Beth is not your typical local farmer. She is first and foremost a mother to three amazing, neurodiverse kids, who are the inspiration behind the name. She is also a farmer of color. Due to a wide variety of dietary restrictions, she chose to start the farm to provide more control over what the family was consuming. 

The freeze drying was added in Feb 2020 to preserve the garden. What she never expected was how the texture change aided in opening so many doors for her family members with severe sensory/textile disorders, so Beth began making her own freeze-dried snacks from her farm fresh produce. Freeze Dried candy was added to help accommodate sensory/textile disorders for not only her own family, but many others as well. And that's how Atypical Roots was born! 

All our farm friends are ethically raised using sustainable grazing practices across 9.4 acres of farmland. To support this goal, we are working hard on pasture regeneration using natural practices. We are planting crops at the proper time of year to take advantage of our rapidly changing climate. We feed our land well-composted manure to aid in nitrogen and lime to help with proper PH balance. In 2022, we Installed a 300-foot well to assist with watering the ever-growing garden, flower beds, and other small areas around the house. To better assist with pressure, we are adding an above-ground holding tank that will allow us to water the pastures during the dry season and make rotational grazing more effective. Once cut, the hay then provides the best feed for our animals throughout our wet and cold seasons.

Happy chickens and ducks lay more eggs, which is why they’re treated like family. The chickens have a huge, outdoor area to browse bugs to their heart's content. Last year we added fruit trees which will eventually provide them shade/aerial predator protection and access to the falling fruit. The Chickens share the greenhouse area. If they could talk, they would tell you it’s one of their favorite features, and where so many of their treats come from in the early spring. This year we installed greenhouse gutters and placed a holding tank at the end. This will provide a direct source of water for the garden seedlings when they’re planted next spring!

80% of the ducks are Ancona’s, which are considered dual-purpose eggs and meat ducks. They free-range around the farm and do a good job of keeping us busy by hiding their eggs! Why do the ducks get to free range and not the chickens you might ask? The simple answer is that ducks are far less destructive than chickens!

Other than Mary, the A2/A2 Jersey milk cow, we tend to prefer the smaller breeds of cow for less impact on the land and reduced feed consumption. Our favorites are the Lowline Angus/Aberdeens or the smaller Herefords. The spoiled cows are rotationally grazed between two 4-acre pastures, and are supplemented with oat/pea hay when the pastures themselves are not providing enough to keep them nourished. Mary J, the Jersey milk cow, receives alfalfa pellets to help supplement her milk production, along with another high-protein feed that is locally sourced. Last but not least, they also receive an abundance of spent produce from multiple other small farms that are around us.

The breed of pigs chosen for the farm, and we love, are called Idaho Pasture Pigs which live on pasture year-round. I've chosen this breed for many reasons. They're fast-growing, have amazing temperaments, and are truly pasture-based pigs. They spend their days eating grass and are supplemented twice a day with a high protein feed created from grains obtained within 20 miles of Atypical Roots farm. They're provided extra large shelter they can access whenever they want. During the dry and cold seasons, their grazing is supplemented with oat and pea hay.

We currently have several different breeds of goats that are either meat or milk breeds (Nubian, Kiko/Boer, Nubian/Boer, Nigerian Dwarfs and the most recently added is a Kinder (Nubian/Pygmy cross). The ultimate goal is to slowly transition to Kinder as they are a true dual-purpose milk and meat goat.

Our Newest addition are the Emus. We currently have 4, DNA sexed, unrelated ones with the hopes of them becoming breeding pairs once they become of breeding age in another year. Emus are fun, fascinating birds that we have fallen head over heels for as they each possess a very clear personality already.