The Truman Charities Podcast
Join Jamie Truman on a transformative journey as she connects to individuals making a difference in their communities. From New York Times bestselling authors to compassionate doctors and visionary farmers, our podcast unveils untold narratives shaping our communities. Whether it's a doctor revolutionizing healthcare or a farmer transforming food systems, our guests are trailblazers, influencers, and innovators driving positive change.
Truman Charities, a charitable organization with a mission, donates $250 toward their causes for every powerful story shared on the podcast.
The Truman Charities Podcast
The Unintended Consequences of Glyphosate. What are Dead Zones, Regenerative Farming and Should You Drink Raw Milk? | Grand View Farm Owner And Farmer Nick Bailey Explains How His Farm Is Helping Families Secure Nutrient Dense Food. Ep. 135
Ready to learn the truth about the food you consume every day? Not all farms are created equal, so what’s on your plate may surprise you. In this eye-opening conversation, Nick Bailey of Grand View Farm explains the shocking differences between local farms and industrial agriculture — and why it matters for your health.
We discuss the benefits of sustainable and regenerative farming practices, why our food freedom is at risk, and the hidden dangers of factory-farmed meat. Nick also shares insights on the raw milk controversy and how Grand View Farm is delivering clean, high-quality food to their community.
Tune in to discover why supporting local farms isn’t just better for your health, but essential for the future of our food system!
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This episode was post produced by Podcast Boutique https://podcastboutique.com/
Welcome to the Truman Charities podcast. I am Jamie Truman, your host. Is there really a difference in your food when going to a local farmer? I had the most interesting conversation today with Nick Bailey, the owner of Grand View Farm. You will not believe what we talked about. It was actually pretty shocking. First off, we talked about what exactly is glyphosate and what are the unintended consequences of using it. We speak about a certain ingredient that you are not going to believe, that most companies add to their meat during packaging. That will definitely surprise you. And what are dead zones and how can farmers avoid this. We also talk about the ever controversial conversation about whether to drink raw milk or to not, and Nick discusses how the legal defense fund helped him in his farm when the state tried to shut them down without any reasoning. This story is incredible and very eye-opening.
Speaker 1:But before we start, please take a second to rate and review our podcast. Pause for just a moment. Scroll down, hit those five stars and rate a quick review on why. Rate and review our podcast. Pause for just a moment. Scroll down, hit those five stars and rate a quick review on why you enjoy our podcast and so you don't miss any future episodes, hit that subscribe button on the top right-hand corner. We are 100% volunteer-based organization, so our reviews really do help new people learn about our podcast. All right, let's get into this conversation with Nick. I swear you are going to love this one, nick. I'm so excited that you were able to take the time to come talk to us today. I know, as a local farmer, you are very, very busy, so thank you, of course. Happy to be here, thank you.
Speaker 1:So I had to have you on. I randomly came across your farm. I was looking for a local farm to be able to get our meats from and I came across your farm. Thankfully, you're a little bit north of Baltimore and I'm in the DC area, so I really wanted to take my kids to come actually see the farm, meet the farmer, and they still talk about it today. I learned so much while I was there and, thankfully, you guys actually deliver to your customers. So I wanted to have the feeling for the listeners here of doing the tour that I did so they can learn so much about local farmers. What's the difference? What's the difference between factory farming and all of that great stuff? But the one thing that I thought before we talk about like your particular farm that I thought was really interesting was when I first visited you and I'm with my boys and I just assumed that you were from a family of farmers and you're like no, that's actually not my background. So tell me a little bit about your background and how this even started.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it skipped a couple of generations, I think. If you go back a bit, we you know our family did farm, just like so many others years ago in an agrarian society. My grandfather was a banker and dad spent some time on his uncle's farms, so he did have a little bit of a background. And dad was farming in the 90s. He tried row crop farming, so corn and soybeans, and it was right when gmos were getting big, so that's when you could start spraying a lot of crops and kill weeds and that kind of thing without killing the crops and so and he just knew that wasn't going to be the answer. I mean, he was a very small farm and he knew that he didn't have the answer, but he knew that spraying all these chemicals wasn't going to be good for him or us or or the. You know he was kind of ahead of his time, that was, you know, in the nineties, and so he was in commercial construction and mom and dad kept the, the home farm here that whole time and it was just kind of dormant and planted some grass and let it sit.
