Meet Jacob Sawyer: A Farmer’s Journey to Sustainable Food Production
My name is Jacob Sawyer, and I’ve been farming for about five years now, working the land my grandfather, Sheldon Roupp, owns. Although I never had the chance to meet my great-grandfather, the last farmer to have worked this land, the farm has always been in my blood. Growing up, I watched my grandpa Sheldon and dad Jason raise the occasional pigs, cows, and chickens. Yet, it wasn’t until the last five years that anyone in our family had the desire to turn the farm into a livelihood again.
What sparked my journey into farming wasn’t just a love for the land, but my passion for cooking. I’ve always believed that to make the best meals, you need to start with the best ingredients. I began researching and educating myself about sustainable farming practices, drawing inspiration from farming legends like Joel Salatin and Will Harris, and turning to The Bearded Butchers for butchery guidance and education, as well as countless other butchers who share their knowledge on YouTube. But my journey wasn’t just about cooking. As I learned more about how food is produced and the distance it travels to grocery stores, I began to realize how fragile our food system is.
The more I studied, the more I understood that if something were to go wrong with the way food is produced, it could lead to a crisis for the American people. In many communities, people are increasingly disconnected from their food sources. Even though it may seem like you’re surrounded by farms, much of the food produced is sent miles away to be processed and redistributed. On top of that, many farmers today are contractors bound by strict regulations from corporate meat producers, and if they break the rules, they risk losing their contracts—and their farms.
This realization made me question the system that governs our food production. While I have the utmost respect for these larger-scale operations, I believe relying solely on them is a risky game. We are putting all our eggs in one basket when food should be as accessible and saleable by the people who have a passion to produce it directly. Though I can’t feed the world or even my whole town, I want to create a farm that can nourish my local community with food that is not only sustainable but also safe, healthy, and regenerative. My goal is simple: to grow food with care, attention to quality, and respect for the land.
Through this farm, I’m working hard to offer food security for my community by focusing on regenerative farming practices that nurture the land, raise healthy animals, and produce nutrient-dense food that people crave. I’m proud to be part of a movement that’s shifting the way we think about food and food production, and I’m excited to continue growing this farm with my community in mind.