People are used to buying organic produce from Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) organizations. Now Jessica Isbrecht, 33, owner of Green Duchess Farm in Franklin Township, is adding pasture-raised, antibiotic-free meat to the CSA mix.
In a CSA, people pay upfront to receive a basket of farm-fresh produce every week or two during the course of a growing season. Meat is a fairly new addition, especially in New Jersey.
With help from the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), Isbrecht launched her business in 2014 on three leased acres, growing organic vegetables and raising some heritage turkeys to sell at area farmers’ markets.
Now she has earned full organic certification from the USDA, and “the business has grown exponentially,” she says, “while transitioning towards focusing very heavily on pasture-raised meats.”
This year Isbrecht hopes to sell 100 hogs (reaching 250-300 pounds each at maturity), 1600 chickens and 150 turkeys, plus rabbits and eggs. To her product list she has added three types of breakfast sausage, bratwurst, kielbasa, chorizo, jerky and pet treats made from organ meats.
The meats, sausages and other products can be bought at the Sea Bright, Highlands and Asbury farmers’ markets; also from the Green Duchess farm stand in Franklin Township.
Customers can ensure a steady supply by purchasing a $500 share that provides 60 pounds of meat over a four-month period.
Meats from Green Duchess Farm
“Generally,” Isbrecht says proudly, “as soon as someone tastes my meat, they forsake all others.”
Producing clean meat, as it’s called, requires a farmer’s round-the-clock commitment. Isbrecht has just one full-time and one part-time employee, but her passion lifts the entire enterprise.
“Farming is such hard work, so physically and mentally exhausting,” she says, “that it makes such a difference at the end of the day, when I feel broken down and completely wiped out, to have a customer say, ‘I tried your pork chops and they were fantastic. I want more.’ It feels really good that people appreciate it.”
Isbrecht, an only child, grew up working on her parents’ Long Valley Christmas tree and horse farm. She earned a degree in biology from the University of Delaware and was enjoying a career in environmental testing when, in 2012, her mother died suddenly from an aggressive form of cancer.
“She was my best friend,” Isbrecht says. The trauma made her reassess her life.
“I decided to honor my mom’s spirit,” she says, “by starting a farm and growing food that doesn’t have any cancer-causing ingredients in it.”
Another part of the reassessment was “to raise animals in a kind and compassionate way. I feel a deep sense of fulfillment now,” she says. “I feel good that I am helping people by offering an alternative to the pesticide-and-preservative-laden foods that are pervasive in our food system.”
Green Duchess Farm
289 Bennetts Lane
Franklin Township
973-602-7376
greenduchessfarm.com
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