Speaker 2:And then fast forward to 10 or so, when I was in college. One of dad's friends, let him know about a farm down in Virginia called Polyface and so he picked me up at school, at college, and we drove down there and I was in no way. I was in school for engineering. I was in no way interested in farming, other than the fact that I love where I grew up and that kind of thing and being outside. And we rolled down to Polyface and I don't know what it was, but just something about that place. I was like we could do this and I think I would like that.
Speaker 2:So my last year of college I kind of had like a rough start into farming. I actually left college for a completely separate career and was in a public safety space and had a website that was created and worked for a media company, but kind of in the background. We were starting the farm and we started with a cow and 25 egg layers. It was a rocky start but we had an old barn here on the property that was basically falling down but we had a used refrigerator in there and we had a dryer sheet box for a cash box and customers would like these are very OG, hardcore customers because they would come into this falling down barn with this refrigerator and this makeshift cash box and get their eggs on the weekend, and we just had a few dozen eggs and then we just built it from there. So that was, you know, 2012 or so. So it's been 12, 13 years that we've been on this journey and it's been a wild ride, especially, you know, in the last four or five years.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I have to ask did you meet your wife before you decided? So what did she think about?
Speaker 2:this transition. It's been interesting, she's awesome. I mean she's the foundation of our family, for sure. She's a rock. But I met her in college and she's from North Carolina and it just so happens she grew up on a farm Now totally different world down there, so tobacco, cotton, that kind of thing. But she understood the farm life and I don't think she was looking to marry a farmer and at that time I was not one and it's kind of the way it went and I was in school for engineering and I met her in college. So I don't think she knew we were going down this road, but she's been 100% supportive, she loves it. I mean it's such a blessing to be able to raise our family here on the farm. I mean it's just, I just can't imagine any other way. And Brittany is an incredible partner in everything that we do.
Speaker 1:You know, I find it interesting when you're talking and you're talking about like this kind of broke down barn, because when I came you had like a wedding going on in the afternoon. You have this cute little store and it's stocked up and your farm looks absolutely amazing. I want to talk a little bit about the difference between, say, a local farm and, say, a factory farm, because you did mention earlier that was it your father that was talking or was it your grandfather with the GMOs? So when your father is talking about it, can you explain exactly what that is?
Speaker 2:Sure. So scientists developed plants that were called Roundup Ready, and what that means is it was for the first time you could spray crops just wholly through the field while they were growing, and the glyphosate, the herbicide in this case, would only affect the weeds or the non-modified plants, which were. The only thing else in the field were weeds other than the soybeans or corn or whatever the case. In theory that works when you're trying to produce a ton of food and you're not worried about anything else. You're not worried about the environment, the effects of when that goes into the food system, and it's really just whether it was foreseen by some or not back then. I mean we're talking decades ago now. A lot of it just might be unintended consequences. I mean, I think we find that a lot as we go through our history. But the fact is that we know now better than ever that that is terrible in every way for our food system. Those GMOs that glyphosate, the insecticides, I mean not even talk. The environment is a whole different aspect of that, but when it trickles down to us in the food system and we consume that, we know now it's just a toxic and it carries through in the food. A lot of that corn goes to feed cows, which are herbivores. A lot of those soybeans go to feed pigs, and it all comes through.
Speaker 2:I think the gap between what we're referring to as factory farming and what we're doing with regenerative there's been a lot, even in our 12 years. There's a lot of buzzwords. We've remained remarkably consistent in what we've done and we just the buzzwords kind of come to us. You know what I mean. Like we're on our path and then every there's an on-ramp, every few years, of a new word and we decide does that fit into our ecosystem of how we do things or not? And so returnative happens to fit into that.
Speaker 2:But the gap is widening, which is not good overall, I think, because we don't want this factory farming to continue. You know, because factory farming is a race to the bottom economically, and so the problem with that is that folks will continue to cut corners. They will continue with this narrative that they need to feed the world and that everything that they do is in that mission and it's to the detriment of that system. Right, it keeps getting worse and worse. There's not a path right now where that's going to turn and suddenly become something that makes sense. So it helps consumers in a way that if you educate yourself on the difference, there's a distinct difference. Now we know that as a consumer that if we go to this farm and they are able to communicate their practices, we know distinctly the difference, and it's everything from the impact on the environment, the welfare of the animals, the nutrient density and the cleanliness of the meat or vegetables, depending on where you're shopping, and so it's an interesting time right now to be in the food system, especially in the last five years.
