Ep. 61 with Sarah Fisher | Owner of Nature's Pantry - Reclaiming Your Hue: A Podcast for Women Rediscovering Themselves in Motherhood & Entrepreneurship

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome Sarah.
How are you?

Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm good Thanks, Kelly.
How are you?

Speaker 1 (00:08):
I'm doing very well.
Thank you.
I'm so honored to have you onhere, really excited for us to
dive into what it is that you doexactly for business and the
transition into it, and howyou're harmonizing that with
motherhood too.
But before we just dive fullhead into all of that, can you

(00:31):
share with the listeners how itis that we got connected and how
we know one another?

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, so my sister-in-law, jessica Laguerre
I'm not sure how you two knoweach other, but she is the one
who connected us.
I know she was on your podcastlast year.
I believe Listened to thatinterview.
That was great and she, just asfar as I know she just said
that you need to connect withSarah.
So you reached out and here weare, discussing all things

(01:01):
motherhood and business.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yes, yes, you know I love the heart of Jess so much
and when she gets somethingstuck in her craw, she's going
to do it.
Even if it takes like months andmonths on end for her to get to
it.
Because I swear to all things,holy Sarah, she was like I'm
going to connect you to Sarah.
And then the next year she'slike, oh my gosh, I'm going to

(01:23):
connect you to Sarah.
Like Sarah has to be on thepodcast.
And I would just giggle Cause,like I know it's an eventuality
with Jess, and when we were, youknow, before we hit record, we
were talking about no secretsauce to what it is that we're
doing here in motherhood andentrepreneurship, but grace is
one of them, like giving graceRight.

(01:47):
So I just like I've been givengrace by Jess and Jess has been
given grace from myself.
So I love her to pieces andreally thankful, truly, Sarah,
that she got us connected sothat I could get you here on the
podcast to share what it isthat you're doing in business
and how motherhood folds in withthat as well.
So one of the questions that Ialways love to ask is what

(02:08):
really came first for you?
Was it motherhood or was itentrepreneurship?

Speaker 2 (02:14):
For me it was motherhood.
And then, yeah, go ahead.
I was going to say and fromthere, that mama bear that's lit
inside you is what ended upturning into entrepreneurship,
which obviously we'll dive intoa little bit further in this
conversation.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah, so let's.
I actually want to justelaborate on it now, if you're
okay with it.
Talk to me about what exactlyyou mean when you say that.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
So just a little backstory here.
My background is actually innursing.
I went to school, graduatedwith my RN, worked I ended up
working for 12 years as aregistered nurse.
Through that we had our firstchild after we were married.
I grew up on a farm, a dairyfarm like a conventional dairy

(03:05):
farm.
So like farming is in mybackground, but I never, ever,
wanted to have anything to dowith the farm.
I saw how much work it was andthe commitment that it is and
all of those things.
So I'm going to go, I'm goingto be a nurse and I'm going to
do my own thing, right?
So then we had our first childand my dad ended up selling the
cows because he had some healthproblems and then nobody was

(03:27):
here to take over our farm.
So, like every other small farmin rural America, that was
going to be the end of ourlegacy.
I'm fifth generation on thisfarm.
My kids are six, so it was likea pretty big deal.
And then my dad is the one whoposed the question of why is
everyone so sick?
Like he doesn't remember thiswhen he was younger how many

(03:48):
people do you know that havecancer?
And just the rates of chronicillness?
And he said what is going on?
So he's the one who startedresearching and once I don't
know if you've gone down therabbit hole of health and food
and all things wellness.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Sarah, get me to Jess myself in a room and open up a
can of worms.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Like the rabbit trails never end.
And so, anyway, startedresearch.
And I have a one-year-old babyand at that time, like, the
World Health Organization cameout and said, glyphosate or
Roundup is a probable carcinogen.
So what that means is itprobably causes cancer in humans
and it's in everything that weeat, right?

(04:33):
So as a mom, I'm like, well, Ican't feed these kinds of foods
to my kids.
Yeah, so we move out to thefarm and then we started raising
our own food the way we wantedit to be raised, and then we get
into raw milk, and then we getinto grass fed beef, and then we
have pigs, and now we have 500and some chickens, and it's just
like it just keeps, keepsgrowing.

(04:55):
So what started as my desire towant good food for my family,
because I truly believe thathealth starts with what we're
feeling our bodies with itturned into this business that
we now I left my job as a nurse.
It'll be three years workingfull-time on the farm and
growing this business.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
So I'd love to dive into some of those like
intricate, woven details that Ifeel like we're skipping over.
Right, like the because yes, I'msure there's.
There is this moment in time formany of us as mothers where we
find out this like one solidarypiece of information and it it

(05:39):
does kind of like we start to dothis, like what, so that means
this, and then that impacts mychild this way, and then it
impacts their behavior, and thenthis and this and this, and we
do start to go down the rabbithole, but we, we do back up as
well and do the well.
What does that mean for me,like in terms of my core values?

(06:01):
Right, like, if we really getto the bottom of it, it's like
we as mothers just want the bestfor our children, but we
understand that at thefoundation of all of that is the
core value piece of it.
And so I do want I want to takea step back to when you were
working in the healthcare spaceas an RN.

(06:21):
Were there, were there like redflags even back then that you
started to see, that started tolay some of that groundwork for
you in developing those corevalues.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
And then, all of a sudden, there was obviously that
like moment where you're likeI'm done, I'm done, so let's
build up to that, yeah, and whenI look back, of course you know
18, 17, 18 years old, going tocollege, your intent, my intent,
was I want to do good in thisworld, I want to help people,

(06:53):
and what better way, you know,than being in health care and
being a nurse?
And it was, it was fabulous.
I remember one of my collegeprofessors saying and it like I
still remember it to this dayand I was not at all interested
in like food or anything, orfarming, and she said, yeah, we
just have what did she say, likewe just, we just accept that

(07:16):
our patients are sicker.
These days, people just havemultiple comorbidities, like
it's just normal that people aresick like this, right, and so I
remember that that was like 15,16 years ago.
But then it's like you're takingcare of people in the hospital,
right, and all we're doing isgiving them medications to cover

(07:37):
up symptoms.
It's they're like band-aids,like nobody's actually heal.
I shouldn't say nobody's nothealing things, but it's, it's
not like you're not giving yourbody the tools it needs to heal
itself.
So these pharmaceuticals arejust a cover up for, you know,
things that are imbalanced inour bodies.

(07:59):
It got to the point where I waslike this.
And then at that point I washaving like moms email me, like
my son can't drink regular milk,but he can drink your milk
because, like of constipationissues like, and like changing
lives that way and like eczemadisappearing after drinking raw
milk and it's like okay.
So at this point my food isprobably doing more than the

(08:22):
pharmaceuticals or the creamsthat we're putting on all of
these things.
So what's really going on andhow can we actually get to the
root of um, you know, likeserving our bodies and giving it
what it needs to to thrive.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah, out of curiosity, you may have noticed,
I was kind of fiddling aroundon my phone and it was because I
wanted to be able to pull upthis particular resource and, um
, give the exact name of it.
But have you heard of the book?
You probably have, um, maybenot the book, good energy.
Okay, this is where I and itcame.

