Hello from the Willis Family!
Over the past few years in business, we have been incredibly blessed to have many customers become friends. But I realize I have not taken the time to put a long-format version of our story down on paper. We are the Willis Family and your farmers here at Six Days Farm! I am Amanda, the one who is behind all the social media/emails/website/photos/etc. My husband Justin is our chief labor executive and does 99% of all the day-to-day labor on the farm. He does this so that I can spend the bulk of my time caring for our two young children, Eliza (almost 2) and Daniel (4 months). We love having the kids join us on the farm when the weather and chore list permits. Eliza is a feral farm child through and through! If you have seen us at a farmer’s market, you likely have already seen her in action, visiting with other vendors and leaving her shoes behind at every opportunity. She is a ball of passion and energy that does not rest for a minute!
While our farm has only officially been in business for three years, we have been involved in agriculture and land stewardship much longer than that. Justin grew up locally, living in Moneta near Smith Mountain Lake, as an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps upon graduating from high school and served for almost ten years, including three deployments to the Middle East. Upon finishing his service, he returned to Virginia and worked as a truck driver for several local companies. I am an Illinois native, having grown up heavily involved in the local 4H club and horse show circuit. With a veterinarian for a mother, there has always been a large assortment of critters around! In the past, I have had dogs, cats, various small animals (guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, etc.), goats, poultry, and horses. It took having my own farm to add cows and pigs to the list! I attended college in Massachusetts and then moved to Lynchburg for a job opportunity.
As you can probably predict, Justin was only too happy to offer to show the new girl around town. A wedding, two babies, and a few moves later, here we are! We have expanded from living in a one-bedroom apartment in Lynchburg to the current farm here in Monroe. Our initial foray into farming was on a much smaller scale, only 10 acres, and both working full-time town jobs. We started our venture with two dozen meat chickens and a trio of pigs. We even attempted a small garden! Spoiler alert, it did not go well. We have sworn ever since to leave vegetable production to those better qualified. The chickens and pigs went so well that they prompted an impulse milk cow purchase! We will save the story of our first milk cow for another time. It was one of the first hard lessons in farming for us.
Throughout this journey, we have become increasingly passionate about the quality of our food, how it is raised, and the effect on the land. Our goal is to produce pastured pork and grass-fed beef that is ethically raised, beneficial to the earth, nutrient-dense, and incredibly delicious to boot! This farm is the legacy we hope to leave our children one day, and we try to use that lens when making decisions about caring for it. We have expanded to a small herd of beef cattle, more pigs than any sensible person would own, some sheep, and a handful of milk cows.
Through our social media and blogs like this one, we hope to share the beauty and joy of our life on the farm with you. You can’t all travel to the farm and walk the pastures with us. But hopefully, these digital connections will make you feel as rooted here as we do.
