I have identified my interviewee as Joe Amsterdam of Sweet Pea Farms in Shermans Dale, PA. I am still waiting for a response from Joe but if no response continues, I plan on driving there and popping in because apparently Joe enjoys when interested potential customers drop in. Sweet Pea Farms is a small 45 acre farm that raises lambs, laying hens, pork, and meat chickens. They raise their animals on free range pasture, and free of GMOs and antibiotics. Sweet Pea Farms operates at Farmers on the Square which is how I have heard of them.
I plan on the theme of the interview focusing on why him and his wife decided to go into farming as well as any difficulties they have had on such a small farm. I plan on asking the following questions:
- When did you start animal farming and why?
- What is the daily commitment like?
- What have been some of the specific challenges of running a small-scale meat farm in an era where there are so many large corporate farms?
- Did you start out with some sort of support system/was this all or nothing?
- What are your thoughts on meats that do not come from farms like yours?
- Do you have any advice for someone just starting out that you wished you would have known when you started?
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