Melissa and I got a glimpse into life at Bradley Family Farm on June 24. Brian and Dara raise chickens, pigs, ducks, alpacas, and other animals on their farm while still working full-time jobs elsewhere and participating in the Homegrown by Heroes program. They, and their grandson, walked us around the farm to see the free-range animals and explore the historic property.
*Bradley Family Farm participates in the Suffolk Farmers’ Market on select Saturdays. Please visit their page or the market’s social media to see when they’re coming. |
Tell me a fun fact about yourself or your business.
Some structures on the property date back to before 1830. In fact, one of our storage sheds is a remodeled 1800s log cabin. Did you design the logo for your farm? We hired an artist to create the logo. It was based off a photo of our grandson with the animals. How long have you been in business? We started raising animals four years ago. Describe an average day for you. Most things depend on our schedules – both of us work full-time. We feed the animals once a day and occasionally let them snack on peanuts or other produce. The chickens are let out in the morning and put themselves back in the coop to roost around sunset. Alpacas are sheared once a year in April at Benson Alpaca Meadows. We deliver orders around the 757 area from Windsor to the peninsula and all the way east to Virginia Beach, plus some parts of North Carolina. When did you decide to become a farmer? Dara kept bringing animals home, starting with the chickens. We have over 100 chickens now, not to forget the other animals on the farm. Through farming and selling eggs, the animals can pay for themselves. What is your favorite pork product? Bacon, hands-down. That goes for all of us. Do you have a favorite animal? Our favorite animal would have to be the alpacas. They’re Dara’s babies. What kinds of products do you have, by season? Are products available year-round? We offer a variety of hormone-free, pasture-raised pork products (bacon, kielbasa, sausage, hocks, links, pork lard, pig’s feet), sweet pickles (made on the farm by Dara), eggs, whole pecans, pears, and alpaca fiber dryer balls. Pork and eggs are available year-round. Do you process the animals by yourself on the farm or send them elsewhere? If so, where? Our pigs are processed at Acre Stations in North Carolina. Where are your products sold? How frequently do you deliver? We sell our products on our website bradley.farm. Products are delivered within one week of ordering or are available to picked up on the farm. We participate in several farmers’ markets in Suffolk depending on our availability: Thursdays 3:30-6:30pm at the (new!) market at the Embroidery & Print House on Bennett’s Pasture Rd, and two to three Saturdays a month at the Suffolk Farmers Market* from 9-1. *Visit the Suffolk Farmers’ Market Facebook or Instagram page to see when they are coming! What’s next for you? We will be expanding the back pasture to accommodate more livestock and begin offering beef products. The Thursday market will start this year so the farm is a pilot member of that. We’re getting a geothermal system put in so we can be more environmentally friendly. We enjoy redecorating and remodeling our property, inside and out. Do you permit people to visit your farm? When? People can come to us to pick up their orders and see the animals for themselves. Otherwise, you can visit us by appointment. How can potential customers reach you? You can view our products and place orders for pick up or delivery on our website https://bradleyfamilyfarmva.com. We’re also accessible on Facebook, Instagram, by phone 757-655-5758 or email [email protected]. Our address is 3932 White Marsh Rd. Why Suffolk? We wanted to move out somewhere that had more land – and we definitely got that, only being one mile from the Great Dismal Swamp. |
Tell me a fun fact about yourself or your business.
