“Farming is in our blood.”
Mark and Virginia have raised chickens adhering to Old-Order Mennonite Traditions for many years. Both come from farming families, and are passing the lifestyle down to their son, Norman, and daughter-in-law, Kendra, and their five grandchildren.
Located in Dayton, VA, their family homeplace was started in 1928 and will soon be a century-old farm. Virginia tends the chickens most of the time. Norman takes care of equipment operations, and his family runs the dairy. They all take care of a small bulk food store on their farm and tend their garden.
They generally don’t work on Sundays in order to attend church, remember Sabbath and keep the day holy. After working long hours during the week, they cherish the time to rest soul and body, and spend time visiting friends and neighbors.
When asked why they chose to grow for us, Virginia replied “Because our poultry house is outdated and would have needed expensive renovations to keep up with [conventional poultry companies]. With SVO, natural ventilation is very good, which is what we do with our curtain poultry house.
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