A Culinary Arts degree and nearly two decades of working in restaurants had Nick yearning for a new food-related career. Having 20 years of management experience, he knew how to run many aspects of a business and was ready to take the risk to start his own. Combat veteran, Ashley, spent much of her free time gardening, baking, and decorating cakes when she wasn't working overnight in healthcare. Approaching 40 with nonexistent vitamin D levels, she desperately needed a career change that would help her live a healthier lifestyle. These two lovebirds' favorite activity of all was cooking and eating together, so it was only natural that they wanted to create a small business that allowed them to share their food passion with others.
Late summer of 2019, Ashley told Nick she wanted to get chickens for their suburban backyard. “Chickens? What do you mean?” he exclaimed. She responded, “Have you ever had truly fresh eggs? There's such a huge difference in flavor, and all you have to do is go to the backyard to collect them.” Being the supportive guy he is, Nick agreed to get onboard and began to research everything he could about raising chickens. By October they had baby chicks down in the basement living in a plastic kiddie pool with wood shavings, chicken wire, & a heat lamp. Nick would come home exhausted and stressed out from work, and he'd head straight downstairs to sit and watch these little birds prance around the pool. Who knew chickens were so therapeutic? Nick gifted Ashley a cheese making kit about a month later. After looking at many recipes that suggested using raw or unpasteurized milk, they half jokingly said, “we should get goats and have access to lots of raw milk.” Nick got incredibly excited as if a light bulb turned on and illuminated his otherwise foggy mind, “we were already talking about buying a new home sometime soon, so let's try to find a property with 4 or 5 acres! We can get more chickens and some goats. Heck! We should just start a farm!” Ashley filled with joy as she saw the spark ignite in Nick's eyes & smile, “yes! Let's start a farm!”
Riggin Farm was formed on that November evening in 2019. They met with a real estate agent a few weeks later to begin their search for a home large enough to accommodate their family of six and enough acreage to start their small farm. After short-term and long-term goals began to emerge, Nick and Ashley realized that they probably needed closer to 15 acres to accomplish everything they went. In April 2020 they put in an offer on a tract of land just shy of 25 acres and began a long and stressful process during a time of global chaos. The couple finally moved their family to the new home on the farm in October 2021 to start living the dream.
At the time of this book being published, Nick & Ashley Riggin raise chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, & fish in addition to growing an assortment of produce & flowers using regenerative farming methods. Find out the truth about the food you've been eating and how "USDA Organic" doesn't mean what you think it means. With permaculture, there are ways to produce food that is safe to eat and actually improves the environment. An entire chapter is dedicated to the home kitchen: food safety, tools, pantry stapes, & tips to reduce food waste. These two foodie farmers have collected some of their favorite recipes they've developed over the years that highlight the food produced on their farm. Learn how they raise the animals and grow each crop in a cookbook unlike any other for a truly farm to table experience.
Physical copies are also available on our website.