THE FAMILY

Four years ago Benjamin and Meghan were living in the Chicago suburbs, working for startup software tech companies, thinking about what their day to day lives held. They had just begun looking to purchase a home and had a strong sense of the hamster wheel they’d be on for the next thirty years if they kept on doing what they were doing; a full and comfortable life, no doubt, but not really the one they were looking for. 

The couple went on vacation to Paris and while there, fell in love with the slow lifestyle... particularly, the way in which food is produced locally, purchased in market-settings, and more often than not, shared with others.

They started dreaming about a different, more fulfilling life. Benjamin and Meghan wanted the culmination of their days to add up to more than the average suburban existence: years where the better parts of each week are spent working corporate jobs, meals that are quick and comprised of processed foods, schedules that are heavy but not necessarily meaningful. 

Eventually they found their way to agriculture and after endlessly searching, bought a 10 acre farm in Beloit, WI. Since 2016 the couple has been working day in and day out, in addition to their salaried jobs, to bring that dream to fruition. 

With backgrounds in product management, business development and marketing, the couple has found that so many of their skill sets are not only applicable, but help to set them apart as farmers. Ben and Meghan have leaned heavily on their agile experience to build, measure and learn quickly. 

As farmers, they seek a holistic approach to use their land to cultivate and nurture community, while inspiring others to live a life of freedom and wellness.

THE FARM

Benjamin and Meghan’s farm, Field and Farm Co, offers produce, beef, chicken, lamb and pastured eggs directly to consumers.

Over the past three years the couple has grown over 240 varieties of organic vegetables and melons. All produce is sustainably farmed, local and organic. Pesticides and harmful chemicals are never used, from seed to harvest. All beef is grass-fed and grass-finished on open pasture, with no growth hormones.

Because so much of this endeavor is designed to bring others into the fold of the farm, from day one the couple has hosted farm to table dinners on-site. To date, they’ve entertained 213 people for a variety of gastronomic experiences.

The most notable dinners were three that the couple hosted in the summer of 2018. Ben and Meghan hired chefs from Chicago who used all of their produce (harvested that morning) and beef to craft a four-course dinner for guests. The couple found people were driving four hours round trip to attend these dinners and considered it a highlight of their year. Strangers became friends over the simple act of breaking bread and Benjamin and Meghan saw their mission unfold before them.