(09:01):
I don't know how or why, sarah,but it came into my purview
what felt like almost the righttime, right, like most things in
life, like everything kind ofhappens at the right time, right
place, um, but that really waswhere my like aha moments

(09:22):
started to come from.
After listening to the book.
I listened to it on Audible andI was like something's not
right here.
You know, like much like whatyou're thinking and what you're
saying years and years and yearsago.
You're like something's notright.
Your father was saying thisyears and years and years ago,
also like something's not right,and years and years ago also

(09:47):
like something's not right.
And how can we just as humanbeings on this earthly planet,
go?
It just is what it is.
No, it's not.
And I loved what Casey meanslike delved into within that
book about like no, actually,fundamentally, the foods that we
are eating are not providingthe energy that we need to be

(10:07):
able to truly survive, like,truly, truly survive, and so I
just like that I've talked aboutthat with Jess and this is what
I'm saying for the listenerslike, get Sarah, jess and Kelly
in a room together and I'm surehours and hours and hours
talking about just some of thelogistics of, like, what

(10:29):
actually is good for your bodyversus what nonsense we're being
fed.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
I have never felt so vindicated, as like during this
Maha movement of, like thesemoms.
It's like, yes, this is whatwe've been after for like the
past 10, 12 years.
Like this is it.
We want people to be healthy.
You deserve to be healthy.
Nobody should have to to sufferlike people are suffering these

(11:00):
days, and it's this movement ofmoms that truly are what's
going to change this.
So it's so exciting.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
It really is Honest to goodness, like I've been
seeing a lot of what you'respeaking to, but I didn't
realize that it was called theMaha movement.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah, make America healthy again.
Yeah, we just want to behealthy.
That's it.
It's so simple.
Well, it really should besimple.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
It really so simple?
Well, it really should besimple.
It really should be.
It should be like if we'rehealthy, if our bodies are
healthy, then we can performbetter, we can live longer as

(11:48):
well.
Idea that if our, if we're, ifwe're eating like truly good
foods, drinking truly goodliquids, then why wouldn't we be
able to outperform ourselves interms of that lifespan but also
remove the disease like trulyremove the disease?

Speaker 2 (12:00):
so you know why right follow the money oh yeah, it's
all about money.

Speaker 1 (12:06):
My husband on the other side of this, kelly is
always says, like, follow themoney, so always answer Yep, you
will.
So this, this podcast, is allabout motherhood and
entrepreneurship, so we're goingto start to hold some of that
in entrepreneurship.
So we're going to start to foldsome of that in.

(12:26):
I do want to get a betterunderstanding of, like when you
were working in the healthcaresystem.
What was, what was thatharmonization like for you when
you, like, had your first child,cause I'm assuming, timeline
wise, that was still when youwere in the healthcare system.
Is that correct?
Yeah, okay, and how manychildren do you have, sarah?

Speaker 2 (12:51):
I have three children .
Our oldest is 13, and then wehave a 10 year old and then an
eight year old.
Okay, wonderful, I was workingas a nurse when I had all of
them.
Okay.

Speaker 1 (12:57):
Wow, wow, okay.
And when you decided to jumpinto entrepreneurship, when did
that happen?

Speaker 2 (13:10):
Well, I mean, we've been like I said, we started off
.
We moved out here.
I just wanted to raise food formy family, so that started.
Our daughter was one year oldwhen we moved out here, so 12
years ago.
At that time, I had like threepigs and 20 chickens and we
bought six of our own cows, andthat those numbers have

(13:30):
drastically increased since then.
So, um, you know, starting, weactually, like made an official
business.
Um, it was the.
I think it was the day after Igot home from the hospital after
having my son, so that wouldhave been eight years ago.
So I was like, all right, let'sdo this, we're going to make
this work.
I was on maternity leave and Iwas like, it's the grit that you

(13:53):
need to have as an entrepreneur, right?
So that's when we likeofficially filed a business.
So that was 2016.
So that was 2016.

(14:22):
But, truly, I feel like itreally took off.
Covid helped it just like blewup our business and people were
starting to question things andfood, and you know, there was
food shortages and scarcity andit created this whole nother
level of awareness that peoplehad around food.
So, 2020, 2021, we really ampedup our production.
Um, and then it's, you know,just wearing all the hats that a
small business owner has andtrying to juggle, juggle all the
things, um, and do them withgrace.

Speaker 1 (14:38):
Right.
So what has that, what has thatlooked like for you?
Because when you, when youstarted the business, you were
on maternity leave, I, I gotta,I gotta help the listeners

(15:07):
understand, like what, what wasthat experience for you in terms
of time management, um,balancing at all.
I don't love to use the wordbalance, but it literally just
slipped like harmonizing thatwith having a newborn as well.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
So, just to clarify, I didn't actually leave nursing
until 2022.
So I worked part time as anurse.
I you know I had theflexibility to work.
I think I was like point six orpoint seven or something like
that so you know, 24 to 30 hourslike a true, nurse, yeah, yeah.
Yes, I did did that and then, um, and then obviously you have

(15:48):
work every day on the farm.
It's like there's no days offwhen you have a farm.
It's every day's Monday.
So working both of those jobsand honestly, it's I'm not going
to sugarcoat it it's a lot.
It's being a mom trying to cookgood food for your like that's
healthy and going to nourishthem.
And then raising the food that'sgoing to nourish them.
Yeah, it's a lot like, you know, and chasing after them and

(16:11):
running a business.
It's.
It's not easy, but I think umlike for following our purpose
and what we're here, what webelieve we're here to do, um we
just one step in front of theother.
You know, each day at a time.
But in terms of time management, I went through a course.
I had to learn marketing.

(16:32):
I didn't know how to sellanything.
I mean, I can raise all thefood in the world, but if nobody
buys it, you know, how are yougoing to pay your bills?
So I took a marketing course.
I'm still like in that.
And then a lot of mindsetcoaching, because I've learned
that we can be, you know, we canget in our own, in our way, the
most, more than anythingsometimes.

(16:53):
And it's that mindset and umand all of that.
And then through her programit's Charlotte Smith.
I don't know if you've heard ofher, but she does a time
management like boot camp andit's really like getting down to
blocking your time.
And here's what I'm working onand focusing and here's what I
need to accomplish Setting freetime for yourself so you can

(17:16):
take care of yourself.
You know scheduling in yourpersonal things and just really
making sure that you're usingthe most of your time, you know
productively and that sort of athing.
Not that it always goesaccording to plan, but that's
been really helpful for me aswell.

Speaker 1 (17:35):
You know, sarah, I would not consider myself by any
stretch of the imagination.
Actually, let me rephrase whatI was going to say.
I am as far away as you couldprobably imagine from that
lifestyle, but I think I knowsomething to be true about

(17:57):
farming, and it's that there'ssystems that you have to have in
place, right, like there'ssystematic approaches to how you
handle the day to day and theweek to week and the month to
month and the quarter and theyear, Right.
And so how has that all fit inwith what you do with within the

(18:18):
household as well?

Speaker 2 (18:21):
So, in terms of like schedule, every day starts at
4am.
We milk cows, so we sell rawmilk every day, so that starts
at four and then we go down abottle milk about six o'clock,
after the milk is chilled in thetank and stuff, and then it's
morning chores.
You know you have to.
We have to move our cows, ourmilk cows, in the morning and
then feed the chickens in themorning.

(18:43):
In the afternoon there's a fewhour break, is kind of when I do
like my mommy things, mealprepping, picking up the house
things, things like that andthen it's time for afternoon
chores again.
So moving the beef cows, makingsure the pigs are fed, feed the
chickens again, picking the eggs, and then all of the eggs need
to be washed, so it's washingeggs.

