Welcome to Knob Hill Farm. We are Mike and Janine Robertson and we appreciate you as our customer. We know that many of our customers like to know who they are buying from and their farm practices. We hope this story of our farm helps gives you a little insight about us.
Know your farmers. It's a phrase that is used a lot. But it's easier said than done, isn't it? Let us give you a little insight into who we are. Both Mike and Janine come from agricultural backgrounds. Janine’s parents farmed and they both came from farming families as well. Mike grew up helping on his uncle's farm, where his mother grew up farming, and four generations before her farmed the same land. (The land was homesteaded by their family around the Civil War.) Mike's father's family has roots in farming as well, going back generations. We aren't following in their footsteps exactly, but we have farming in our genes. We love it and we want to raise our kids knowing where their food comes from.
We both attended Iowa State University and Majored in Agriculture, but this is not where our paths first crossed. We met at Living History Farms where Janine was working after college and Mike did some volunteer work on the 1900 Farm site with the draft horses. Mike left for South Dakota to teach Agricultural Education. He then came back as the Supervisor for the 1900 farm site at Living History Farms. So, it only makes sense that Janine left for Jackson Hole to work on a guest ranch. To make a long story shorter we kept in touch and eventually got married in 2007.
Fast forward though some interesting years that should probably be in a book someday, we bought Knob Hill in 2013. The land was originally homesteaded back in the 1840's and was called Knob Hill due to the lay of the land where the building site is located. From the research we have done the homestead was not built until the early 1900's. The Barn, built around 1910, and the House, built in 1915, were the only two buildings left when we moved onto Knob Hill Farm.
We immediately began transforming Knob Hill Farm to meet our vision while preserving the past. First, we built a corral fence so we’d have a place for our team of Belgian cross horses. Mike uses them to make hay, along with other work around the farm. Then we built our early 1900s-style hog buildings (with a few modern upgrades!). Mike also built a small hen house for our laying hens and converted some pasture for broilers, sweet corn production and a garden.
We also began the process and paperwork of transitioning the whole property to Certified Organic. In 2016 we began selling USDA Certified Organic Heritage Berkshire-cross hogs. Since then we have added Pasture Broilers, Free Range Hens for Eggs, Hay, Small Grains, and Sweet Corn. All USDA Certified Organic.
Along the way we added the best part... our 3 children. Together, the 5 of us are enjoying raising food the way we believe it should be done. As a family-owned and operated farm, we pour our hearts into everything we produce. We take great pride in the quality of our products. Please don't be afraid to ask us any questions. Be sure to follow our journey and look for updates on Facebook and Instagram. We truly appreciate your support!
