Meet an Eco-Farmer: Broad River Pastures

Cathy R. Payne, Broad River Pastures

Why did you begin farming?

I have loved working with animals since childhood and have always been fascinated with genetics and breeding. My husband Jon and I became foodies and locavores and spent a lot of time on farm tours and at farm conferences because of our interest in quality food. We started promoting farm businesses on the Our Natural Life podcast, and woke up one day in October 2009 with the idea to move to the producer side. Eleven weeks later we owned a piece of land, and I retired from 33 years of teaching six months after that.

What was the biggest hurdle you have overcome?

Our biggest hurdle was learning everything from the ground up, focusing on a niche market, learning business skills and the cost of implementing our infrastructure. Now we have systems, procedures and daily patterns on the farm that help keep things flowing smoothly.

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