(19:03):
It's getting freezers restockedin the barn, so I mean we just
kind of have a flow restocked inthe barn.
So I mean we just kind of havea flow, um, and we just you just
make sure all the work getsdone.
I don't know, some days I thinkhow do we do all of this every
day?
But we do, it's just yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:21):
But it's, it's.
I think that there are manylisteners who are probably
shaking their heads right now,going, yeah, I, I don't know how
it is that any of us, asmothers, who decide that we want
to take on this venture ofentrepreneurship, like how we do
it in each respective industry,is just it's.

(19:42):
There are a lot of key themes,right, like there's no doubt
that, like, having somesemblance of time management is
important.
Having your SOPs in place, yoursystems, your ops and your
procedures like those are allreally important to keep the

(20:03):
business functioning as well asthe household functioning as
well.
And so, for each one of usrespectively, it's just going to
look different and we go no, Idon't know how the heck I do it,
but by the grace of God, I doit.

Speaker 2 (20:19):
Friday is the cleaning day.
Yep, it's just like you're justblocked that day off to clean
the house and get all that done.
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:29):
Do you ever feel like you're playing a little bit of
reaction to things like, insteadof being proactive, that
there's a reactiveness, or doyou feel as if you've got some
some really good semblance ofthat habitual like system in
place that you're never reallyon the defense, you're always on

(20:51):
offense?

Speaker 2 (20:53):
For the most part, we're pretty much we've got our
routine in place.
Now, that's not to say likeright now it's calving season,
so we've got about 30 moms whoare having babies between now
and the next 30 days.
So it's that can add an extralayer of okay.
Here's another wrench that'sgoing to be thrown and if a mom

(21:14):
needs help delivering or youhave a you know, a stillborn
calf or whatever it might be.
So in farming there's alwayswhen you have livestock, there's
always a chance that somethingextra can pop up and just be
unexpected.
But otherwise, for the mostpart, we're a pretty well-oiled

(21:34):
machine on what we do here.
I mean, I can't imagine nothaving a routine in place.
It would be absolute chaos.

Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah, well, all the more important, right?
Okay, so something that I justthought of, is it?
I'm sort of reading in betweenthe lines that there may be a
lot of hands on deck.
What does that look like duringthe school year with the kiddos
Like how does that supportshift and priority shift when

(22:08):
the school year is in placeversus not?

Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, so then a lot more of it will fall on me.
So my we, we farm with myparents.
However, tom and I just boughtthe farm from my parents January
1st, so they're kind of likesemi-retiring, you know, taking
a step back, slowing down alittle bit, which they have
absolutely earned that right todo so.
So, and my husband still worksfull-time off the farm.
He that right to do so.
So, um, and my husband stillworks full-time off the farm.

(22:32):
He has the power lineman, so heworks um off the farm.
So a lot of it will just fallonto me then.
Uh, and I'll be doing that work.
But like today, my 13 year oldshe was down in the barn
sanitizing our milk jars.
For me, like, that's a huge job.
My 10 year old is out pickingeggs right now, moving our egg
mobiles, feeding the chickens,so they can do a lot of those

(22:54):
jobs and truly I think it'screating a great work ethic for
them as well.
Responsibility, and you knowjust, you can work.
You're going to have to workfor the rest of your life.
So I just have to giggle.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
I want to actually give the reality of what the
circumstance and the situationis, with us zooming right now
and the beauty of it too.
This is motherhood.
So for the listeners, justgoing to just fill you in a
little bit, Sarah and I arezooming right now and she, you
know, as she's zooming, she hasher kids kind of buzzing around
her and my gosh, are they justever so incredible at not

(23:31):
bothering her?
And she's just kind of doingthe like little hand wave,
little finger wave, like yeah,yeah, yeah, the head nods and
stuff, and I'm like this is theessence of motherhood and
entrepreneurship.
And then all of a sudden, SarahGod bless her heart she's like
sure, I'll do this podcast.

Speaker 2 (23:49):
I got a lot of stuff to do.
It would have been easier whilethey were in school.
It would have been just me here, but it's fine.
Yeah, all your listeners aremoms, so they totally understand
.

Speaker 1 (23:59):
Oh my gosh, do we ever?
This is just the reality of itand I, like I said I had to
giggle about it because I'm likeI can't go without saying
something.
So I hope you're okay with me,just to everyone's attention,
because these are the realities.
But it's so cool that you, youhave this ability and the
capability of the hands on deck.

(24:20):
The kids are helping, yourhusband is helping when he's not
at work.
Um, have you guys ever talkedabout, like, what it would look
like for him to come full on inwith the business, or is that
something that probably wouldn'tbe the circumstance?

Speaker 2 (24:38):
Oh yeah, that is our dream to do.
There's just so much expensethat comes with farming.
And you know me walking awayfor my paycheck, that was it.
It took quite a bit ofconvincing for him for me to do
that, but at the end I was justlike, well, I'm doing it, so
either you can get on board ornot.

(24:58):
So here we are and now hethanks me like every day, like
yeah, you were right, like youmade the right decision.
But it's really hard to walkaway from that, that security of
a paycheck.
You know we could loseeverything, but we're in our
faith and trust in the Lord thatthis is his plan for us.
So, yes, our goal would be toget Tom home to be able to farm

(25:21):
full-time with me and not haveto go to work every day.
But we're working towards that.
We just invested in the entirefarm, so we've got to kind of
get some ducks in a row beforethat would ever be an
opportunity.

Speaker 1 (25:34):
So I got two different avenues that I really
want to go down right now.
So I'm just going to choose theone that I feel a little bit
more convicted in, and it's whathas faith looked like for you
in all of this, like guidingprinciples, you know, like God,
universe?
What has that looked like foryou and your family?

Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah, so I grew up as a Christian, um, and so did my
husband.
He went to a Catholic school,um, so we both, we both believe
in God and we both are Christian.
And, um, we as a couple havenever felt more connected to
each other and connected to Godand like truly trying to pay
attention to what he's asking ofus.

(26:13):
Like he's put all of thisopportunity in front of us None
of it is by chance.
We don't believe that and it'sjust us, you know, trusting his
lead.
This is what you are here to do.
And now, like I can see it, 10years later, and like maha, like
here we are, it is coming tofruition, like we are here to

(26:33):
serve.
There's all these moms who arelike about this, what we're
doing and, yeah, I can just seeit and working out in nature,
working with nature instead ofagainst it, with all of the
chemicals and all of the thingsthat kill and, in my opinion,
poison our food instead ofinstead of that, now we're

(26:57):
working with nature and it'sjust like the beauty of what we
see out here, with all of ouranimals running around, all the
wildlife that's coming back,like knowing we are producing
good, healthy, nourishing food,like it's just, it's been a very
spiritual journey for us aswell.
Through all of that and whenthe times get tough, tom and I

(27:20):
often have to remind ourselveslike okay, well, god is trying
to teach us something with thisand we try to like put it into
perspective.
So, just keeping thatrealization that you know we're
trusting the plan.

Speaker 1 (27:34):
I have to giggle, because I just had a
conversation earlier today witha dear friend of mine who's also
been on the podcast, jasmineMcCormick, and it was about like
really surrendering to what ishappening around you and
surrendering that to God andjust going I trust you, like I
truly trust what it is thatyou're putting in front of me

(27:58):
right now good, bad orindifferent Right and so I love
hearing that this is certainlythe case for you and that that's
sort of been your guidingprinciple through all of this.
Now, did you feel like when youdecided you were going to hang
up your hat for um working inthe healthcare system, to to

(28:18):
move into this movement, thatthere was some of that guidance
from God for you?

Speaker 2 (28:24):
Absolutely.
I could feel it Like so the Iworked in an assisted living.
That was my last job and likeone of my best friends now was
my boss and it was so, so hardto walk away from her.
And she's still like one of mybest friends and I.
We talk all the time and andwhatever.
But walking away from that it'slike.

