Fresh off the Farm
Farmer Browns use traditional farming methods to produce bounty
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RONAN – Nestled in the foothills of the mighty Mission Mountain range lies a six-acre slice of heaven that makes one feel as if they have traveled back in time to a more simple way of living. As the sun casts purple and orange hues onto the nearby Mission Mountains, one could hear family children laughing and watch as eldest sons Riley and Bailey playfully boxed each other to decide who would milk the toughest cow today.
The owners of this plot of land are Frank and Dana Brown, who live here with their nine children, with one more due in October. The Brown family uses old-fashioned farming techniques in raising hens, pigs, pastured meat birds, freedom ranger chickens, and a small herd of milking cows on their six-acre farm.
To ensure all work is completed each day, each of the children have certain chores they are responsible for. Along with the hustle and bustle of farm life, Frank and Dana home school their children, providing their very own 4-H competitions held within the family.
“We try to push the envelope with everything,” Frank said.
Living by that motto, the Brown family tries not to waste anything produced on their farm, creating unique ways to turn scraps into useful materials for the farm.
“Health food comes from healthy soil,” Dana said. “We try not to have any waste. It’s all gold to us.”
In the summer months the family produces so much food that they rarely visit the local grocery store, except for everyday items that can’t be made on the farm.
“I probably haven’t been to the grocery in three months,” Dana laughed. “We try to eat what is in season and on hand, while stashing some away for the winter.”
“We make a game of trying to create different meals at the dinner table,” Frank added. “It’s a lot of fun.”
The family uses old-fashioned techniques to work their soil, strategically rotating animals around their fields. Chickens, hens, and turkeys are contained in mobile, solar powered electric fences that are moved daily to provide the animals with fresh grass. This also improves the flavor and overall quality of the eggs.
Another perk to keeping the birds on rotation is the birds work the soil over, cleaning, restoring, and sanitizing the pasture while also providing fertilizer.
Once the birds have had their go in a pasture, milk cows mow down the pasture and the process starts all over again.
Currently the Browns have 450 birds, including ducks. In the spring they sometimes have more than 1,000. Frank and Dana sell their produce privately and process most of their meat at the farm.
The family uses their greenhouses to full capacity year-round. In the winter they use the greenhouses for baby-chicks, who then work and fertilize the soil for crops to be grown in the spring and summer months.
Daughter Jayna has taken an interest in having her own garden, which she uses to fill Community Supported Agriculture baskets. Jayna is currently harvesting fresh vegetables, eggs, baked goods and flowers. She has also become a hit at the Polson Farmers Market, where her famous cinnamon rolls quickly sell out.
According to Dana, she is living her life-long dream of living off the land with her large, loving family. She thinks it’s nice to live as her grandparents did.