I can shoot an arrow off of horseback though I’m not at the level yet where I can shoot while the horse trots. How long have you been in business? We’ve been open for 10 years in Suffolk. Describe an average day for you. I don’t have a set schedule but I have a general routine to make sure everything gets done. I feed all the farm animals in the morning except the cats, whom I feed at night. The animals are free to wander and graze. When it’s rainy or stormy, they know to get in their shelters. The birds (some of the chickens and all quails) and the rabbits are my kids’ responsibilities. What kinds of animals do you have on the farm? Are they named? We have: ducks, hens, roosters, a donkey named Sally, horses (our own/rescued and boarders), llamas, alpacas (Huacaya and Suri)* quails, rabbits, a cow named MooMoo, and several barn cats. Pablo the cat is the farm manager. Examples of our horses are Pie, Heathen, Henry, Cheddar. Quite a few of the animals here were rescued after being abandoned. We partner with the Southeast Llama Rescue to home surrendered or rescued alpacas and llamas – that’s how we got Tina. Three of our cats came from the Williamsburg Barn Cat Rescue program from a few years ago. The only requirement I have for an animal on this farm is that they are kid-friendly. *Suri alpacas make up only 10-15% of all alpacas worldwide. The difference between Suri and Huacaya alpacas is the way their coat grows in. Huacaya fibers are wooly and have hair that crimps. Suri fibers grow outwards in long, straight tresses that shine. When did you decide to become a farmer? How did you get started or inspired? I’ve been farming my whole life – I grew up on a farm in upstate New York. Union Camp Farm started with the horses. I settled on farming because it is a job I can do while also being a full-time parent to my children. I’m happily self-employed! I’m continually inspired to create a place where parents can watch their kids learn something in a safe environment. I especially want the farm to be inclusive and fun for children of all abilities. Animals accept each other as they are – I want kids to see that and translate that to their own lives and futures. What is your favorite animal you raise? It’s like picking a favorite child. I love them all in their own way! What kinds of products do you have? Are products available year-round? We offer eggs, meat, angora/alpaca/llama skeins, livestock hatching eggs, and live animals. We get a fair amount of prospective pet-owners asking about our rabbits. Most products are available year-round. The skeins or fibers are only available once a year since it takes time for hair to grow. Do you spin the angora, alpaca, and llama fleece yourself or outsource? The shorn fibers are sent to a mill in Northern Virginia to be skirted and made into skeins. We receive the skeins six(ish) months later and sell them as material for knitting or crochet projects. Where are your products sold? We sell the majority of our items online. For in-person purchases, we participate in an egg co-op (TBA!), Epps Livestock Swap, Suffolk Peanut Fest, and at the Virginia State Fair at Young MacDonald’s Farm in Doswell, VA. What’s next for you? I want to open up the farm to the public on a more regular basis. I’m planning a family-friendly, all-ability-inclusive Halloween Haunted Barn event around October that would end at sunset. The horses would be in costume! I’d also like to hold a walking holiday lights trail in December. Summer camps begin in July. Lastly, I’m working with other local farmers to start an egg co-op and delivery service - stay tuned for more information! Do you permit people to visit your farm? When? I allow people to visit my farm as long as they call ahead – anything goes! I’ve had people model, shoot videos, and do other activities in the past. “Farmer for a Day” classes require registration and are open to the public. We offer public processing days regularly and a public shearing day in April. Summer camps will start up in July. How can potential customers reach you? (Contact info, website, social media, ordering, etc.) You can call me at 757-986-2131 or email me at [email protected]. I post on Facebook regularly. The google document is under “store” on the Facebook page - www.facebook.com/Union.Camp.Farm Why Suffolk? It’s calmer out here and offers more freedom. I love that Suffolk has a downtown area! You don’t see that much in other cities anymore. |
Tell me a fun fact about yourself or your business.
