The Prairie Foods Story (Full Version)

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July 11, 2025

We didn’t set out to start a food company. We just wanted to farm—and live a simple life close to the land. But our story quickly became much more than that.

What began with cornfields and conventional practices evolved into a hard-earned shift toward regenerative grazing, real food, and a deep commitment to soil health. Along the way, we faced financial setbacks, personal loss, and years of chronic illness that no doctor could explain. What ultimately helped us heal wasn’t just food—but how that food was grown, and the community it connected us to.

Prairie Foods was born out of that journey.

The Early Years

We got married in the spring of 2015 and moved to the home farm where my parents were living. The farm was being leased out at the time, but we were eager to give farming a try—so we jumped in.

In the beginning, we did what most local farmers around us were doing: planting corn, soybeans, and wheat, and making a lot of horse hay. We grazed some dairy heifers on marginal ground and took advice from the experts we had access to—local farmers, ag salesmen, and a crop consultant from the fertilizer company. We tested soils, bought the recommended fertilizer and herbicides, and did our best to follow conventional wisdom.

But despite all the hard work and inputs, the numbers didn’t add up. Each year we dug deeper into debt, and the future began to look bleak. Still, we couldn’t shake our love for the land or our desire to make it work.

Around this time, my personal health began to decline more seriously.

A Long Road with Chronic Illness

My health struggles started early. As a boy, I suffered a head injury after falling off a hay wagon and hitting a steel tractor wheel. It healed—but left me with chronic headaches. At 14, I stepped on a nail and developed a serious infection that required surgery and two months of antibiotics. Looking back, that’s when my gut health collapsed.

In my teens, I constantly battled fatigue, soreness, and headaches. I struggled to work for others, so I started my own side business and worked long hours—pushing through exhaustion with caffeine, energy drinks, and eventually alcohol and tobacco. A fall from a roof later misaligned my neck and spine. My body was maxed out, inside and out.

I went to doctors and chiropractors. We ran every test imaginable. The answers never came. After we married, Lydia could see how much I was struggling—just focusing on basic tasks took everything I had. We ended up in the hospital multiple times, including once after a complete nervous breakdown. The doctors always ran tests, prescribed something, and sent us home.

Finally, a friend introduced us to a homeopathic chiropractor. I found some relief—but not full healing. The core issue remained.

Discovering a New Way to Farm

Even in the middle of all this, I couldn’t shake my growing interest in soil health. I had a gut sense that the only way to make our farm sustainable—financially and physically—was to build healthier soil. I began attending conferences and reading everything I could.

We started replacing synthetic fertilizers with natural amendments, cutting out herbicides, and experimenting with cover crops. A friend invited me to a local grazing meeting, and I found myself immersed in a whole new world of knowledge and inspiration.

I read more books, attended a business school, bought more cows, and started subdividing pastures and stringing fence. I quickly realized: grazing was simpler, more fulfilling, and more regenerative than growing row crops or making hay. It also demanded less of my limited energy—which mattered a lot.

By 2018, we sold our equipment and converted our entire farm to grass. We stopped cropping entirely and rotated cattle across 200 acres, mostly on custom grazing contracts. But we knew our long-term goal was to market our own products directly to families.

That same year, we founded Prairie Foods, created a vision and mission, and dove into farmers markets. We raised beef, pork, chicken, and eggs—until we realized we were spread too thin. We decided to focus, do one thing well, and slowly expand from there.

Our Son, Our Grief, and Our Turning Point

In 2018, we also experienced the greatest loss of our lives. Our son Johnathan died in a farm accident. The grief hit hard and deep—on top of the fatigue, pain, and discouragement we were already carrying. Depression set in, and more medical tests followed, all of them inconclusive.

At that point, we had tried every supplement, diet, and product on the market with little success. But through our exploration of soil health, we had begun to uncover something else—something profound.

We learned that the health of our food depends on the health of the soil it’s grown in. And that even organic food, if grown in poor soil, can be deficient in the nutrients and compounds the body needs to heal.

That realization sparked a shift.

We eliminated processed foods and stimulants, and made it our goal to either grow or personally know the source of everything we ate. We started counseling and began letting go of long-held grief and trauma. We continued working with a chiropractor to restore energy flow and alignment. Slowly—step by step—healing began.

It didn’t happen overnight. It’s still unfolding. But between clean food, soil-based nutrition, emotional healing, and divine intervention, I got my life back.

Why Prairie Foods Exists

Prairie Foods was born out of our journey. It’s more than a business. It’s a mission—to help small farmers thrive while producing nutrient-dense, truly clean food. It's also a platform to serve families navigating the same health challenges we walked through.