(28:47):
But I could feel it in my heartLike I can't do this anymore,
like this has to end right now,like I have to do what I'm being
called to do and I did it.
It was hard and you know it was.
There was no doubt in my mindthat it was time.

Speaker 1 (29:04):
I love it.
The other avenue that I wasthinking about, sarah, is like
what has your support networklooked like for you through all
of this?

Speaker 2 (29:16):
So our customers are our number one supporters.
They are amazing.
I'm just truly supporting us inthe work that we're doing and
keeping us going.
We have, like, honestly, thebest customers.
And then it's just, you know, wedid this with my parents and
Tom and I and our kids, and justit's just been everyone's

(29:38):
working together and just, youknow, following, following this
dream and trying, trying tofigure it out as we go, and I
just want to back up a littlebit, like just to be a little
realistic too.
Want to back up a little bit,like just to be a little
realistic too.
Part of the reason that I leftnursing as well is because
motherhood, entrepreneurship,working another job, like you

(29:58):
can't do it all and at somepoint, like the dam just breaks
right and it's like, okay, Ican't physically do all of this
anymore either.
So just being realistic aboutthe amount of work that goes
with all of that too.
So these super moms who can doit all I was apparently not one
of those super moms who can workthree jobs at one time, so, but

(30:18):
now I can solely focus on thefarm, which is what I wanted
anyway.

Speaker 1 (30:24):
Okay, so we obviously have alluded to what it is that
you're doing in business, butlet's really give the full-on
paint, the picture of what's thename of your business.
How are you serving peoplethrough this?
You've talked a little bitabout it, but let's dive full-on
head into it.

Speaker 2 (30:44):
Yeah, so we own Nature's Pantry Farm and we are
down by Lafayette, which I don'tknow if you've heard of New Ulm
.
We're about 15 miles from NewUlm, so about an hour and a half
from you guys up in the TwinCities, and we serve about 250
families right now.
So I like to consider myselfthe grocery store for about 250
families of pastured.

(31:05):
We do grass fed beef, pasturedpork, pastured eggs, um, and raw
milk, so meat, milk and eggskind of the staples of of your
diet.
Uh, we do all of that, it's allyou know.
Uh, our beef cows are they onlyeat grass Um, we have non-GMO,

(31:25):
um, pigs are outside.
You know, it's just like whatwe think how animals should be
raised no hormones, no chemicals, no vaccines, no, any of that
stuff.
So let's, yeah, that's what.

Speaker 1 (31:40):
I would love for you to talk the listeners through
the difference and why that isimportant versus what the
reality is of the products fromfrom where they're sourced to
the grocery shelf.
Let's talk about that becausefor me, I've got some idea of it

(32:03):
, but I still think thatselfishly.
I want to be educated on it aswell.

Speaker 2 (32:12):
So I think the big thing with the grocery store is
companies are very smart andmarketing and they have figured
out if they can slap a prettylabel on something and make it
look really good, they canentice you to buy that product,

(32:34):
and there's a lot of.
I think it's pretty lax I don'tknow if it's gotten any better
about like grass fed labelingand you know, like in terms of
eggs, I know like the chickensjust have to have the door open
for like 30 minutes a day orsomething and then they can be
considered free range orsomething like that.
Like it's very there's not alot of regulation around any of
that.
So in my opinion, if you wantto know what you're eating, it's

(32:59):
best to just know your farmerand know exactly how they're
raising your food and thosesorts of things.
I won't bore you with like thehealth part of it, but in my
opinion the research I did wasshowing that grass fed beef is
healthier compared to like grainfed beef.
Just for like omega six fattyacid ratios in grain fed beef

(33:22):
compared to grass fed, which isthe omega three fatty acids.
Omega sixes cause inflammation.
Omega threes, you know, kind oflevel all of that out and help
with healing.
And then you get into likeconjugated linoleic acid found
in grass-fed products, which canhelp with like cancer
prevention and there's all sortsof health benefits to that, and

(33:45):
beta carotene, like there'sjust a lot more in your
pasture-based products and allof that comes through in
nutrition in the food thatyou're eating.
So we used to farm likeeverybody else, just did corn
and beans and all that and neverquestioned any of this.
But it's like once you realizethat I mean, when you know

(34:06):
better, you do better.
That's kind of like my sayingright.
And so now we've transitionedour whole entire farm to pasture
and we're just raising theanimals this way.
You know animals deserve to beoutside, they deserve to have
fresh air and sunshine, andhealthier animals, in my opinion

(34:27):
, makes healthier meats and yeah.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
Oh, I love it.
Okay, so thank you for sharingthat.
I, if you don't mind, I thinkyou might have delved into it.
I know you mentioned that youdon't want to bore us with the
health details, but I think thatthere's so many women who
listen to this podcast that, yes, they, they want to have some
semblance of understanding ofhow other women are operating,

(34:58):
harmonizing their businesses andstuff, but they also want to
understand, like, what doeshealth really mean for me, for
my children?
So, let's, I do think that Iwant to dive a little bit more
into that, if you're open to it,and how, in making this
transition with the farm to whatit is now, the benefits that

(35:22):
you personally are seeing andwhy families are choosing your
farm over other farms.

Speaker 2 (35:30):
Well, why I think families are choosing our farm.
Like there aren't many farmslike ours, at least in my area.
I mean, we're pretty muchsurrounded by conventional farms
.
So we definitely are, I wouldsay, the oddball out in the
neighborhood, which is fine.
Someone's got to be that person, right?
Um, of course you can buypasture to meats and things like

(35:53):
that from there's a lot of bigcompanies that will ship
nationwide and those sorts ofthings.
But who really knows where thatneed is coming from?
You know, this is like.
I have farm tours every year.
I bring my customers to my farmlike these are the cows that
you are eating, these are thepigs you know.
Like this is is how we operateand we want people to see that
and we want transparency.

(36:13):
So I think that is a big partof why people are choosing our
farm is they want transparency.
Moms are sick of, you know, notbeing able to trust the food
that they're buying and you canspend a ton of money on food
that's not even actually likegood food at the grocery store
because you're falling for that,that label on that product or

(36:35):
whatever.
So, um, trust is the number onething.
Our customers tell me they wantto trust and they believe that
their kids deserve, which theydo, the best food that they can
provide them.
Um, what was the I'm?
What was the other questionthat you had asked in?
In part of that, there was afew of them in there.

Speaker 1 (36:54):
Yeah, sorry, I was just I'm.
I think for me, sarah, andwhere I was going with this is
like the listeners also want tohave an understanding of like
health, how it's impacted youLike, okay.
So, when you decided that thefarm was making this transition,

(37:14):
what it was before, right, thethe um, how did you put it?
The conventional?
Conventional versusregenerative, is that right?
Yep, yep.
What were the health benefitsthat you started to see?
I think that you actually hadpointed out a few, like when a

(37:36):
child started drinking your rawmilk.
Some of their health symptomsstarted to go away.
Eczema was completelydiminished, which, like I'm, a
eczema survivor myself.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
So my sister was as well.
She had eczema, like intoadulthood and like there's a few
things that will flare it upthat she has figured out, but
since starting changing her dietI mean, it all comes down to
diet.
So, in terms of like healthbenefits, like number one, just
getting rid of all the chemicalson our food, like that in

(38:13):
itself, you know, just reducingtoxin exposure is huge for
overall health.
My youngest two childrengranted, I made some different
choices with my oldest than Idid my youngest, but my youngest
two kids have never even had anear infection, like so, overall
, I just think, like we're notat the doctor, we don't ever go
to the doctor, like some kids.

