May 30

May 30 Know your farmers: Farm living meets biodiversity

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https://www.davidsoncountyfood.com/farmtour

{Contributed Photos/ Photos copyright Geocore Creative, Inc.}

Klymer Ridge Farm and Homestead is not your ordinary Farm and Homestead in Thomasville, NC. As a first generation farm, here they put into use regenerative farming practices, a holistic farming system of sorts. This practice improves water and air quality, helps to enhance ecosystem biodiversity, produce nutrient-dense food, and store carbon to help mitigate the effects of climate change.

Thad and his wife Heidi Wymer dug into farming in 2020 when the food system appeared to be collapsing. Their original goal was to be able to provide food for their family and friends. They had no idea that their passion to provide a good food source would grow so large that they would also be able to provide enough food to their community.

The duo strives to provide our community with premium beef, pork, poultry and eggs through holistic management with livestock using regenerative practices to build soil and quality forage at the same time.

Thad never grew up around farming but had always admired how honorable the farming way of life, taught. He and his wife believe morally that cultivating the land holistically honors the land, animals and the consumer. They typically have anywhere between 30-40 Berkshire and Berkshire/Duroc cross pigs, 45-50 Dexter cattle, 15-20 sheep and a few hundred broiler chickens on about 145 acres of land.

Working on the farm has become a family affair. As evidenced by their vibrant social media presence. One post sums it up. “The best part was that she asked to help, the kiddos love to be right in the mix everyday.”

The breed types of each animal here were selected as they are all of top varieties. Take for instance the Berkshire pig, this breed of pig consistently produces excellent meat. They are renowned for texture, tenderness, juiciness and overall flavor. Dexter cattle are good for milking and their excellent meat quality. You will also find their pack of Great Pyrenees herding and guarding the livestock with their new addition Axel, an Anatolian Shepherd.

“Being a part of the Thomasville Farmers Market has been a great way to network with other local producers along with helping the community realize that there’s a better option and selection of food other than the supermarket.”

The couple celebrates many facets of the ecosystem. “Studies have shown that dung beetles can recycle up to 90% of the nitrogen directly into the soil! God[’s] design is absolutely amazing and we are so blessed to see it everyday,” they write. “The changes that we have seen as our ecosystem slowly rebuilds itself has been amazing. So many birds and pollinators have come out this spring that we’ve never seen before. New species of legumes and native grasses in our pastures are thriving more than ever. Our cattle are happy, our soil is building, it’s making all of the effort worth it! Moving cattle daily with minimal infrastructure is a ton of work but seeing these changes gives us the energy to press on.”

Klymer Ridge Farm and Homestead is open to the public by appointment only when they are not at the Thomasville Farmers Market. They are currently working on a website and have a Facebook and Instagram account along with a Youtube channel where you can find out what is going on down at the farm. Thad films everything from his morning routine, livestock videos of cattle grazing on the pasture and provides some in depth information about the practices they use and what works.