Speaker 1:Why don't you tell me a little bit about what actually regenerative farming is and tell me a little bit about your practices at your farm?
Speaker 2:Sure, regenerative farming to us is making sure that when we look back so say the last year, that our ground is getting better, our animals are healthier, that we are continuing to move in the direction of cleaner, more nutrient dense, better pastures, positive impact on the environment.
Speaker 2:So a lot of it is what we don't do no chemicals on the pastures, no medications for the animals and even with our butcher partners, no chemicals in the products, right, so they're getting packaged raw, frozen and coming back to us here on the farm so we can distribute it.
Speaker 2:And no nitrates. A lot of our products don't have sugar, that kind of thing. So it's really creating a system that allows us to have more carrying capacity on the land so year after year we can produce more animals on the same land because that land is more vibrant and producing and creating more soil and better soil and better grasses year after year. And then making sure that, as that product makes its way from the live animal to a packaged product, that our customers don't have to think twice about making that purchase. Right, they trust us wholeheartedly that not only did we take care of the land, took care of the animals, respected the animals and their sacrifice and then, when it came to processing and packaging that product, that it is as clean and nutrient dense as anything, and so that's what our main focus is just holistic customer trust, and that trickles down into every decision we make.
Speaker 1:When I was at your farm with my kids and I really loved when you were explaining and I love for you to explain this. So if you go onto, I think, on your Instagram, you guys have videos too of you moving. So you're moving the chickens every day and so you move. I believe you move the cows every day too. How do the chickens help with the land when they're moving? Explain exactly like how that works. I know I'm not saying it right, but Better than most.
Speaker 2:So it's nothing crazy. We're just mimicking nature, right, we're just taking. We're taking a little bit of technology in some of the tools that we use, but we're just really getting back to basics and mimicking nature. So, to answer your question about a factory setup, cattle, for instance, will spend much of their life in a feedlot, knee-deep manure, no cover from the heat, eating an unnatural diet, not a blade of grass in sight, with thousands of other cattle in a very confined space. And what we do and what farms like us do is almost completely the opposite in any way you look at it. So our cattle are outside 24-7, 365 on pasture. They in the winter, this time of year we have a sacrifice pasture, right, because we don't want to degrade the entire farm. We have a sacrifice pasture where we feed hay that we've stored up over the season and they eat that. But you know, come spring here, hopefully soon, season and they eat that. But come spring here, hopefully soon, we will start splitting up the field into one day areas for the cattle, so a very small sliver of the pasture. We move their water and their minerals into that section. They walk right in. It's just one little strand of electric fence that they respect. They have these 1200 pound animals and there's this little tiny strand of electric going through their field. They respect that and that movement is very natural to them.
Speaker 2:We take the massive herds of bison that roam this continent herbivores, same type of animal as cattle, only meant to eat grass. They moved constantly, whether it was for food, for more grass, because of predator impact, because of wildfires, whatever the case was, they were moving constantly and they didn't come back to that area for at least a year, maybe more. I mean they were moving in massive groups and so we're just mimicking that on the pasture. So cattle go to a new part of the pasture every day. They want to move because that's in their instinct to move in, get away from their manure and everything from the day before. That's in their instinct to move in, get away from their manure and everything from the day before, get into that fresh grass that hasn't been touched for months. And then we bring the chickens right in behind them in just a mobile structure that's tractor pools and the chickens just walk along and we let them out in that area every day and they scratch through the manure, they eat out, fly larva, they spread all that manure out so that when the grass is coming back up there's no dead zones from that manure.
Speaker 2:So it's a very symbiotic relationship that exists in nature. This relationship between herbivores and omnivores, and specifically birds, is exactly what we saw, that built the grasses and the incredible soil on this continent centuries ago. So that's the system we move the cattle, move the chickens in and we just keep mimicking that and we rotate around the whole farm and come back to that spot months after the initial grazing and it's just that system reverberates through our entire procedures and we don't have a vet, we don't have to medicate, because these animals are not standing in an unnatural environment. They are in a place that makes sense to their microbiome and makes sense to these animals. They understand how to operate in this and it just comes natural to them and it just makes things so much easier.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I found fascinating. When you're talking about the chickens that's what I was trying to talk about I was like how are they fertilizing that? And you were telling me exactly what they do and I was like gosh, I mean, like every animal has its job to make everything work, if you just let them do it the way that nature intended. So it was fascinating when you were telling me that. You know, there was another thing that you were talking to my boys about that I thought I had no idea and it was about the pig's tails. What was that?