We’ve partnered with like-minded farms to grow and raise food the way nature intended, while preserving a lifestyle that honors simplicity, stewardship, and community. Our goal isn’t just to keep one farm going—it’s to help preserve a way of life that’s quickly disappearing.

Food alone won’t heal every wound. But never underestimate the power of real, nourishing food to restore the body, mind, and soul.

We’re here today because of what we walked through—and the prayers God answered. And we’re here to offer food you can trust, grown by people who care deeply.

What's actually IN raw milk? There are 3 big reasons to choose it.

You've probably heard people talk about raw milk being "more nutritious" than pasteurized milk. But what does that actually mean? What's in raw milk that makes it different? And why does it matter for your health? If you're considering making the switch to raw milk, understanding what you're getting (and what pasteurization destroys) is important. Here are the 3 big components that make raw milk uniquely nourishing and what happens when you heat them away. 1. Living Enzymes That Help You Digest Raw milk contains naturally occurring enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that facilitate chemical reactions in your body. The main digestive enzymes in raw milk include proteases, lipase, and phosphatase. What These Enzymes Do Proteases help break down milk proteins, making them easier to digest and absorb. This is especially important for people who struggle with dairy digestion.Lipase aids in fat digestion, helping your body break down and utilize the cream and butterfat in milk more efficiently.Phosphatase plays a crucial role in helping your body absorb calcium and other minerals from the milk. Why This Matters These enzymes make milk "self-digesting." Your body doesn't have to work as hard to break down and absorb the nutrients, because the milk is helping do the work itself. The enzymes essentially pre-digest components of the milk, making it easier on your digestive system. What Pasteurization Does Heat destroys these enzymes completely. In fact, the absence of phosphatase is actually used as a test to confirm milk has been properly pasteurized, because this enzyme is one of the most heat-resistant. Pasteurized milk has zero active enzymes left. Your digestive system has to do all the work on its own, without any help from the milk itself. This is one reason why many people who struggle with pasteurized milk have no problems with raw milk. The enzymes are still alive and actively helping with digestion. 2. Beneficial Bacteria and Probiotics Raw milk isn't sterile... and that's actually a good thing. It contains beneficial bacteria and natural probiotics that support gut health, immune function, and overall digestion. When milk comes from healthy, grass-fed cows raised on clean pastures with proper handling and safety protocols, these bacteria are beneficial (not harmful). What Beneficial Bacteria Do Support your gut microbiome - The good bacteria in raw milk help maintain the balance of microorganisms in your digestive system, which is foundational to immune health.Crowd out harmful bacteria - Beneficial bacteria compete with and suppress potentially harmful bacteria, creating a healthier overall environment.Aid in nutrient absorption - These bacteria help your body extract and absorb nutrients more effectively from the food you eat.Produce additional vitamins - Beneficial bacteria can produce vitamins like B12 and K2 right in your digestive system.Can jumpstart your body into producing the lactase enzyme - Lactase is the enzyme needed to digest lactose, milk sugar. And this is why some people who are lactose-intolerant (produce zero or not enough lactase) can handle raw milk but not pasteurized. The Living Food Difference Raw milk from healthy, grass-fed cows on clean pastures contains the good bacteria your body needs. It's a living and probiotic food, similar to yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, or kombucha. What Pasteurization Does Heat kills ALL bacteria, both good and bad. Pasteurized milk is essentially "dead" milk, sterile, lifeless, with nothing left to support your gut microbiome. The very bacteria that make raw milk a living, probiotic food are completely destroyed by the pasteurization process. This is why raw milk supports gut health and immunity in ways pasteurized milk simply cannot. The beneficial bacteria that could help your digestive system are no longer present. 