OUR STORY
Caleb & Klaire Howerton
Caleb got into Ag in high school when he joined FFA. He went on to compete and place at the state level in FFA's CDE's for Forestry and Soils, as well as become president of his FFA Chapter. Then gaining a Advanced High School Diploma in Agricultural Science and later an Associates degree in General Agriculture, while simultaneously meeting the requirements for an AAS in Plant Science and another AAS in Animal Science .
Klaire grew up with backyard chickens, ducks, feeder pigs, some rabbits, and spent a lot of her childhood free time riding and training her and her neighbors horses. She also spent 12 years working as a freelance Ag writer, and has trained and broke horses in Montana and Texas. She also has two years working towards a degree in Animal Science and additional coursework in livestock genetics and selection.
ABOUT GREEN THICKET FARM
Green Thicket Farm started as an urban farm in January of 2016 in the back yard of a rental house raising rabbits, quail and produce. We operated out of there for 8 months building up individual and restaurant clientele until purchasing the land where our farm is now in August of 2016. From there we worked like crazy adding infrastructure and different species, we added in pigs, sheep, bottle calves, dairy goats, ducks, and lots of chickens. To top that all off for about 2 years we ran a farm to table pop up out of our renovated garage. Lots of things came and went as we figured out exactly what Green Thicket Farm and us as the farmers really did the best with. All through it though we kept our philosophy that we should be improving the land by our actions on it and giving our livestock the best lives they could have.
That leads us to where we are now with our growing herd of Registered Idaho Pasture Pigs, Regeneratively Farmed Pork and Wildlife Habitat Supplies. For now we focus our efforts on improving these enterprises and becoming the best we absolutely can at their care and putting out the absolute best piglets, pork, and wildlife supplies that is possible while stewarding the land in our care.
Regenerative Agriculture
Here at Green Thicket Farm we believe in a Triple Bottom Line. That means that we not only believe that our farm should profit so it can keep operating but also that our community, and the environment should profit from our farms existence.
When it comes to the environment that means we don't just think our farm should be sustainable, we think it should Regenerate the land we farm and provide a net positive environmental impact of the lands near us and that we can have an impact on. We do this by using rotational grazing to sequester carbon, growing and planting hundreds of managed trees, making and applying several cubic yards of biochar annually, working to reduce storm water runoff, increasing wildlife and pollinator habitat on farm and off, promoting non-lethal predator control with LGDs, and supplementing our pigs diets with perfectly good products that would otherwise end up in a landfill such as pumpkins, cider apple pressings, goat milk whey, spent brewers grains, and veggies.
As for our community, we work hard to supply healthy nutrient dense food, educate the public on what they can do to to help support positive change in our area, and support as many local businesses over box stores as possible with our farm purchases and practices.