Speaker 2:about. Yeah, so our pigs have tails and that is seems mundane or, you know, unremarkable. But if you go into a factory farming setup you'll see that the pig's tails have been cut off. And that's because there is little to no stimulation in these factory farm setups with pigs, because they're inside these buildings on concrete floors surrounded by metal. It's just not a natural environment for them and they have no stimulation. So they would actually, as for play or for whatever the case, would bite the tails of the other pigs. The tails would bleed, become a problem, but now they're attracted to that. It's a horrible symptom of a terrible system.
Speaker 2:And when you come to our place you'll see the pigs have tails because their environment is so enriched. We move them similarly to the other animals, where they have a set up for a couple of weeks and then move on to another part of the woods. They have so much to do they're completely uninterested in eating pigtails. So our pigs have tails. They don't have nose rings, they're simply pigs out in the woods, foraging and moving on to the next spot. And it's one of the coolest things that we still do. You know, after 12, 13 years you can take things for granted and just kind of becomes a daily chore. But when we move animals it never gets old Seeing their reaction to that fresh pasture, that fresh spot in the woods. It's incredible every time. It just reinforces that this is the way these animals should be existing. It's such a cool thing to be part of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, we went there. We saw all the pigs. They were just running around, like everywhere I know. My son was like can I go? Like you know farming it? Can I go in and touch the pigs? You're like no.
Speaker 2:It depends on. They were a little big for him to be. You know, I'll let my boys go in with the piglets, but those big pigs are like bulldozers and they have no manners.
Speaker 1:So yeah, they're real pigs, they're just like in nature.
Speaker 2:It's nothing crazy innovative, but unfortunately it's uncommon in today's food system, and so we are doing our small part to try to make it so that we have people in this community and in our region have this option to eat this way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so that is a misconception that I wanted to chat with you about. Is that the affordability of being able to go to local farmers?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is nice to see that we have customers from every level of the socioeconomic scale and our food and farms like ours, at the checkout. The price tag it is expensive. There is no way around it, and what the issue is is it being compared to artificially cheap food in the grocery store, because all of those costs that don't make it to the checkout in the grocery store that the consumer sees is externalized. So in 2023, the first time the farm bill has been over a trillion dollars. That's all tax money, the environmental impact of raising animals and crops to get it into those grocery store shelves that's all has to be addressed at some point, and either we're passing it down to the next generation and turn a blind eye to it, or our tax dollars are going to fix some of those issues and it just goes right down the line. I mean that food's been trucked thousands of miles in some cases. So, while the price at the checkout is more, all of our costs that I just mentioned were externalized. In an industrial food system or factory farming setup is internalized on our type of setup. Right, those things have all been accounted for. There's no hidden cost when you purchase a pound of ground beef from us. You're not passing an environmental issue down to your kids or grandkids. So it is tough to have that conversation because it's like apples and oranges sometimes.
Speaker 2:When you just baseline Farms like ours and we've gotten to a size now where we have a bigger team we are very confident in our pricing. We have a real sharp pencil. We know our costs down to the dollar. We know what we need to charge to be here next year for our customers, and so we are very confident in our pricing in that it is not inflated.
Speaker 2:There are ways the consumer, our customers, can help us that we can give back to them in the form of savings, right. So like our subscribe and save program is a perfect example. When we start subscribe and save three, four years ago now, it completely revolutionized our business. So now we have orders coming in automatically from customers right, because customers sign up. They build a shopping cart, they sign up for it. That order recurs in the frequency they want it to recur. It has revolutionized our security here on the farm. We know what's coming up, we know how to plan for it, we have a way for our customers to support us frequently and for that there's a ton of benefits to that program and we pass it right back to the customer in the form of just savings right off the top of their shopping cart and also in free items that we can provide to them, just because the economics of that is so valuable to us.