3. Heat-Sensitive Vitamins and Minerals Raw milk is naturally rich in vitamins and minerals: B vitamins (B2, B12), vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and more. But here's the problem: many of these nutrients are heat-sensitive. They don't survive the pasteurization process intact. What Pasteurization Does to Nutrients Vitamin C is significantly reduced or completely destroyed by heat.B vitamins (especially B6 and B12) are partially degraded during pasteurization.Folate levels drop when milk is heated.Vitamin A and Vitamin D can be damaged or altered by heat processing.Mineral absorption becomes more difficult. While the minerals themselves (like calcium and magnesium) remain in pasteurized milk, your body can't absorb and use them as effectively without the living enzymes and beneficial bacteria that facilitate mineral absorption. The Bioavailability Factor Pasteurized milk might still contain some vitamins. They're often added back artificially after processing to replace what was lost. But your body can't absorb and use synthetic vitamins as effectively as naturally occurring ones. And without the living enzymes and bacteria, even the vitamins that survive pasteurization are harder for your body to access and utilize. Raw milk delivers vitamins and minerals in their natural, bioavailable form. It's the way your body recognizes and uses them best. Everything works together synergistically: the enzymes help break down nutrients, the bacteria aid absorption, and the vitamins remain in their intact, natural state. The Bottom Line: Raw Milk Is Alive Here's the fundamental difference: Pasteurized milk is dead milk. The heat process kills the enzymes, destroys the beneficial bacteria, and degrades heat-sensitive vitamins. What's left is nutritionally inferior. It's harder to digest, less bioavailable, and stripped of the living components that make milk truly nourishing. Raw milk from healthy, grass-fed cows is alive: Living enzymes that help you digest proteins, fats, and minerals. Beneficial bacteria that support your gut microbiome and immune system. Vitamins and minerals in their natural, bioavailable form that your body can actually use. This is why people choose raw milk: for maximum nutrition and digestibility. Not All Raw Milk Is Created Equal It's important to note that the quality and safety of raw milk depends entirely on how it's produced. Raw milk from sick cows in unsanitary conditions is NOT safe. Raw milk from confinement dairies with poor handling practices is not the same as raw milk from healthy, grass-fed cows on well-managed pastures. Quality matters... a lot. Our Raw A2A2 Milk Standards Our raw milk comes from 100% grass-fed A2A2 cows on regenerative pastures. Here's what makes it different: ✓ Never heated or pasteurized - All enzymes, bacteria, and nutrients remain intact and alive. ✓ Rapid cooling to 34°F - Milk is cooled immediately after milking to preserve freshness and safety. ✓ Monthly lab testing - We test every month to ensure safety and quality. ✓ Gold Standard safety protocols - Strict cleanliness, organic cleaning products, 160°F hot water sanitation, proper equipment maintenance. ✓ Time limits - Milk is never held longer than 3 days in the bulk tank to ensure maximum freshness. ✓ A2A2 genetic testing - All our dairy cows are tested to ensure they produce only A2 beta-casein protein, which is easier to digest for most people. ✓ 100% grass-fed - Cows graze fresh pasture during growing season and eat hay in winter. Never grain, never confined. ✓ Fresh within days - From the cow to your refrigerator within days, not weeks. This is milk the way nature intended. Alive, nourishing, and safe. Who Should Choose Raw Milk? Raw milk is ideal for people who: Want maximum nutrition and digestibility from their dairy. Struggle with pasteurized milk but want the benefits of dairy. Care about eating living, probiotic foods. Want to support regenerative agriculture and independent farms. Prefer minimally processed, traditional foods. Are looking for bioavailable nutrients in their natural form. A Note on Digestibility Many people who can't tolerate pasteurized milk have zero issues with raw milk. This is likely because: The living enzymes (especially proteases) help break down milk proteins. Beneficial bacteria aid digestion.Beneficial bacteria can jumpstart your body into producing lactase. The A2 protein is naturally easier to digest than A1 protein. The milk is in its natural, unaltered state. If you've struggled with dairy before, raw milk from grass-fed A2A2 cows might be worth trying. The Choice Is Yours We're not here to tell you what to drink. We're here to give you accurate information, so you can make informed decisions for your family. Raw milk offers something pasteurized milk cannot: living enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and heat-sensitive nutrients in their natural, bioavailable form. For families who prioritize nutrition, digestibility, and supporting independent regenerative farms, raw milk makes sense. If you're ready to try truly alive, nutrient-dense milk from grass-fed A2A2 cows, we're here. SHOP RAW A2A2 DAIRY. Questions About Raw Milk? We know raw milk can seem unfamiliar or even intimidating if you've never tried it before. If you have questions about safety, storage, taste, or anything else, we're happy to answer them. Just reach out. We're real farmers, not a corporate customer service department. We actually want to hear from you. CONTACT US.

Why does our farm direct food cost more? Here are 5 big reasons why.

