A Farm That Nourishes Body and Soul

  • There are five members of this farm family. L to R ; Corva, Holly, Andy, and Bea. The fifth is the unborn!

  • Andy inspects his spring crops every morning to monitor threats from climate change.

  • The farm which is in the mountains of North Carolina is almost four seasons. Additional greenhouses and diversification in animal production will accomplish this goal in the next year.

  • Produce is the main revenue center for this farm. They sell everything that they grow and grow everything that they sell.

  • Goats serve a special niche by maintaining hillside pastures which can not be cultivated.

  • Farm apprentices which are provided housing and food in addition to salary serve as the labor force for the farm.

  • Every apprentice brings a unique ability to crop production.

  • A team approach is used for tasks with a high need for intense time investment, as in planting the spring lettuce. No produce crops are directly sowed into the field except cover crops.

  • Apprentices bring skill sets that make them adept and well suited for crop specialization as with Thomas and his spinach field.

  • The farm matriarch does it all, here breastfeeding as she weeds the onions.

  • The sun is unforgiving at times and there is no way to escape it. This is hard work.

  • The sun is unforgiving at times and there is no way to escape it. This is hard work.

  • Her first - Julia at 5 foot 4 inches successfully throws her first bale.

  • The shortest distance between two points is a straight line ... from the kitchen to the compost pile.

  • Worming medicine is applied to prevent intestinal parasites.

  • Harvest time is a solemn time. To give life is to receive life.

  • Recycling turkeys help mitigate climate resilience by improving The Soil's health and moisture retention.

  • On a moonlit morning, Andy leaves the family asleep to go into town to open their booth at the Watauga Farmers Market.

  • Andy believes the tomatoes sell better when they are "arranged."

  • Holly makes a delivery mid-week to one of several restaurants in town that the farm provides produce for.

  • Holly and Andy's two children were born on the farm. Andy prepares all the meals. Holly is already at the dining room table with the computer in the early a.m. generating the picklist for the day. Corva at 15 months will soon have the first base position for food preparation.

  • The children are encouraged to expand their talents. In the mountains, there will always be a need for a good fiddle player.

  • Daughter Bea is filled with a sense of wonder trying to blow steam from the top of the teapot.

  • As Bea grows older, she will take on the responsibility for feeding the draft horses daily.

  • Bea has been taught to bring comfort and compassion to all the farm animals, including the newly arrived turkey poults

A Farm That Nourishes Body and Soul

Against the Grain is a 35-acre diversified farm located 15 minutes from downtown Boone, NC in the community of Zionville.  The farm raises a broad spectrum of Certified Biodynamic and  USDA Certified Organic vegetables on about 2 acres of cropland and pasture-raised, GMO-free, Animal Welfare Approved meats on the remaining pastures, woodlots and hayfields.

I began photographing this farm in 2016 as it represents what is right with the world.  The Soil is considered another family member and receives as high a regard as those who live and work here. Effectively managing threats from climate change ensures the farm’s survival and success.  This family farms with the genuine intent of helping to save the Planet.

Andy and Holly have two children, both were born on the farm.