(38:34):
It's just the chronic yeah,yeah, yeah yeah, train in and
out of the doctor and onantibiotics, and like we don't
have that, thankfully, you know.
So, um, yes, I've had customerstell me that they can't eat
meat from the grocery storebecause they feel awful when
they eat it.

(38:55):
But they can eat our meat, theyfeel great when they eat it and
things like that.
So there's just, yeah, sothere's, I just think, like I
said, overall, just reducingyour toxin exposure overall just
reducing your toxin exposure.

(39:15):
This world that we live in isfull of toxins, and why not fuel
it with?

Speaker 1 (39:19):
things that are good for you, right?
I will ask you the nextquestion here in just a second,
but I want to share a fun storywith you and I just want to
double check are you okay ontime?
Okay?

Speaker 2 (39:31):
perfect, I totally had to pick eggs at 1 45.

Speaker 1 (39:33):
Okay, gotcha, I did hear that and I was like oh gosh
, I don't know if I'm going tobe able to do all of this in 45
minutes.
Okay, I know I can delegate.
It's kind of nice.
Yeah, I love it.
I love it.
So the story that I want toshare with you, sarah, the first
time that we ever went to goand visit your brother, alex and
Jess, at their home, um, mydaughter, I think that she was

(39:57):
she was about a year and somechange old and so we were still
feeding her like she neededbottles primarily.
She was not quite to the pointof like eating super solid foods
and just I was like, shoot, Idid not bring milk, like it's

(40:21):
okay, I've got raw milk, and Iwas like I, okay, sounds good,
and I'm assuming it was fromyour farm, it was she had
mentioned like all of that stuffcomes from your guys' farm.
Sarah, when I say, maddie, mydaughter gulped that raw milk
down, she gulped it down andthen she had another bottle, and

(40:45):
then she had another bottle andjust just kept like feeding her
this raw milk.
Like you would have thoughtthat she was in a candy store
with that.
And I tried it for the firsttime myself and for all of you
women who are listening rightnow.
Like seriously, I thought, oh mygod, this is gonna be so gross.

(41:05):
Raw milk.
No way.
Like forget, I didn't even.
I hadn't even at that point inin where we were, at like I
hadn't heard anything about thislike thing about raw milk and
how it's not good for you.
Like I was like I don't know ifI really want to try it, just
because of like no right.
Well, here's the deal.

(41:25):
I don't know what the processof like fortifying milk looks
like in the deep if that's eventhe right word, sarah but like
I'm here to tell you, I'm herefor raw milk.

Speaker 2 (41:40):
I'm here for it.
It is.
I was the same way as you were.
I did not grow up drinking rawmilk, we had like a dairy.
So we, like you, just didn't doit.
When my dad said he wanted tostart drinking raw milk, this
would have been probably 14years ago.
My sister is also a nurse andwe looked at each other and

(42:01):
we're like we need to check thisman into a mental institute,
like he's officially lost hismarbles.
Like you, don't drink raw milk.
It's so dangerous and it can'teven taste good, right, and and
here we are, like it is, yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:17):
So what, what like?
This is where this was not theinitial, like next, question
that I was going to ask you.
But what is it about, like rawmilk, that marketing wise we
were fed Is it?
Does it have something to dowith the marketing or was it
just like conventional, Likethat's how they they sold to us,

(42:39):
as, as people like you, have tohave all this stuff in it in
order for it to be safe.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
So here's what happened during the great
depression.
So let me back up.
People drink raw milk for likecenturies, you know, prior and
then the Great Depression.
Exactly, you had to, you didn'thave a choice, yeah, and now we
at least have refrigeration,thank God, right, but anyway.
So during the Great Depression,times were tough for everybody,

(43:07):
including farmers, and liketheir cows were, they didn't
have enough money or feed orwhatever it was to feed them
properly Like they should be fed, so they were feeding them like
leftovers from graindistilleries.
Anyway, that's not what a cowis supposed to eat.
She is intended to eat grass.
She has four stomachs.

(43:27):
God designed her to eat grassand that's what she needs to eat
to be healthy and to producehealthy milk and meat for you,
right?
So the milk was of such lowquality back then that it was
actually purple in color andthey were adding chalk to it to
make it white.
So at that time they alsodidn't understand like,
cleanliness, you can't have pooin your milk bucket.

(43:49):
You know they didn't haverefrigeration, their cows were
not healthy.
So people, kids, were gettingsick and were dying.
So then they figured out hey,if we boil this milk, pasteurize
it, kill the bacteria that'scausing kids to get sick and die
.
We can save lives, and so itwas absolutely necessary and
needed at that time and itworked.

(44:12):
But now fast forward to todayand you have your big dairy
industry.
Right, who kind of controls thefood, part of it or whatever?
Now all milk is pasteurizedbecause they say it's safer.
Say it's safer, but in myopinion, when it's produced the
right way, like raw milk, grassfed, 100% grass fed raw milk is

(44:43):
like a superfood and it's likenature's perfect food for your
body and nutrition.
But anyway, so the big dairylobby is continuing to push for
pasteurized milk because it'sagain follow the money.
What does it all go back to?
Um, that way?
So, yes, people get sick fromraw milk, but yes, people get
sick from lettuce at the grocerystore and cantaloupe and like

(45:04):
you know, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (45:05):
So, yeah, but if you're like my, my mind starts
doing this like but if you are,if your farmer is doing it the
right way, there's sanitation orsanitizing that's happening,
sanitation all around, and therearen't the chemicals that the

(45:26):
cow or the pig or the chickenare eating, then you should be
able to override a lot of whatthe sickness is that happens
down the line and it's not likea for sure thing.
But at the same time, if thosepractices are in place, how

(45:49):
could it not be like?
We have to, we have to go backand have some common sense is
what I'm really trying to get atLike.
The common sense is like howdid people survive before?

Speaker 2 (46:02):
So here's the other thing, a couple of different
thoughts here.
So, yes, you are absolutelycorrect.
Like I milk eight cows, thesebig dairies that are producing
your milk in the grocery store,they're thousand plus cows,
right?
Like it is not safe to drinkraw milk from a big dairy.
Like that, there's absolutelyno way.
Like I said, I milk eight cows,right so every single cow I

(46:27):
know exactly, I know everythingabout her, right?
We do monthly raw milk testing.
So I'm checking my bacteriacounts.
I run a standard plate countand a coliform count.
So those tell me overall, howis your cleanliness and are you
keeping up on sanitizing?
We know now that we need tochange, like the rubber

(46:47):
inflations in our milkingequipment every quarter based on
those counts that we're getting.
Our counts are impeccable.
Like my coliform count is lessthan one.
Do you know what less than oneis?
It's zero.
It's zero Like so, like that.
Like what we're doing isworking to produce safe milk.
I'm not saying that you knowsomething can't happen or

(47:10):
whatever, but it goes back toknowing your farmer and being
able to trust your farmer andthat's why people are choosing.
I think that's why there's sucha push towards that.
If you can't find a farmer,then raise it yourself If you
have the the means.
Not with just milk and meat,but, you know, like gardening
and things like that, people aregetting back to knowing what's

(47:32):
actually in their food.

