Rachel and Ryan Rhodes own and operate a family poultry farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. They have two sons, Oliver and Henry, two dogs (Jelly and Reba), and two crazy cats (Don and Earl) and they produce 570,000 broilers with no antibiotics ever (NAE) annually. They also grow 45 acres of corn, wheat and soybeans. Click to read Rachel’s guest blog post.
Every morning I get up before the sun rises, the house is dark and quiet. I start my tea, let the dogs out, and enjoy a few moments of silence before the hectic day begins. While prepping for the day, I watch the sun as it slowly peaks over the tree line, golden rays of sunshine illuminate every blade of wheat like an emerald green road leading to the farm. As the sun rises higher, the light reflects off our five chicken houses. Never in a million years did I imagine when I met my husband nine years ago we’d own a slice of the American dream. My husband Ryan is an 11th generation farmer and a 2nd generation chicken farmer. The aspiration of owning a farm and raising birds was definitely on the forefront for him but not for myself. As we started our journey together, Ryan continued managing his mother’s chicken farm while grain farming with his grandfather, uncle, and brother. It wasn’t until we were married that we decided it was time to branch out on our own.
