Inspiring Conversations with Copia Farm of Copia Farm

Today we’d like to introduce you to Copia Farm.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We met in the spring of 2010 on Taranaki Farm in Australia. Caitlin was the Permaculture Curator at Los Angeles Botanical Garden, and Dan was doing non-profit restoration work in San Francisco.

So began our journey together to find out how to produce the best possible food.

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Not only did we go to the end of the earth to learn the techniques, we ended up teaching them. It all culminated in 2013 with the start of Copia Farm. A dream that we put into reality.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been a smooth road! When we told everyone in California that we were moving to Ohio 14 years ago to become farmers our family and friends looked at us like we were absolutely nuts. Who in the world would decide to become a farmer when they’re in their 30s and 40s? It’s gotta be one of the toughest, lowliest jobs. Why would a couple of educated city kids do such a thing?

We learned quickly that we had chosen a very tough road. We bought 150 chickens from never having held a chicken. Then 500… then 1,000, then 3,000! We tried rearing 500 chicks on our own to ready-to-lay egg layers. We took on 50 hogs when we started. Eventually we bought a herd of jersey cows to start a raw milk herdshare.

Our shared internal vision of producing the most real food drives us to the ends. It’s such a powerful motivator. All the risk, the effort, the artisanal daily doing over and over and over again to attain the vision…

It has all come with a lot of bittersweet blood, sweat, and tears as they say. All the difficulties have also been quite the rite of passage and definitely an adventure. I feel like I have been buffed like a shiny penny. We have become finely honed and full of grit. The goodness and purity comes through in what we produce. Through the years, the farm has taught us so much… and it’s still so hard! We haven’t had a vacation all these years later; we’re always going through the pains of growing.

We’re willing to hold the pain for the grand vision to unfold. It unfolds slowly, slowly every year. It’s a life worth living for our own path, to show our children being part of a common good, and the many lives we shape for the good, human, animal, microbial and beyond.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Copia Farm?
We have a honor system farm stand that’s a beautiful, under half hour, scenic drive from Columbus. My daily goal is to stock our store like it’s Christmas, for one and all who visit. We have over 700 products of the cleanest, most nutrient-dense foods. We’re stocked with 100% grass fed & finished beef, lamb, bison… mobile pasture-raised toxin-free eggs, duck eggs, pork and chicken. We have raw milk herdshares for cow and sheep milk and more. Plus too many to name delectibles from fresh, cleanly grown produce, ice cream, snacks, baking goods, drinks and more. Everything is to support a nutrient-dense diet that regenerates a healthy body, replenishes the land, and respects all life.

Pricing:

• $5.99/dozen eggs on SALE
• $80/8lbs 100% grass fed & finished beef bundles SALE
• $50 Raw Cow Milk Herdshare Signup SALE

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.copiafarmstore.com
• Instagram: copiafarm
• Facebook: copiafarm