Smoke in Chimneys

Spring Raised Trout.

Throughout the year we hatch and grow out Rainbow, Brooke, Brown, and Golden trout. All of our trout are grown and raised in the fresh mountain spring water that comes out of the rock only meters away from the hatchery building.

The fragile eggs are intensely monitored and cared for in the hatchery building for the most quality protection while also receiving sunlight through various windows.

The fish are grown out to able size and then transferred to one of the various ponds on the property. Because the ecosystem of the stream is extremely healthy, there are a lot of naturally occurring bugs and vertebrates that grow in the water that the fish feed on.

The raceways, ponds, and fish are never treated with chemicals or antibiotics. The ponds have full sun and have spring water flowing through them constantly.

In addition to bug food that naturally occurs in the ponds and water we feed our fish the best quality feed we have been able to find thus far. This feed is 65% protein and fat from ocean-based fish products. There is a 4% grain fiber included, which is the lowest grain fiber feed we have been able to source. The last 30% is plant products and trace minerals to ensure a balanced nutrient make-up.

As the fish grow they are transferred to larger ponds and ready for harvest! 

Klymer Ridge Farm

Grass fed and finished beef.

This all started in 2018. We ventured down the rabbit hole of the commercial food industry, as we dug in, we quickly decided that for ourselves and children that we would raise and grow as much of our food as possible.

It was an instant conviction that I felt, ”What have I been supporting?” It wasn’t just the poor quality/overly processed foods. It was the lack of stewardship to the land and lack of a quality life to the livestock.

So, here we are, giving it the best response that we know how. What started as more of a homestead approach has quickly turned to a farm feeding many families throughout our community.

We appreciate you partnering with us in this journey.

Diehl Family Farm

Pasture Raised Poultry & Eggs.

We are a first generation family farm focused on a holistic approach to heal the land and grow pasture raised poultry and pork without the use of antibiotics, vaccinations or chemical fertilizers.

Tidewater Grain

Heirloom Carolina Rice.

Carolina Gold Rice is the original rice to the Americas.

This heirloom grain is the great granddaddy of most of the rice grown in America today. It is said that its American roots trace back to the late 1680’s in the port of Charleston, SC. The story goes that the captain of a merchant ship from Madagascar used his cargo of rice seed to pay for much needed ship repairs.

The seed landed in the hands of an ambitious farmer named Dr. Henry Woodward. He planted the first crop of rice in the Americas and it flourished. Soon, rice was the cash crop. Production took over the South Carolina lowlands. Rice plantations began moving north into the coastal plain, known as the Tidewater region. This stretch of coastal land went from Eastern North Carolina up into Virginia.

Rice farming in the Carolinas thrived for nearly 200 years due to the region’s fertile soil, river waters to flood the plain and nearby coastal ports to facilitate easy distribution to England and Europe.

With the end of the Civil War, the labor force for Southern coastal plantations, made up primarily of enslaved people, all but disappeared.

In the early 1900’s came market pressures, a series of destructive hurricanes and the boom of commodity farming, all of which combined to effectively end rice farming in North Carolinas.

That is until now. The Tidewater Grain Company is proud to announce that after a 120-year hiatus; Carolina Gold Rice production is back in Eastern North Carolina.

Peaceful Heart Farm

Artisan cheese and milk.

Heritage and tradition are very important to us at Peaceful Heart Farm, so our cheeses are based on time-honored European cheese methods that we have adapted to our local conditions in southern Virginia. We embrace the changes in the seasons that lead to delicious and discernible variations in our cheeses. 

Our cows graze all day on pasture and live a peaceful life. We practice integrity with all of our farming practices and give unending attention to our livestock. We value their lives and health. All animals are born and raised on pasture.  They eat grass in the summer and hay, as needed, in winter.

The taste of each of our handcrafted cheeses reflects the animal health, diverse pastures, clean water, and soil minerals that go into the milk. Our goal is to capture the full flavor and nutritional qualities of the rich, raw Normande cow’s milk and preserve it in the form of exceptionally aged artisan cheese. All Peaceful Heart Farm cheese is made with raw milk, completely hand made and slowly aged.