Meet Your Farmers, and Know Where Your Food Comes From
Meet Glenn,
I’ve been working with the Austin family for years, and I chose them because of their transparent, honest, organic, sustainable growing practices. I first met them when I worked just a few stands down from them at the Minturn Market in 2017. They invited me to their family farm and I instantly knew that they were exactly the kind of people I wanted to be getting my food from, and the people I wanted to partner with because they are the kind of people you can really trust.
History
Farming has been an essential part of their family for a very long time. In the 1700s the Austin family was granted land in the state of Tennessee.
Sustainability has always been the center of focus for the Austin family since day one.
It was highly important to them to grow the most nutritious and healthy food for both their family and community.
In 1970, Glenn and Tony Austin, along with their four young children, made the move out west to the Rocky Mountains. They started out by renting and working on other growers’ orchards and raising cattle before partnering with a family friend named Jean VanDuzen in 1993 and obtaining the land which would become Austin Family Farm.
Today, nearly 5 decades later, 4 generations of the Austin family live and work on the small family farm, caring for the soil and using “beyond-organic” farming methods they will continue for many decades to come.
“At its best, food production contributes to personal and environmental health. At its worst, it can be toxic to our bodies and our lands.”
Growing Practices
When looking at food production, it can be a positive contributor to both personal and environmental health, but it can also have a negative impact if producers are not using healthy practice.
Soil health, sustainability, and environmental ethics are the foundation of Austin Family Farm. Glenn has dedicated his life’s work to being a steward of the land, “committed to building healthier, nutrient-dense soil by employing” natural, sustainable growing methods.
Austin Family Farm operates as a “non-certified organic” farm, which means that everything used in the growing process is on the approved list for organics, but there are many materials on the certified organic list that the Austin’s will not use because they consider them too harsh for their standards.
Products/Season
Peaches, plums, nectarines, raspberries, apricots, watermelon, cantaloupe, pears, 16 different varieties of apples! And the best dang cherries I’ve ever tasted in my life is just some of the fruit you will find growing on the farm. As well as beets, kale, garlic, peas, 11 varieties of squash, corn, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and more! All grown beyond-organic and with so much love!
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