Speaker 1 (47:34):
Yes, yes, well, and it all goes back to also what we
were talking about initially,which is like We've had enough
stuff happen now with eitherourselves as mothers, our
husbands, our parents, ourgrandparents and now our own

(47:54):
children.
We've had enough stuff start tolike continuously happen that
there's no wonder, that thedoubt is there and that we're
not trusting.
And so to go back to like theroots of what, the roots and the
foundations of what true eatinglooks like, without all the
nonsense within it, and to Caseymeans point in the book good

(48:18):
energy, like that's how we getour good energy, that's how we
get our our like.
Sustainability is to have goodfood, good stuff to drink from
cows that are living on apasture.
That is impeccable, right, yeah, so I love it.

(48:40):
What?
Um, I'm going to do a littlebit of a one 80 for our
conversation.
Um, I love everything thatwe've talked about so far and
I'm kind of like how can Iconvince my husband to get stuff
from?

Speaker 2 (48:54):
Sarah's farm.
It's always the husbands thatneed to be convinced every
single time if you're not alone,it's always there.

Speaker 1 (49:03):
Here's the deal.
He was there, he saw like hehad, he tried it, he tried it,
he tried the raw milk, he triedthe, and we've had the
hamburgers too, like they servedus hamburgers and it was like
these are really good, these arereally good.

Speaker 2 (49:18):
So, unfortunately, most families come to me after
there's been an issue like ahealth issue, like, and then the
moms start to research, youknow, like alternative things or
whatever, and then they go downthe rabbit hole with food and
then it's like oh my gosh,where's my farmer?
Like that's, sadly, that's howmost people kind of end up at my

(49:42):
farm.
It's a health issue of somesort, A lot of autoimmune issues
, cancers, those sorts of things, so and then they just learned
to prioritize their food, whichwe're here for it.

Speaker 1 (49:56):
Do you travel to Edina?
I do, okay, so maybe we'll get.
We'll get on the convincingtrain, but this is about you,
sarah.
So one of the questions that Ialways love to ask is like, what
has self-care really lookedlike for you in all of this?
And then I've got a businessquestion for you after that.

Speaker 2 (50:20):
I will say I am like the worst at self-care.
Like as mothers, we just give,give, give.
So and I'll be honest, likethere's a little piece of me
that if there's any downtimeit's like, okay, well, what can
I be doing, or what can I becleaning, or what can you know?
Like it's that constant.
I struggle, yeah, yeah, and Idon't know.

(50:44):
I know a lot of that is mindset, but I think it's just the
season of life.
You know, like you said, itjust takes grit to run a
business.
It takes grit to be a motherand there's not enough hours in
the day.
I have learned, unfortunately,but self-care for me is going to
bed early every night.

(51:05):
I mean, we start our day at 4am every morning.
I often have three hours ofwork in before people are even
getting out of bed in themorning.
So making sure I sleep everynight like a full night's sleep
I get made fun of all the timeby Jess.

Speaker 1 (51:22):
Jess is like up late, up early, and I don't know how
she does it sometimes, but youknow, again, it's we do it
because we need to and we havebusinesses that we want to see
thrive, because it feels apassion within us as women.
But we also want to see this.

(51:42):
You know, we want to see ourchildren succeed too, and so
there is this tug and pull thathappens.
But I love that your self-careis really simple, because you
understand that in order likeone for you, getting a good
night's rest is highly important, because then that fuels what
the business looks like.
Yes, absolutely, which thensupports the family and then

(52:07):
also supports other families too.

Speaker 2 (52:10):
Correct.
Yeah, and this has been a toughseason.
We've remodeled our house,completely, gutted it.
So since October we've had morework than we need at the moment
, but I'm really hoping nextfall, when the kids go back to
school, self-care is a thingagain, so that would be a
beautiful home.

Speaker 1 (52:31):
Yeah, If you're going to wave your magic wand.
What would ideal self-care looklike for you?

Speaker 2 (52:37):
Ideal self-care for me would look like um finishing
my chores in the morning, umgetting up, having a cup of
coffee, sitting down and readingmy Bible, um my daily devotion,
um taking a walk outside eventhough I walk plenty outside,
but just like but just like justfor myself, right, you know?

(53:00):
like not having to work, nothaving to worry about anything,
just to walk, listen to apodcast, taking a nap on the
couch for 15 minutes I'm asnapper, so just a short nap and
then nap on the couch for 15minutes.
I'm a snapper, so just a shortnap and then doing some food
prep, so supper goes a littlebit smoother every day, and then
, yeah, I don't eat a lot, youknow just a little bit of

(53:28):
downtime.

Speaker 1 (53:28):
Well, I was going to say here's here's something I
want the listeners to go back to, because I caught it and it's
it's something important tounderstand about
entrepreneurship and motherhood.
We have seasons that we gothrough, and to honor those
seasons and Sarah's kind ofalluding to a season of life

(53:49):
that she's in right now, that is, things are constant, there's
constant renovation.
That that is, things areconstant.
There's constant renovationthat's going on within the house
.
There's constant needs thatneed to be tended to within the
business, on the farm, andthere's our children too, and
that's highly, highly importantas well.
And so sometimes there arethese seasons of life that we

(54:11):
have to go through asmompreneurs where perhaps, like,
the self care is just a littlebit.
And if it's as simple as goingto bed early so that you can
wake up early, sarah'scircumstance is a little bit
different, right, right, sarah,like you're waking up at four
o'clock in the morning becauseyou have a farm to tend to.

(54:33):
But there are listeners thatare are a part of the 4 am 5 am
club, where they're up becausethat's their time, that's their
self-care time.
For me, that's it.
Like five o'clock, 530.
That's my self-care time?
Yep, absolutely.
And so, you know, like, justremember that there are these

(54:54):
seasons of life that you aregoing to be going through and
whatever your guiding principleis, be it, god, the universe,
yourself, like, understand, asyou lean into that, that you're
going to be able to get throughit.
And on the other side of it isthese opportunities where you

(55:15):
can, you know, wave the magicwand and have the ideal form of
self-care.
I mean, I seriously remember,sarah, there was this like small
window of time where thatself-care for me was perfect,
like I was up at five o'clock inthe morning and I was doing my

(55:36):
workout, and I was in the Bible,and I would, you know, just
have a little bit of downtimeand be able to meditate, and
then I would wake Maddie up andshe would have her bottle or she
would be nursed.
You know, like it was soperfect, but it was a very short
window.
She would be nursed.
You know, like it was soperfect, but it was a very short

(55:56):
window.
And so, and then here we are,you know, and so there's just
this ebb and flow andmalleability that has to come
with being an entrepreneur whilealso raising kids.
Yeah, yeah, you're absolutelyright.
So the business question that Iwas going to ask you is you
alluded to serving two to 250,some families, correct?

(56:20):
At what point do you have toscale like what does that?
Like?
I think I actually was talkingto Jess about this.
I'm like what is that going tolook like for Sarah?
And I think that she was like Ithink I actually was talking to
Jess about this.
I'm like what is that gonnalook like for Sarah?
And I think that she was like Ithink she's getting to this
point, but like yeah, what isthat gonna look like so that you
, you honor, like how you wantthe farm to truly look, so that

(56:47):
you can serve the familiesexactly the way that you have
been right?

Speaker 2 (56:52):
Yeah, so we are there now, I feel like we are.
I can add nothing else to myplate at this point, so like I
am tapped out for what I canproduce with myself and my
husband and my dad helping whathe does.
So, unless we would hireemployees, I did hire my first

(57:12):
delivery driver, which isexciting, like freeze up one of
my Wednesdays.
It's like so, like baby steps,right, yeah, but in terms like I
don't know, I don't know thewhole like managing employees
and all that and how that wouldlook like business isn't my

(57:33):
thing.
So that's, that is my, mydownfall of of running a
business.
I think demand is definitelythere, right, but yeah, I don't
know.
It's my struggle.
Maybe you can help me.