We're not going to pretend our food is cheap. When you compare our prices to conventional grocery store meat and dairy (even the organic kind), there's a clear difference. And we know that matters, especially when you're trying to feed a family on a budget. But here's the thing: the price gap exists for very specific reasons. We wanted to be completely transparent about what you're actually paying for when you choose Prairie Foods. Because it's not just food. It's a completely different system. 1. We Don't Get Government Subsidies Conventional agriculture is heavily subsidized by the government. Corn, soy, and grain crops get billions in subsidies every year, which keeps the price of conventional feed (and therefore conventional dairy and meat) artificially low. Our plain farmers don't get those subsidies. We raise animals on 100% grass and pasture without any subsidized grain. That means we pay the real cost of farming. No government checks to offset expenses. You're paying what food actually costs to produce the right way. 2. Regenerative, Pasture-Based Farming Is Labor-Intensive Moving cattle and rotating chickens to fresh pasture daily during the growing season. Moving pig fencing often so they have new un-muddied land to make muddy. Managing complex pasture rotations to build soil health. This takes time. A lot of it. Factory farms cram thousands of animals in confinement and automate everything. It's efficient, but it's also why those animals never see sunlight, stand in their own waste, and need constant drugs to stay alive. Our way is slower, harder, and requires more hands-on work. Our plain farmers are out there every day. They're moving animals, checking pastures, managing soil health, and ensuring every animal has fresh grass and clean water. That labor is built into the price. You're paying for farming that heals the land instead of destroying it. 3. We Have Extremely High Standards Most farms do the bare minimum required by regulations. We do significantly more. For raw dairy: Monthly lab testing (not just the required minimum)Gold Standard safety protocolsTemperature control to 34°F immediately after milkingStrict timeline limits (milk held no longer than 3 days)Organic cleaning products and 160°F hot water sanitationA2A2 genetic testing on all dairy cows For meat processing: Small-batch processing with more care and attentionWashed only with water (no chemical washes)In house butchering that prioritizes quality over speed These standards cost more to maintain. But they're why you can trust our food completely. You're paying for safety and quality that go far beyond legal requirements. 4. We Pay Our Farmers Fairly Factory farms squeeze farmers on contracts that barely let them survive. Many contract farmers are essentially trapped, doing all the work while corporations keep most of the profit. We don't operate that way. Our plain farmers are independent. They help set their prices, make their own decisions, and keep fair profits from their work. They're not beholden to corporate contracts or being squeezed to the breaking point. When you buy from Prairie Foods, farmers actually make a living. Fair pay for farmers means they can continue doing this work for the long term --- raising animals right, building soil health, and providing clean food for families like yours. You're paying for a food system that respects the people who grow your food. 5. Free Shipping Is Built Into Product Prices Most online food stores charge separate shipping fees. They're often $20-50+ per order, which can be shocking at checkout. We handle it differently. We roll most of the delivery cost into our product prices so we can offer free delivery over certain order amounts. This makes budgeting easier (no surprise fees at checkout) and rewards customers who stock up. Yes, this means our prices may look higher. But when you factor in free delivery, the total cost is often competitive... and way more transparent. You're paying for convenience and honest pricing with no hidden fees. The Bottom Line Our food costs more because: We're not subsidized by the governmentRegenerative farming requires more laborOur standards are significantly higher than requiredWe pay farmers fairlyDelivery is included in the price We're not trying to compete with factory farm prices (even the organic ones). We can't. And honestly, we don't want to. Factory farming only looks cheap because the real costs are hidden: environmental destruction, animal suffering, depleted nutrition, farmer exploitation, and long-term health consequences. Our prices reflect the true cost of doing things right. Is It Worth It? Only you can answer that for your family. But here's what our customers often tell us: "We spend more on food now, but we spend way less at the doctor." "I'd rather invest in real food than pay for it later with my health." "When I think about what I'm actually getting - clean food, healthy soil, fair pay for farmers - it's worth every penny." We're not asking you to justify the expense to anyone else. We're just asking you to understand what you're actually paying for. Real food from independent regenerative farms. Raised right. Every time. Questions about pricing or products? Contact us. We're here 🙂 ----- P.S. If budget is a concern, you might consider switching out one grocery store item and/or focusing on our most affordable cuts: ground beef, whole chickens, larger bulk purchases. You can still eat clean, regenerative food without breaking the bank.

Steak IQ: NY Strip

Also known as the strip loin or Kansas City Strip, this cut comes from the short loin, a well-exercised part of the animal with just the right amount of fat to deliver bold, beefy flavor.

The Prairie Foods Story (Full Version)

The Early Years

A Long Road with Chronic Illness

Discovering a New Way to Farm

Our Son, Our Grief, and Our Turning Point

Why Prairie Foods Exists

More from the blog

What's actually IN raw milk? There are 3 big reasons to choose it.

Why does our farm direct food cost more? Here are 5 big reasons why.

Steak IQ: NY Strip

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