One of My Favorite Parts of This Farm

When people think about Tyner Pond Farm, they usually think about cattle moving across pasture. Or chickens rotated daily. Or boxes of beef being packed for delivery.

But one of my favorite parts of this farm has nothing to do with livestock.

It’s the people.

Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to work with young men and women who believe in what we are doing. They care about soil. They care about real food. They care about building something that isn’t dependent on a distant corporation.

That matters to me more than I expected when we started.

We Encourage People to Build

I don’t want Tyner Pond Farm to be a place where someone simply works for a paycheck.

If someone sees an opportunity to build something of their own using what the farm produces, we encourage it.

That might sound unusual. Most businesses try to keep everything under one brand. We take a different approach.

If someone can create value from what we raise — and do it responsibly — I want them to try.

Because a resilient local economy isn’t built by one business. It’s built by many small ones.

Laura: Turning Ingredients Into Something Useful

Laura saw opportunity where others might have seen leftovers.

We have bones from pasture-raised chickens. We render fat from properly raised pigs. Those are traditional foods that have almost disappeared from modern kitchens.

Instead of letting them sit as byproducts, she turned them into finished products:

• Chicken stock made from our birds

• Carefully rendered lard

She built that. It’s her work. And it exists because she believed traditional foods still matter.

I’m proud of that.

Kristen: Beef Tallow Skin Care

Now we’re seeing it again.

Kristen looked at our 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef tallow and saw something beyond cooking fat.

For generations, tallow was used for skin care. Long before shelves were filled with synthetic creams, people used what they had — clean animal fats from healthy animals.

Instead of ordering base ingredients from a lab supplier, she started with what we already raise.

She now makes small-batch beef tallow moisturizer from our own cattle.

It’s simple. It’s made carefully. And it’s hers.

That’s the part I care about.

This Is Part of Regeneration

When I talk about regenerative agriculture, I’m not only talking about grazing practices or soil biology.

Regeneration also means rebuilding skills.

It means young people learning how to make things again.

It means ownership.

Large systems centralize production. They remove initiative. They flatten out local enterprise.

I believe farms should do the opposite.

If this place only produced meat, it would still be worthwhile.

But if it helps young people build something of their own — even something small — that may be the most important outcome of all.

Why This Matters to Me

I’ve spent much of my life building businesses.

What I’ve learned is this: people grow when they are trusted with responsibility.

On this farm, I don’t want people waiting for permission. I want them looking for opportunity.

Laura did that.

Kristen is doing that.

And I hope more will.

Because if we are serious about strengthening local food systems, we need more than better grazing. We need more builders.

That may be one of the most meaningful things happening here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the people at Tyner Pond Farm operate their own businesses?

Yes. When appropriate, we encourage individuals to develop products based on what the farm produces. We believe in distributed ownership and local enterprise.

Is the beef tallow skin care made from your cattle?

Yes. The tallow comes from 100% grass-fed and grass-finished cattle raised at Tyner Pond Farm.

Why encourage independent businesses instead of keeping everything under one brand?

Because local resilience comes from many small operators, not one centralized system. We believe in encouraging initiative.