Speaker 1 (57:52):
I actually I'm giggling because I, like, I
think that there's for each oneof us, respectively as
mompreneurs, there's an areawhere we totally kill it right,
like we just thrive in that area.
And then there's other areaswhere it's perhaps an area of
opportunity.

(58:13):
And this is the reality ofoperating a business right, like
, like you said and I can'tquite remember if it was when we
were off air or if it was onair but, like you, you know how
to run the farm right, like youknow all of what it takes to run

(58:34):
and operate a farm.
But then there's the marketingof it, there's getting the
exposure out there and themarketing that goes behind that.
There is the, the pnl, thebusiness operations of it as
well.
And so I think that what I wantto talk about just a little bit
here, sarah, is like how haveyou leaned?

(58:57):
First question how have youleaned into learning more about
it?
And two, seeing that this is anarea of opportunity, what does
it look like?
Leaning into other resources tohelp support you in the areas
where you're like?
This is not my area ofexpertise.

Speaker 2 (59:17):
So, like I said, I learned still learning marketing
.
It's like an ongoing thing,right, Like email marketing and
selling products and things likethat.
So that's something I'veundertaken.
And then it's, you know,running social media, and then
it's cashflow and all of thosesorts of things and honestly,

(59:39):
it's just kind of learning bydoing it, having to get your
taxes together for the end ofthe year.
Well, you get really good atQuickBooks, right, and like
those sorts of things, like notnecessarily things I love having
to do, but you just kind ofhave to figure it out.
I learned how to build awebsite.
I never thought I would dosomething like that.

(59:59):
So it's like being tech supportand all of that, but you know,
I would.
In terms of, like otherresources, I think it's been
really on my heart, like if Godwould put someone in our lives
or whatever that might be, andthat would be his plan and the
next step for our business.

(01:00:19):
So I'm certainly open to thoseconversations, but Sure, sure.

Speaker 1 (01:00:25):
The reason I wanted to go down this avenue, sarah,
is because, like like I alludedto there, these are the
realities of operating abusiness, right, like sometimes
you are just going to have tolean in, either figuring it out
on your own or utilizingresources like QuickBooks, which
can be absolutely incredibleand being like that quick go-to

(01:00:50):
right, quick books, butunderstanding that you have two
opportunities either you willlearn and do, or you don't learn
and you die.
And that's a little hyperbolic,right, but that's the truth.

(01:01:10):
That is the truth, and I thinkwhat's cool, sarah, is that you,
you have kind of given usinsight into like well, I just
figured it out.
I.
I didn't know how the heck toto do some of the tax stuff, but
I I had.
I dove into QuickBooks and Idid it.
I didn't know how to build awebsite, but you know what, I
learned it and I did it.
I didn't know how to build awebsite, but you know what I

(01:01:32):
learned it and I did it.
We've got a website that's upand running.
I've been on the website, so Iknow there's proof of the
pudding there.
So, oh yeah.
So I'm glad that I asked thatquestion Because I think that
that was important for thelisteners to really hear.
Um, one of the things that Iwould love insight on is has

(01:01:57):
there been a moment where I liketo talk about like the peaks
and the valleys?
Right, and so I'm sure youexperience on a daily basis high
highs, low lows.
It says high highs, low lows,but if you were to like, look
back and it doesn't necessarilyhave to be when the rubber met

(01:02:17):
the road for you takingeverything full on with the farm
but like, was there ever amoment where, after having your
children, you had a true valleymoment, and are you willing to
share that with the listenersand how you worked through that?

Speaker 2 (01:02:38):
You mean, like, in terms of motherhood and all of
this?
Mm-hmm, honestly, I don't thinkI have had that moment.
There's been plenty of valleyswith the farm, um, events that
have happened, you know, but notwith motherhood.

(01:02:58):
I truly feel blessed to be ableto raise my children this way.
Um, we have a beautiful farm.
They are free to run and learnand explore and I can nourish
them with what we are doing.
It's a lot of work, I mean thedaily grind, but overall it's
been more of a blessing than ithas been Incredible.

(01:03:21):
So no, I have not experiencedthat.

Speaker 1 (01:03:27):
You're one of the lucky few.
I have not experienced that.
You're one of the lucky few,the blessed few, where you know
day-to-day rhythms and routines.
It seems as if you've, you'vegot, you've got your work cut
out for you.
No doubt about it, right?
But I think that when you makea decision and a conscious

(01:03:48):
decision of like this is how Iwant to raise my children and
your spouse's incongruence withit and full support of that as
well, and you can go hand inhand and how you approach that
parenting your children, butthen also how how things are
supported in the household andthen with the business as well,

(01:04:11):
it's incredible, right, it's.
The congruence is so incredible.

Speaker 2 (01:04:17):
And, honestly, as crazy as the world seems these
days, like I could not be moregrateful that I we live where we
live, when we are kind of likeisolated out here and just let's
just focus on us.
You guys, like I cannot controlthe world around me right, like
I can influence my family wecan sit down together for supper

(01:04:38):
and have a meal that was fullygrown on our farm and it's like
it truly is like a blessing.
Even through all of the busyand the you know how chaotic
things can be we do sit downtogether every night for supper.
Like it's, it's like anon-negotiable for us.

Speaker 1 (01:04:56):
So I love it, I love it, I, I can.
I can say that probably about95 percent of the time that is
what it looks like in the Kirkfamily too, that we are very,
very conscious and aware ofmaking that a reality as much as
humanly possible now entersports and activities and

(01:05:20):
recitals and stuff.
It can throw things for alittle bit of a loop, but we
always try to ensure that atleast a majority of the week
that that is the case, thatwe're sitting down no phones in
hand, that we're away from thetechnology piece of it and we're
here as a family unit together.
Can't even stress how importantthat is for us as our, as our

(01:05:45):
family lives and breathes.
That is so important for us andI love that you hit the nail on
the head like let's be here asa family.
Yep, it's so important.
I am going through adiscipleship.
I've been doing thisdiscipleship for gosh the better
half of a year and one of thethings that we've talked about

(01:06:10):
is like how are you finding joyand things and what's the
lineage of what that looks like?
And I've really tried to keepin mind, like if I am seeking
what I need from God first, andthen from my spouse, and then
from my kiddos, and then from mykiddos, and then from my
extended family, and then frommy community, like that should

(01:06:33):
always be what it looks like,and that's just my personal
guidepost, right?
But that is where joy should besought from and everything else
just sort of needs to go likethis, like our family unit is so
important.
Yeah, yep, absolutely, we'regoing to start to land the plane

(01:06:56):
, sarah, as I like to call it,we'll have a soft landing, I
promise.
I do want to just take a stepto like.
You had mentioned that therehave been some dark moments with
the business.
Are you willing and open tosharing that, because I want the
listeners to understand it'snot all rainbows and butterflies

(01:07:18):
, oh goodness.

Speaker 2 (01:07:19):
No, I mean.
No, it's not.
You know, the highs are highand the lows are low.
One particular instance I canthink of we had.
So we've been selling raw milkfor like over a decade now,
right, and then it's alwayssuper hard to like have just the

(01:07:41):
right amount of milk to meetyour orders and not enough
leftover that you've got allthis extra milk and then you dry
cows off.
They get like a lactation leave, I like to call it, before
their next baby comes.
So you've got high points ofmilk and low points of milk and
we were at our lowest point ofmilk because we had so many dry
cows, so we ended up buyinganother one from a farm.