Speaker 1:So I do the subscribe and save and if you're listening and you're thinking about becoming a customer as well, you know I really would tell you to go ahead and do that, because you do have that savings Plus. Actually, when you're buying in bulk and you're thinking about when you're buying small portions of meat, when you're buying in bulk and you're thinking about when you're buying small portions of meat, when you're going into the grocery store and when, from your farm, you can buy more of bulk products and then freeze them for a while, it really isn't that large of a difference and, honestly, you're also providing your family with more nutrient dense, which I'm telling you right now. So, for instance, on Saturday night I had my son, had a bunch of his friends over for a movie night they're watching Sonic and so I baked one of your chickens and I put, you know, potatoes and carrots and blah, blah, blah around it and I served it to the boys and some of my girlfriends. The moms came over too and they were like, oh my gosh, I made that, and then I made some of my girlfriends. The moms came over too and they were like, oh my gosh, I made that. And then I made some of your ground beef and they were like this is so good, like why is this chicken so good? It's because it's from a local farmer and you can absolutely tell the difference.
Speaker 1:And I get all of these items more of like the subscription and I get them in bulk and freeze them up and then just take them out and, honestly, it's just not that much of a difference when you really break it down.
Speaker 1:So it's a great option that you guys have. So I wanted to make sure that people knew about that and it really is so different. Being someone that is one of a consumer of your products, I can tell you that my husband and I also, when we go out, my husband does not like to eat out anymore. He doesn't like their steaks, he doesn't and me too, I barely want to eat out at restaurants because the food's not as good. To be honest, it really isn't. You can absolutely taste the difference and you are also more satisfied after your meal too, because it is more nutrient dense. And then also, what I wanted to know a little bit about and this is kind of controversial, so I really wanted to ask a local farmer People have been talking about this on social media and kind of everywhere Is raw milk. What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2:Delicious. I've had raw milk for years from different places. There's a couple of farms in Southern Pennsylvania close to us where I used to get it from, and now Pregal Creamery, down the road from us, does raw milk. They're an outstanding organic dairy and that's where the dairy that we bring into the farm store here for our customers comes from. And here's the thing whether you want to drink raw milk or not, obviously the nutrients are in there. Obviously, when we source it, it's coming from the cleanest possible conditions, which is the most important thing when we're talking about a raw product is that it's coming from clean source. Right.
Speaker 2:But beyond that, we have to as consumers and citizens. We have to be more serious about preserving our rights. And the fact that someone can go down into Baltimore City, buy drugs, use those drugs, and whether the outcome is that they get high and they're fine or they overdose and die, there is no consequences for anybody in that scenario, right, the police aren't doing anything about that. The only person it affects is the person addicted to those drugs, right? The fact that? Take that scenario where that person's putting something into their body on their choice and then we have government agencies raiding local farms right, with guns and warrants and SWAT teams for raw milk or any of these other local products is unconscionable right that there's this disconnect that happened somewhere where the government decided what we can and can't put in our bodies, and that, to me, is the bigger issue here is that we need total food freedom for us and our families and preserve it for the next generations.
Speaker 2:So the raw milk thing I don't care whether someone drinks or doesn't drink raw milk, but what I do care about. And but for the record, I think if you're going to drink milk, that's the way you should do it. You know from a reliable, clean source. You know if you're going to drink milk, that's the way to go because it has all those nutrients still in it and you're supporting a local farm in a local economy. But I think the bigger picture that we're not discussing enough is the preservation of our rights as humans to consume the food that we want to consume and the disconnect between that right and by the time it makes up to the federal government and whether it be law enforcement or, you know, food and drug enforcement. I think that's the bigger issue here.
Speaker 1:I've never heard that that the government will come in and crack down on enrollment. Why do you think that is? Do you think it's because it's cutting into, I guess, their profit margin?
Speaker 2:of what they're doing. Hard to say. I've never been able to figure out the motivations of bureaucracy, because I think they're so delusional and disconnected from our society. Right, you know, by the time it trickles down there's a thousand different motivations for someone in a position of power to do what they do. So I can't speak to that. But what I do know is that there's no world where we should allow that, as consumers, as parents, as citizens, as people who care about what happens to our kids and our grandkids- so I want to know how do you see the future of Grandview Farms?
Speaker 1:How do you envision your farm.
Speaker 2:We're hanging on for the ride. We have been growing. During COVID we grew by almost 1,000%. Wow, yeah, it was unreal. There's a lot that went into that and how we did that and it was pretty cool. And now, as we get bigger, to some extent it's obviously harder or undesirable to grow at that kind of rate. I mean, like last year we grew by about 50%. We'll probably do that again this year, which is still a lot. It matters less to me how much we grow and more to me about the outcome of that growth.
