farming,
and so you're doing it for a love for agricultural,
(21:03):
love for animals, love for just whatever, your love for farming.
So it's have to come from there because from a
physical sense, from a work life sense, like it's not
necessarily there, you know right now.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I imagine there's also a love of people. I mean,
you know where your your product is going to go,
and that's important too, I would imagine, Yeah, it's a love.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
For people, and that's a big passion of mine actually
is being able to provide something like that for the
people in our community and eventually outside of that as well,
I think is what I truly love. Because there's not
a lot of places it's to get your meat, like
how we're doing it. We're very different, and so that's huge,
(21:51):
it really is. And I think also the community aspect
of like the farm teams, Like we have a great team.
I love our team, I love the family. I love
the people that we get to work with, and so
that also makes it much easier to do as well.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, most definitely. So if anybody's listening and they're like,
you know, I think I might be interested in doing
something like that. Can you give us an idea the
people that started this farm you said they were already
kind of into homesteading and all. How much equipment and
land and things like that did they already have or
was this truly a start from like total fresh Can
(22:28):
you give us an idea of that?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yeah, so it was a hard start. It was. They
had nothing. So what they had done is they had
they had raised like a few animals, but none of
that stuff that they had before carried over. So we
had to restart with everything, including infrastructure, the equipment, the animals,
a lot of it. We were just started from ground zero.
(22:50):
So it was quite a daunting task at first, and
it still is. We're still trying to like grow like
our cattle herd significantly. That takes It takes years and years.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Oh yeah, for sure, for sure. So so in other words,
it can be done if you let's say, you know,
you're living in suburbia. I don't know, I don't know
where they came from exactly, but let's say you don't
have more than an acre or two acres of land.
But you want to get into this and you don't
have the infrastructure, you don't have those things. It can
be done, is what.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Oh, Okay, for sure, it can be done. Yeah, it
can definitely be done. I think the harder part for
us was the scale at what we were trying to do.
We weren't just trying to feed ourselves or like a
couple of people. We're trying to really feed like a
larger community, or at least the community we're in, And
so that was what would make it a little more
challenging for us. It's like at the start to try
(23:41):
and scale to a quick level. But if you're trying
to do like, hey, let's I want to I want
a dairy cow. I want like two meat cows, a
couple pigs, and like fifty meat birds and then like
ten layers, Like that's very doable, but you do have
to be prepared, like you're not going to be able
to leave once you start that, and once you get
(24:02):
into it, it's a daily commitment or you need to
find someone that's willing to help you along with it.
And I think if you have a family and you
have kids, that can help out too. That helps make
it want. It gives them responsibility and task to it
helps create that as well. But also it just creates
community in your family. It really creates like a mission
(24:25):
of togetherness. And we're in this together to raise like
meat and raise food for our family.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
I love that special.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
I know that there's a philanthropic side of this business
that's not even in our country. Can you talk about
that and tell us more?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah, So we elevate Orphan is what you're referring to.
And so the owners is actually their nonprofit as they
started or have taken over, i should say. And so
we donate ten plus percent of our profits or our
sales actually every year to do that. And so it's
(25:05):
Elevate Orphan. A little background one. It's an organization that
is based in Ethiopia, Africa. And so they take they
create a family unit and so they take widowed moms
and then they take orphan kids and they bring them
(25:26):
in together. And so the widowed moms they act as
like the moms for these kids that have been neglect
are not neglected, they've just been completely they don't have
a home their orphans and so then they create a
family unit. They'll have one nanny, one of the widowed moms,
and then she will oversee about like eight to ten
(25:47):
of the kids and they'll grow up together. And then
they provide schooling, we provide food. There's basically all that
they need in order to start like actually getting out
of poverty and like neglect and actually have community. And
it's been really cool. It's actually like in the last
few years there's been quite a lot of the kids
graduating from the university and starting like careers. We've had
(26:09):
our first marriage from it, and they've they've helped say,
like over one hundred and twenty kids that were stuck
in the system over there, and so it's something that's
been the I should oh so part of the reason
that Ethiopia is even the owner Ruben he's from Ethiopia,
(26:30):
and so he's always had a heart and a love
for those people and giving back there and trying to
help all these kids that it's really sad, like they
just have nowhere to go, and like we I've actually
been able to go there and serve there on a
missions trip and so we got to be with the
kids and teach them. We did some classes and stuff
(26:52):
with them and just loved on them. And so it's
it's incredible, but it's very sad, like the they have
kids every single day just coming into the they don't
have running water, and like their shelter there, uh and
like the government funded agents where they're supposed to be
the government housing and there's no water there. There's like
(27:15):
a hundred kids cramps into a small space like it.
It's so sad. So we try to be able to
we say I shouldn't say we I'm not as well.
I don't do a whole lot for it, but and
just try to give the kids better future, be a home,
(27:36):
give them a home, given people that will love on them,
and just a community. So it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
So you guys are just spreading positivity here and overseas.
That's amazing. I love that we're actually coming up a
part of our time, if you can believe it. Oh wow,
I know, right. So what I want to do is
make sure you get an opportunity to plug the website
again and tell people where you're located. If they want
to come see the farm for themselves, you know, where
(28:03):
do they need to go or to shop at your store?
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah? So Maranatha Farms. Our website is Maranatha Farms dot com.
It's all aids, it's the easy way to remember that.
And then our address is twelve eleven Elkhill Lane, Forest, Virginia,
two four five five one. And we're just off of
(28:28):
this paradela row far from like honestly majority of the
town here. And our stores open from eleven to five
Monday through Friday, and Saturdays from nine to two. And
then we're closed on Sunday, but you can order through
our website. You can come visit us. You should come
(28:50):
see us. That's probably the best way. We love being
able to tell people like exactly how we farm and
what we do, and being able to showcase it to them. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
And I was gonna to say, even though the storm
might be closed on Sunday, that doesn't mean the animals
and you guys aren't working like I'm sure you.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Guys exactly every day, exactly every single day, seven days
a week.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Yeah, all right, Well, I really do appreciate your time.
I know you're busy, and I know we had a
you know, it took us a minute to get this scheduled,
but I really do appreciate you making time for us.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Yeah, of course happy to do it. I'm so glad
I was able to speak to you. I hope that
your viewers or your listeners and they're able to learn
something or just find out look into us the World War.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
I hope you've enjoyed today's show. Thanks for tuning into
the show on your favorite local radio station. You can
now listen to this show or past shows through the
iheartapp or on iHeart dot com. Just search for Virginia
Focus under podcasts. I'm Rebecca Hughes with the Virginia News Network,
and I'll be here next week on Virginia Focus
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