(01:08:03):
She had never had a baby, sothis was her first baby.
And I am cutting my customers'orders left and right, refunding
money, like it's really hard torun a business when you don't
have income coming in right, andthen customers aren't getting
the milk that they want either.
So she was due to calve andwhat ended up happening is she

(01:08:25):
had a prolapsed vagina so herinsides were coming out of her
before the baby was going tocome out of her.
So we ended up calling the vetto come out here.
We never have the vet out hereever, like we just, like I said,
we don't vaccinate and we don'tdo the medications and all the
things for animals, so we don'thave a vet that we work with.
So she ended up putting thiscow down, delivering the baby

(01:08:52):
c-section, you know, euthanizingthe cow, and then I'm left with
this dead cow, no milk, and Ihave like no plan for my farm.
I just like walked away bawlinglike from this cow being put
down and the vet was here and Iwas just like it was like a very
, very low point.
Um, and this cause you try todo everything right and it

(01:09:16):
doesn't always.
That wasn't God's plan for forus at that time.
So, anyway, we've recovered andgotten our milk back where we
need to be and all as well.
But there's always, you know,you get, we'll get a pig, like
once a year it'll break its legor somehow, you know whatever,
and you got to put the animalsdown.
It's like they're suffering andthey're not going to get better
and like those are, I think,the lowest points, um, and also,

(01:09:41):
you know, bringing animals tothe butcher.
I am an animal lover, like I,just I love them and but I also
understand that we are here toserve and to nourish families
and but it's sometimes hardknowing I am that one making
that decision to like end thatanimal's life.
Yeah, god put them here for usto utilize in that way and we

(01:10:05):
are honoring and respecting themthrough this process of raising
them here and they're helpingus heal our land and, you know,
restore balance back to our soiland to our, our fields and
things like that.
So they have a purpose.
But that is, that's always hardwhen we start our butchering
season, knowing what they're fortheir ultimate purpose, but

(01:10:27):
it's you were in my head, sarah,I literally was gonna ask you.

Speaker 1 (01:10:32):
Initially I was thinking like how, how are the
kids during that process likethey get attached, but it sounds
like it's you I would.
Oh my gosh, I, yeah, I feel foryou, like I can feel that
energy, even through zoom, ofthe emotion that is evoked when

(01:10:57):
that decision has to be made.
And gosh, I mean, that's everysingle year, right.
Like it has to be multipletimes a year, right?

Speaker 2 (01:11:05):
Yes, we make multiple trips to the butcher every year
with a load of animals, so, butthe beautiful side of that is
this most beautiful healthy meatthat this, you know, families
will, will eat off of for a yearand like it'll sustain us and
it's just it.
It truly is, and that's why wegive them the best life that we
can.
Like they are here, they are intheir element, they are outside

(01:11:29):
, they are healthy, they arehappy.
I can promise you that, um, Iwould say it's a great life,
with just one bad day, like andthey don't even know.
You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:11:39):
Yeah, yeah, oh, my gosh.
I'm starting to get a littleteary-eyed like thinking about
it, because gosh but that's thereality.

Speaker 2 (01:11:49):
I mean the meat at the grocery store.
It doesn't just magicallycommon styrofoam wrapped in
plastic that is.
That is.

Speaker 1 (01:11:57):
That is God's purpose for these animals, yeah yeah, I
feel like you're convincingyourself by saying that, like
this is God's purpose for theseanimals.
It is, yep, I know I'm with you, sarah, I'm totally with you,
okay, so you said it before.
I want you you sort of alludedto it, but I want you to speak

(01:12:18):
it out loud into the universe.
What would be a good connectionfor you, what would be a good
need for you?

Speaker 2 (01:12:25):
you said before you gotta speak it to speak it
Someone to help me run like thebusiness side of this, to scale,
to grow, to be able to servemore families Like cause, I am
tapped out at what I can provideright now and, like I said, the
demand is there.
I have a waiting list.

(01:12:46):
I think I have almost 200families who are wanting raw
milk right now and it's like Icannot serve them because I am
not.
I am one person Right, right.
So scale would be my dream andto have like a resource to help
make that happen, like abusiness coach, right yes, yep,

(01:13:07):
love it.

Speaker 1 (01:13:08):
You just spoke it out into the universe.
Watch it.
Watch, god deliver.

Speaker 2 (01:13:14):
Watch.
My phone ding right, no Watch.

Speaker 1 (01:13:18):
God deliver, All right.
I would love to hear, Sarah,what is, what's a piece of
advice that you would give ayounger version of yourself
knowing all that you know now?
Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 2 (01:13:41):
Oh, man, I think I would tell myself you are
capable more than you know.
You know like, and you can dohard things like.
You can do them and just stickwith it like the end it's going
to be worth it.
You know just, and follow yourheart.

(01:14:02):
I mean, don't follow your heartin what you're being called to
do and don't wait.
You know, I waited years andyears to to fully do this.
Um, don't be scared and, yeah,follow your heart.
It'll lead you where you needto be so good.

Speaker 1 (01:14:22):
Sarah, would your advice that you gave a younger
version of yourself be the sameadvice you would give a woman
listening right now who isteetering on the edge of
entrepreneurship?

Speaker 2 (01:14:38):
Yes, yes, I think God planted that seed in your heart
for a reason, and I would tellyou that it's not going to be
easy, but but you can do hardthings, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:14:54):
So good.
I love the iteration of it too.
So good you can.
Yep, how can, how can that thatfuture business coach find and
get connected to you, Sarah?
And how can our listeners findand get connected to you, Sarah?
And how can our listeners findand get connected to you also?

Speaker 2 (01:15:14):
So we are on.
Instagram is where I post themost at nature's pantry farm on
Instagram, and I really I lovethat because I can be as
transparent as I can about whatwe're doing here.
It's like people want to knowthe story of their food and what
a gift that we have this accessto free social media, right

(01:15:35):
Like I can just pop a video onmy phone.
Here's your cows being movedtoday, so that is a great way to
connect and like watch whatwe're doing.
I share the hard things as wellas the good things, because I
don't like to paint a picturethat it's all ponies and
rainbows, like you said, becauseit's not Um.
And then we have a website.
It's naturespantry-farmcom andall of the information is on

(01:15:58):
there.
Um, you know address and cellphone.
If you need to get ahold of meor anything like that, it's all
on there.
So one of the best ways.

Speaker 1 (01:16:09):
We'll be sure to drop all of that information into
the show notes for our listenersso that they can get connected
to you.
Hopefully, for those of you whoare listening, if you desire the
raw milk that we were speakingto, that Sarah, if you have
somebody that Sarah should getconnected to, do not hesitate to

(01:16:29):
reach out to her, because thatis how, indeed, you can have the
raw milk delivered to you atsome point or another is if we
can get Sarah to a point whereher business can scale, and so I
love that.
Like what a wonderful problemto have you know what I mean.
But it's an eventuality, sarah,to have you know what I mean.

(01:16:50):
But it's an eventuality, sarah.
It's just in God's timing, andI can't wait for the moment
where it does happen.
It becomes a true reality foryou and for the farm and for the
business in general.
So what an honor to have you on.
I feel like we could talk forhours seriously and we just
skimmed the surface.
But to honor and respect yourtime, we'll end it here and I

(01:17:11):
hope that you have an absolutelyincredible day and I'm sure
that I will be seeing more ofyou here at some point.

Speaker 2 (01:17:17):
Thank you, kelly, it was great chatting with you.
Have a good day you too.
Bye-bye.

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Ep. 61 with Sarah Fisher | Owner of Nature's Pantry

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ep. 61 with Sarah Fisher | Owner of Nature's Pantry