Speaker 2:Right, what is awesome to see in that growth is our team our team growing, hiring more people that care about this type of work. Most of them are moms. Most of them have these families that they are feeding not only with our products but our partner farm products, and it's just so cool to be part of a team that cares so much about the work they're doing and sees it translate into everyday life. And our team is just I can't say enough about our team. I mean just winners, and the cool thing about that is that they don't allow anybody to come onto the team that doesn't have that same mindset. And it's this like self-perpetuating thing that people that you know we just it just has such a strong team and mostly female led, which is something that most people wouldn't think. Our director of logistics and distribution, nadia. Our director of product and customer service, amanda Brittany, handles a ton of admin stuff and our events. So there's this renaissance in local ag. That's a lot of female-led projects that are happening and initiative and it's really cool to be part of that and I just wanted to put that in there because I think that might be a misconception as a bunch of old guys out there running these farms. And it's cool in this new era of regenerative farms that we have a highly passionate, qualified team members that just crush it every day and allow us to see that kind of growth.
Speaker 2:And it's also in the animals. We have these animals on pasture for years sometimes and so we can only grow so much. In that context, we're bringing all more partner farms, which makes a lot of sense for us folks that don't want to do the marketing and the customer service and that kind of thing, but are doing what we are doing from an animal husbandry and land management standpoint. Bringing on more partner farms that are local to us is really cool and the local economy that we're building around. This thing is really great to see and I think, as we grow, I think it's really going to be an example for our region of how we can not only provide food for our community but keep this local economy.
Speaker 2:Decades ago we saw the destruction of the factory farming on the rural communities around the country, especially in the South, and it's just kind of exactly the opposite now is what it seems like is that there's just momentum building up in our communities around ag. So it's pretty cool to see and our customers lead the way in a lot of things and making sure we serve them to the best of our ability. So it's just a fun ride to be on it.
Speaker 1:So, nick, when you're talking, I think about a lot of other local farmers that I've spoken to, especially since I spoke with the CEO of RCAF USA and I had spoke to other local farmers and they said that a lot of their struggle sometimes comes from the marketing aspect to it. Do you think, because of your background before you got into, this has really helped you market your farm and get it out to more people?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was really fortunate in the path my life took.
Speaker 2:You couldn't connect the dots looking forward, but you look back on it and it's obvious.
Speaker 2:But working for that media company out of college and understanding the basics of how to connect with customers I hate calling it marketing because it sounds so generic and like we care right, Like we're just trying to push food out there and really what it is we just want people to have the experience you had when you came out here and not everybody can come out here.
Speaker 2:So we are just doing our best to tell our story and then tell people about our day-to-day and what's going on around here. And that's our marketing giving people a glimpse into what it's like to be on the farm and how this food makes it to their doorstep when we deliver it. The nice part is we are consumers of our products, so that we can in some ways, try to say, if we didn't live on this farm and we weren't the ones with this farm, what would we want to know? Or what did we see today that our would we want to know? Or what did we see today that our customers would love to see? So I think it's just fun to be able to tell our story and keep people involved, even from a distance, with what happens here all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what are your areas that you?
Speaker 2:deliver to New York, to North Carolina. New York to North Carolina, I mean our core customer base is from, call it, philadelphia to DC and Northern Virginia. I mean that's where, like, it's heavily concentrated and we have a local courier that delivers to that area every week. But we also can go outside that using UPS to go up into New York and down into Raleigh.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's great, all right, so I want to talk a little bit about the charity that you chose, as everyone knows, as a thank you for the people that we speak to that are really making a difference in the community, and you absolutely are you and your farm. So, on your behalf, we send a donation of $250 to a charity of your choice. So you chose Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. So tell me a little bit about that.
Speaker 2:We've been members for almost since we started the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. So tell me a little bit about that. We've been members for almost since we started. The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund is a co-op, essentially, and anyone can join it Even a consumer can join and pay a small annual donation to support their mission. And what they really are is not only a lobbyist for our type of farming but, more importantly, they have a team of attorneys that protect farms like ours, so when those raiders come in after that raw milk, they can get in there and help and represent these farmers for free. And years ago they actually represented us.
