Your New Farmers at FFF

Your New Farmers at FFF

Family Friendly Farms began back in 2010 with the Zeiter Family and one part time employee. After many years of Farmer's Markets, we expanded our services to include an online store with a custom home delivery service. Over the years, we did just about all the work ourselves, but now that the kids are mostly in college and making families of their own, we have several new employees who live here on the property to best serve the farming work and to provide you, our customers and friends, with a pleasant service experience. We would like to introduce you to our new team of professionals who really enjoy the work they do and hope to meet all of you as we continue our family farming lifestyle.

The White Family kids raising laying hens at Our Lady's Ranch. Family Friendly Farms sells sustainable grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, meadow-grass lamb, and free-range chicken. The White Family – Jason and Chelsee with their five hilarious kids and one more on the way! – found us through their search for healthy meat to purchase. After an adventurous farm tour and then 100 questions and answers later, they moved into "The Cottage" here at Our Lady's Ranch. They now participate in our community garden and provide the free-range eggs that you've been buying, while learning about growing meat chickens, turkeys, and pigs.

Isaiah and Stevenson at "The Shop" on Our Lady's Ranch. Family Friendly Farms sells sustainable grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, meadow-grass lamb, and free-range chicken.Isaiah and Stevenson are our newest additions and landed here one year apart (Isaiah in 2021 and Stevenson in 2022). They both live on the Ranch and have become fast friends through their common passion for farming and accelerated spiritual growth. Stevenson is learning about the business and marketing of FFF, which includes collaborating with Phil for weekly sales ads and corresponding with our growing customer base. He is also learning everything he ever wanted to know about growing healthy food. Isaiah manages all the ranch work around here, which includes lots of fun jobs with power tools and powerful tractors. Exciting projects include expanding the olive orchard and building a new pond for family fishing and more fresh food.

Fisherman Joe Conn holding up a large Big Mouth Bass. Family Friendly Farms sells sustainable grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, meadow-grass lamb, and free-range chicken.

Joe found us during the great "COVID Job Exodus" of 2020 when all the restaurants shut down. What started as part-time work has become a few years of full-time service and we're lucky to have him on board! So far he has done just about everything around here, and now he fills in the gaps wherever we need: deliveries, farming, animal husbandry, and more! Through FFF he's discovered a love of working outdoors while developing a tremendous amount of useful skills, especially when it comes to raising the pigs and the chickens.

Tyler (Zeiter) Straight at age 13 working her very first Farmer's Market in Grass Valley, CA. Tyler Straight is the head of marketing and design for FFF through her private service "Straight Creative." Family Friendly Farms sells sustainable grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, meadow-grass lamb, and free-range chicken.
Tyler (Zeiter) Straight was the very first of FFF's farmers and has persisted over the years. Pictured on the left is Ty at 13-years-old at our very first Farmer's Market in Grass Valley, 2010. She went from wrangling cows in the corrals to now managing the design and marketing aspects of the family business. In addition, she has been collaborating with her dad on an exciting new ministry which will help other families learn how to build a homestead/farm of their own. 
Philip Zeiter, founder of Family Friendly Farms and Our Lady's Ranch Ministry. Family Friendly Farms sells sustainable grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, meadow-grass lamb, and free-range chicken.
As the founder of FFF, Phil began by working 18-hour days in a field he knew absolutely nothing about. Originally an architect, he moved towards ranching in order to make a healthier lifestyle for his kids. Now, he enjoys the managerial aspect of the farming business because it allows him time for kids, grandkids, and the opportunity to work on a project that has been on his heart and mind for many years. We recently launched a new web site to help others live in the country, learn how to grow healthy food, and raise healthy children in a peaceful environment. We can't wait to share this exciting new ministry with you all on our next post :)
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Be on the lookout for more updates about Family Friendly Farms at Our Lady's Ranch in Grass Valley, California. We want to continue our relationships with you while sharing our joy of growing and cooking sustainable, healthy food!

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