Rick Patrick, Greene Publishing, Inc.
Madison County native Steve Pulliam has not been in the farming business very long. A machinist by trade, Pulliam has always had a passion for growing things. While living in Mayo with his wife, Cheryl, he had the idea of using the family farm land on Rocky Springs Church Road, north of Madison, and go into farming. At that time, the timing just didn't seem right to Pulliam. However, with the encouragement of his wife, and several months of considering the idea, Pulliam finally decided to make the career change. About 18 months ago, Pulliam began the operation of “Crooked Row Farm” on 100 acres of farmland on Rocky Springs Road. The name of the farm grew out of an incident that arose as Pulliam
Steve and Cheryl Pulliam, owners of Crooked Row Farm, in Madison, are passionate about bringing clean, healthy farm products to customers.
was trying to come up with a name for the farm. None of the names he could think of seemed to work and were shot down by Pulliam's wife. Then one day when he was working with some cucumber plants he had planted, Cheryl commented that “those are the crookedest rows I've ever seen!” The two looked at each other and the “light bulbs” went off in their heads at the same time. The name “Crooked Row Farm” was born.
Pulliam saw a need for pork products that were grown and produced differently than the conventional way of producing pork. Many pork producers grow hogs as fast as possible in order to get them to market size (about 300-350 lbs) with the lowest cost possible. This often means feeding the hogs constantly with little exercise. Pulliam feels this does not necessarily result in the healthiest hog and consequently, the healthiest pork products for the consumer. Pulliam's approach is much different. Pulliam allows his hogs to forage for much of their food, much like hogs in the wild. “These hogs know more about being a hog than I do,” says Pulliam. He does supplement the foraging with carefully selected hog feed, but that feed is rationed. The hogs also get a great deal of exercise throughout the day. This results in a leaner, healthier hog. When observing the farm operation, one can readily notice that there is not the typical “smell” at Crooked Row Farm that one may usually associate with a pork producing farm. The end result is healthier, cleaner pork products that are not only better nutritionally for the consumer, but taste better as well.
Pulliam primarily sells his products at farmer's markets throughout the area, including Tallahassee, High Springs, and Live Oak. Pulliam also takes orders for pork products from local residents. Pulliam's passionate approach has begun to pay dividends. In just 18 months his pork operation is self sustaining. That is a feat not commonly met in a small market farm such as Pulliam's. “Everything I do is done out of love. Love for the animals and love for the consumers. I don't want to leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth,” laughs Pulliam.
Future plans for Crooked Row Farm include going into beef cattle production with “low line beef.” These cows are smaller than other Angus beef cattle, which will allow customers who want a full beef cow or half a cow to order at a more reasonable price. Pulliam plans the same passionate approach to beef production as he uses in pork production. Other plans include meat chicken production in the spring. Pulliam has grown some produce using a method called “hydro-ponics.” This uses plants such as strawberries, etc., to be grown in stacked pots with nutrients carefully added to the water that nourishes the plants. This approach allows many more plants to be grown in a smaller space, and with much less water required. “We eat the strawberries ourselves almost too fast to take them to the market,” said Cheryl with a laugh.
More information about Crooked Row Farm can be found on their website at www.crookedrowfarm.net.