Speaker 2:The state health department came after us for when we used to harvest chickens here on the farm. We had an amazing professional setup, stainless steel, top of the line processing equipment. Johns hopkins had done a study and our chicken was cleaner than any other product they found anywhere grocery stores, other farms, whatever. And the health department came after us for having an outdoor because it was under kind of like a canopy, like a carport for cover from shade and such, but it was open air, which is the cleanest, because this open air concept in sunlight is the cleanest, instead of having this type of processing facility inside of a building and they came after us for that and we asked where the complaint came from and they said it came from one of your customers at the farmer's market. We don't do farmer's markets, so they were just specifically targeting us and, again, whatever their motivation was is unclear. And so we reached out right away.
Speaker 2:Right after we got the phone call from the health department, farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund and their attorney got right on the phone. He was on a flight to LA. He landed, got the message from their office, called me back, got the lowdown the health department was going to shut us down, shut our whole business down. That was the conversation they had with me. They were going to come out and totally shut us down and within it was less than 24 hours that attorney had them crawling back into the cave they came from and we've never heard from them again and that was years ago. I mean, he just destroyed them and they had nothing to back it up.
Speaker 2:Powerful to see that our membership in that organization and what it did for saving our farm from just malicious intent it wasn't even something that had any grounds to it. So it's so important for folks. Anytime a new farmer comes to us and asks for advice, we're happy to help them get set up and their farm and let them know how we do things and what we've learned over the years. But the first thing I tell them is to join the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund to protect and other farmers yeah.
Speaker 1:Scary story. That must have been really. It must have been a lot for you and your family.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean we didn't sleep. I mean it's earth shattering, right. When a government organization comes out and there's nothing we could fix. Right wasn't saying like, hey, we found this issue with what you're doing, there was no recourse for us, there was nothing. It was just so unfounded that it wasn't like, okay, we have a problem when we can fix it. It was just malicious intent from the start. So it's something you lose sleep over where you. You could lose your, your business, your livelihood, something you care so much about for no reason at all. So that's the power of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund and why we're such big supporters of theirs.
Speaker 1:Wow. Well, we'll have the information down in the show notes. We're also going to have the information for your website, but I also want you to tell people your website and then how to follow you. So tell us how we can do that.
Speaker 2:Grandviewfarmingcom. You can Google us as well. If you want to come out to the farm, just Grandview Farm. We're in Forest Hill, maryland, so pretty close to any major metropolitan area in this area. We'd love to have you out to the farm when the farm stores open and we're on social at GV Farm just about everywhere, and hopefully you can link some of that down below. Like you said, yeah, we'd love for folks to connect with us. If you'd like to try us out and be a customer, we'd love that too. We'd love to have you but even just following along, joining the Defense Fund, anything you can do to promote a local farm in our area, we'd love.
Speaker 1:Well, I know that you have a lot to do, especially since, I think it's like 10 degrees out now. So I'm sure you have so much to do on your farm with this kind of weather, but before I let you go.
Speaker 2:is there anything that we haven't covered that you think someone should know? No, I mean, I think this was a great conversation and I think it gives folks a place to start, so I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. Thank you so much, nick, and everything that you and your family do for all of us, especially my family. We love, love, love your farm and thanks for everybody for tuning in to another episode of the Truman Charities Podcast. Wasn't that a really fascinating episode with Nick from Grandview Farm and I want to reiterate that I am one of their customers and I absolutely love everything that they offer at their farm. And if you have kids, please take a moment to go up and meet Nick and his wife Brittany. They're a wonderful family and your kids will have the best time.
Speaker 1:I have all of his information in the show notes so you can get in touch with Nick and his wife. So if you liked this episode, again, please rate and review it. The reviews really do count. As 100% volunteer organization, you know the reviews help introduce this podcast to new listeners, so please make sure to do that and, while you're at it, hit the subscribe button so you don't miss any future episodes. If you'd like to follow us, you can follow us on Facebook at Truman Charities, instagram at Jamie underscore Truman Charities. You can follow me on LinkedIn at Jamie Truman and if you would like to get information, we have our upcoming Derby party, which will be May 3rd at Tommy Joe's in Bethesda, benefiting Interfaith Works, and to get that information and to make sure that you're on the invite list, go to trumancharitiescom and sign up for our newsletter there. I want to thank you guys for tuning in for another episode of the Truman Charities Podcast. Until next time you.