Our sheep are hair sheep not wool sheep. This means that they shed and their meat has a milder flavor. Do you or your children name the animals? Please give examples. We name the animals. Naming makes you care for things on a different level. • Sweet Pig – pregnant red pig. She’s due the second week of May or sooner! She will be giving birth to the first set of piglets on the farm. • Cowie – male Holstein cow cross • Chocolate and Cocoa – mother-daughter pair of lambs • El Guapito – ram. His father was El Guapo How long have you been in business? We’ve been a commercial business since 2011. At the start, we were raising chickens in Portsmouth. This farm location has been active since 2017. Why Suffolk? We lived in Hampton Roads before receiving orders to go to San Diego. Both of us were raised in Chesapeake; both of our families still live in the Hampton Roads area albeit scattered between the “Seven Cities” and Isle of Wight County. We found the property for sale on the internet by a former lottery winner and we won the lottery with this place! Everything we need is on Babbtown. Describe an average day for you. Being a farmer isn’t a job, it’s our life; something will happen every day. We put in 16 hour days sometimes. Our typical schedule is to get the animals fed by 7:00, do some chores, homeschool our children, feed and water the animals, make any necessary repairs or maintenance, move the animals to a new grazing spot, and do any other tasks that need to get done. It’s a 24-hour job! At the moment, we have about 200 egg-laying chickens, 220 meat chickens, 20 pigs, 13 sheep, and one cow. The animals’ grazing locations are switched daily to allow the natural environment to replenish. We’re doing everything we can to benefit the animals, the land, and us – not trying to fight nature. How many work your farm? Our children help with small tasks such as feeding the animals. We have one regular farm helper and a small team to help us process the chickens here on the farm. Both of our families still live in the 757 and help out every now and then (mostly by watching the kids). Multi-generational involvement is what makes farms work. When did you decide to become a rancher? How did you get started or inspired? God was and is calling for us to farm. We started small, raising chickens for meat for ourselves and found that our health improved from eating them. The business gradually expanded and we continued to hear how our products nourished people and improved their health. Our operations were suspended while we were while stationed with the military in California yet we learned more about marketing and brought those skills back with us to Virginia and Rehoboth Farm. What is your favorite plant/animal/food you raise? We prefer pigs but the kids like the other animals. What kinds of products do you have, by season? Are products available year-round? We offer eggs, pork, and lamb year-round. Chicken/poultry stops in October. We receive and butcher chickens every four weeks. Beef is currently not available since we only have one cow right now. The animals eat grass, non-GMO grains, and garden vegetables throughout the year. Do you use medications or antibodies? We allow nature to be wild. Our farm operates under the model of preventative maintenance. Nutrient rotation from regularly moving grazing spots, plus the administration of a special kelp mineral, boosts our animals’ immune systems and prevents parasites from becoming an issue on our farm. We haven’t had any animals get sick from outside conditions. All of our products are non-GMO plus antibiotic and hormone-free. “being and farming as transparently as possible” Where are your products sold? Ex. Wholesale, restaurants, specialty markets, grocery stores, farmers’ markets, small-scale/just by you, etc.? We participate in the East Beach Farmers’ Market in Virginia Beach and the Spring Market at Refined Relics. Otherwise, we sell our products online and in our farm store. From December to March, we deliver meat to the local 757 area. What’s next for you? Seasonal produce or catches or shift in product availability? New store? Expansion (including online)? We work with a lot of local partners. We get five piglets from a local, Suffolk woman every five weeks. The egg-laying hens are replaced every two years, as is the commercial standard. Our pigs are sent to the butcher every 3 to 5 months; the sheep are processed once a year since they take longer to mature. We seasonally offer 10 to 16 pound turkeys in November for Thanksgiving – we also have instructional classes on how to butcher and process turkeys around the same time. We’re looking to butcher, sell, or trade our rams and increase the number of lambs in our flock. There is a mobile lamb and goat meat processing unit we are looking to lease from Virginia State University in the soon future. Another goal of ours is to acquire more land to lease and expand the farm another 10 to 20 acres. We currently participate in two local markets though we are seeking to switch to just doing home deliveries and on-farm sales in the future. The farm store gets at least four visits a week. We offer monthly workshops for individuals and families to learn farming skills like poultry processing or gardening. Our store is open from 9am to 5pm Monday through Saturday by appointment. We also participate in the Homegrown by Heroes program because Josh was a mechanic with the military before he began working on the farm. We received a $5,000 grant from it last year to buy chicken processing equipment. What is the name of your butcher partner in NC? How long have you been partnered with them? Same questions for Garage Brewery. We have processed pork, beef, and lamb at Acres Station Meat Farm since 2019. The seasonal partnership with Garage Brewery began in 2019 also. The Brewery gives us their excess grains for us to feed our animals. Do you permit people to visit your farm? When? One of our goals is to be and farm as transparently as possible so come out and see your meat alive! We allow people to visit by appointment – please call ahead at 757-535-5350. How can potential customers reach you? We are active on Facebook and Instagram. The website for Rehoboth Farm tells our story and has an online store where people can shop and pre-order meats and eggs. For direct communication, our phone number is 757-535-5350. |