Humble BeginningS
Starting with Wellness in 2007, Jeni and Daniel Dover began Darby Farms to cure Daniel’s body and mind of constant fatigue and depression after a life time of eating dead food and 2 1/2 years of being a vegetarian/vegan. So utilizing 3 acres of pasture owned by his wife's family, the Darbys in Monroe, GA, they resolved to feed themselves, family, friends and neighbors with nutrient dense food. First starting with a market garden, moving next to laying hens and then to meat chickens on those 3 acres, Daniel and Jeni learned the thrill and excitement of growing your own food and its tribulations.
After realizing the need for more land in 2010 the farm expanded and a lease was signed for a farm house with 50 acres of pasture and 20 acres of mixed hard wood and pine in Good Hope, GA. Seven years passed, animal diversification grew with the incorporation of sheep, hogs and cattle completing the mimicry of the great plains with all its symbiotic relationships, top soil increased exponentially, the dung beetle returned to the fields and the farm started making a profit.
BUYING THE FARM
In 2017, it was time to make the leap of buying a farm. Searching from Georgia, Tennessee to the Carolinas, Jeni and Daniel decided on 80 acres with a house in Unions Mills, NC. With the help of the USDA Farm Service Agency loan program and a monetary gift from Daniel’s dad and mom for a down payment, funding was secured. Now as owners of the land they farm the potential for innovation has increased.
JOURNEY INTO WELLNESS
In late 2017, elderberry, an age old wellness tradition that Jeni had made and given to family since 2011, came into the mainstream of America. The opportunity then arose for them to plant, grow, harvest and produce Elderberry Syrup locally. Darby Farms Elderberry Syrup in now widely distributed throughout America. This inspired Jeni and Daniel to diversify the farm further to plant medicinal and food producing plants and trees in an integrated system with animals called silvopasture. The silvopasture technique is thousands of years old and merged with modern day technologies of electric fencing, water management and plant selection just might be the key to climate change mitigation. More healing products will be offered in the coming months.
For 2022, Darby Farms plans to raise 1200 laying hens, 40 turkey, 240 head of sheep, a few head of cattle and plant more elder plants, black walnut, black locust, blueberry, chestnut and more.
Why do we use amber glass and not plastic?
Plastic, currently, is a scourge to the human body and the Earth. Plastic lines our roadways, floats in our rivers, streams, lakes and oceans and fills our landscape and air for centuries with micron sized bits of toxic particles. Its disgusting.
By providing a product in glass we keep 100s of thousands of plastic bottles from entering into the environment. According to the latest research, current plastic recycling technologies are more polluting than when the plastic product was first manufactured. Its best to ditch plastic all together until technologies improve with plant based bio-plastics and go back to glass that eventual degraded back into the environment or can be reused, recycled and upcycled.
Why are our products shelf-stable?
We decided to go the more environmental friendly way of shelf-stable as a refrigerated product uses way more energy from cradle to grave than a shelf-stable product, whether it be storage, shipping or selling. Refrigeration contributes to climate change more than any another human activity.
Most folks we've talked to and work with don't have enough refrigerated space to carry it in refrigerated form. Also the shelf life is 3/4 less in the refrigerated version. Our shelf-stability is 2 years unopened. If the frig dies or looses power for extended amount of time, you can't sell it or even give it away. The product goes into the trash by local health code in most places. What a waste of money and resources!
COMMITMENT TO SOCIOECONOMIC JUSTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Packing and Shipping
We have minimize plastic use and have eliminated styrofoam peanuts with a starch peanut that degrades on contact with water. Using the starch peanut protects your product during shipping and lessens our impact on the natural world.
Farming Practices
We manage our farm holistically with synergistic moves of animals who fertilize our grasses, legumes, shrubs and tress and then our grasses, legumes, shrubs and trees nourish our animals. Balance is key and following the lessons of Mother Nature to guide us.