Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Race.
Hi Nick, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story starts in the Appalachian Mountains of Western Massachusetts. Growing up as rural as I did, we ate mostly things that grew, fished, or hunted. The grocery stores were not very close, and it was also very expensive compared to our income. I was also on the local fire department alongside both my parents. This was the start of my public service journey. From there, I went to the University of New Haven and Majored in Fire Administration & Fire Arson Investigation. After undergrad, my girlfriend (now wife) moved to Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, where I began working as an EMT for Durham County EMS. After a few years of helping the community and using reactive medicine, I realized that if people just ate better and exercised, they would be so much healthier. At the same time, my wife and I were going through infertility, miscarriages, all without being given a medical reason, and the hardships that come with that. Both of us, coming from the world of medicine, we focused even more on diet, exercise, and what we put into our bodies and environment. These catalysts led to the creation of Race Family Farmstead here in East Tennessee. We grew all our own food the first year (2021), we both became healthier, and our first daughter was born via IVF. We now raise Pasture Raised Chicken, Eggs, and Turkey, as well as Forest Raised Pork & Pond Raised Duck. We use Regenerative and Permaculture practices and supplement our livestock with Organic soy-free feed from the Amish out of Kentucky. I started my public service journey with reactive medicine, and now we focus on reactive medicine!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anything worth doing in life never comes easy. A big adversity we ran into was what I like to call “you don’t know what you don’t know until you don’t know”. For example, you can read books and watch videos or even attend conferences about raising pigs. You will learn everything you think you need to know, including feeding, fencing, shelter, breeds, breeding, and when to harvest. But what they do not teach is how to get a pig back into a paddock if they have broken out, or when a pig is mad at you. There are, however, many stressful teaching moments. Another is learning how to go from EMT to Farmsteader to Entrepreneur. I do not come from a culture of entrepreneurship, so learning those skills to be successful has been tough. At the end of the day, I make mistakes every day because failure is the best teacher.
We’ve been impressed with Race Family Farmstead, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our motto is Progressive Regression: Moving Forward Using the Old Ways. We raise local, clean, nutrient dense food you can trust using regenerative and permaculture practices where we rasise animals as stress free as possible. What does this mean? We move our animals regularly to simulate nature and to keep them happy and healthy, as well as build healthy soil! We raise pasture raised chicken, eggs, & turkey, as well as forest raised pork and pond raised duck! All of our animals are rationed a soy free organic feed that we source from the Amsih out of Kentucky. This ration is formulated specifically for us and our natural forage. Our animals are NEVER medicated or vaccinated, and our pastures and forests are NEVER treated with any pesticides or herbicides. We work with nature, not against it. I can not say that our products are better than anyone else’s because at the end of the day, the client is always right in regards to taste. What I can say is that I welcome anyone and everyone to come see what we do. Full transparency is important, and people have the right to know where their food comes from. Not only do we raise livestock we also teach others to do the same. From Pasture to Plate Poultry and Forest for Fork Pork. as well as Homestead Consultations. If I can inspire and teach others to raise their own food and focus on community sufficiency, then that is better than selling any product.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Find someone who is doing what you want to do and is successful. If they wrote books, read them. If they have videos, watch them. If they do public speaking, attend. Now, even with that, I will reiterate “you don’t know what you don’t know until you don’t know”. So go get your hands dirty, do not be afraid to make mistakes, take risks, and as one of my mentors, Shawn Dougherty says, “Farm with reckless abandon.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://racefamilyfarmstead.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/race_farmstead/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@racefamilyfarmstead4415
