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Welcoming a new helping family on the farm

written by

Marie Reedell

posted on

September 11, 2020

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Farmer Aaron and his family needed help. Completing all the farm chores, running a business, holding down a household, and being active with their church and community was getting to be too much to handle with sporadic help here and there. 

The Miller’s needed some relief. They needed some freedom. They needed some more sleep.

So, farmer Aaron put an ad in the Busy Beaver (a local Amish newspaper) a few months ago looking for full-time farm help. He got a big response with about 10 people from his local Amish community interested! After a hefty interview process, Aaron hired Daniel to help on the farm. 

Daniel, his wife Rebecca, and their four young children moved into one half of the farmer’s house a few weeks ago. Welcome to the farm Daniel and family!


Daniel previously worked in construction. Then, his family got into farming. They worked a conventional farm for about 2 years, but he soon got tired of it and quit. 

Conventional farming didn’t work financially, and he realized that the chemicals weren’t good. Daniel started reading lots of farming and grazing magazines, and his eyes were opened to the world of natural and regenerative farming. When he saw Aaron’s ad, he knew he had to go for it.

Daniel has been training with Aaron for a couple months now.


His main responsibilities are moving and feeding the cows, milking the cows, seeding and making hay, taking care of the pigs, and record keeping. He also helps a bit with the chickens and turkeys.

At Miller’s Bio Farm, it’s all about the details. This is why training and double checking is really important.


Are the cows moved to the right place? Is the right amount of feed being given to the pigs? Is the hay harvested at the right time? Is the equipment spotlessly clean?

The first three are pretty easy to monitor. But that last one needs some precise measuring. 

Luckily, Miller’s has a pretty easy way to tell if Daniel and his family are cleaning the equipment properly - on farm testing! Every batch of milk is tested on the farm. If there’s ever a high reading… well, Aaron knows he needs to quickly diagnose the issue and provide guidance in solving the problem. 

The Miller’s team is so happy to have Daniel, Rebecca, and family on board. As the team grows, so does our ability to inspire healthy generations.

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*Update 12/3/25: Daniel no longer lives on the farm, but he's still a Miller's farmer. He grows broiler chickens for us!

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Raising Pork the Old-Fashioned Way: Miller's Bio Farm's Commitment to Quality At Miller's Bio Farm, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're bringing back the farming practices that sustained communities for generations. As an Amish farm, we understand that good stewardship of the land and animals isn't just about business; it's about honoring creation and providing wholesome food for families. When you buy pork from us, you're getting more than just meat. You're getting the result of careful, intentional farming that puts the well-being of our animals, our land, and your family first. Let's be honest: most grocery store pork comes wrapped in pretty words like "natural" and "humanely raised," but these labels often don't mean much. It's easy to put nice words on a package, much harder to actually do the work of raising animals properly. We'd like to show you how we do things differently here at Miller's Bio Farm. What Makes Our Pork Different Good pork starts with good practices. For us, that means healthy soil, happy animals, responsible harvesting, and thoughtful management of everything that happens on our farm. Here's what that looks like in practice: Pasture-Raised the Way Nature Intended Pigs aren't meant to spend their lives standing on concrete in windowless buildings. They're curious, intelligent animals that need fresh air, sunshine, and room to express their natural behaviors, rooting in the dirt, foraging for food, and socializing with other pigs. On our farm, hogs live outdoors on pasture in the woods where they can do exactly that. We move them regularly to fresh ground, which keeps them healthy and gives the land time to rest and regenerate. This practice, sometimes called rotational grazing is farming wisdom that's been passed down for centuries. When pigs root and forage on fresh pasture, they're naturally fertilizing the soil and helping plants grow back stronger. The land becomes more fertile season after season, storing carbon and building topsoil instead of depleting it. No chemical fertilizers needed, just pigs doing what pigs do best. This kind of farming takes more work than confining animals in one place, but it produces better results for everyone involved: healthier pigs, healthier land, and better tasting pork. Raising Animals with Respect Our approach to animal care reflects our values as an Amish farming community. We believe animals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect throughout their lives. Processing with Care When harvest time comes, we work with a small processor who shares our commitment to humane treatment. Our animals are handled calmly and respectfully, with immediate stunning to ensure they feel no distress. This isn't just the right thing to do, it also affects meat quality. Animals that are stressed at slaughter produce tougher, less flavorful meat. Properly handled animals yield tender, delicious pork that you can taste the difference in. Studies also confirm what traditional farmers have long known: animals raised on pasture produce meat with better nutritional profiles, including higher omega-3 fatty acids and more vitamins. Wholesome Feed, No Shortcuts We raise heritage breed pigs, traditional breeds known for their hardiness and flavor. These animals thrive on pasture with supplemental non-GMO grain, and they don't need antibiotics or growth hormones to stay healthy. In industrial pork production, antibiotics are mixed into feed daily to prevent disease in overcrowded conditions. This practice is creating drug-resistant bacteria that threaten public health, a problem we don't contribute to. Our pigs build strong immune systems naturally through good nutrition, clean living conditions, and low-stress environments. It's the way farming worked for centuries before shortcuts became the norm. Caring for God's Creation As stewards of the land, we take seriously our responsibility to leave it better than we found it. That's not just good farming, it's part of our calling. Building Soil, Not Destroying It Industrial agriculture depletes soil through intensive tilling, chemical dependence, and continuous monoculture cropping. This approach might boost short-term production, but it's not sustainable. We farm differently. Our rotational grazing actually improves soil health year after year. As pigs move across pasture, they naturally incorporate organic matter into the ground. Rest periods allow plants to regrow with deeper roots, which prevents erosion and captures carbon from the atmosphere. The result is living, fertile soil teeming with beneficial microorganisms soil that produces nutritious forage without synthetic inputs. 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This means sustainable pork production requires access to sustainably grown grain, ideally non-GMO corn and soybeans from farmers practicing regenerative agriculture. On our farm, we're committed to sourcing feed from responsible growers who share our values of soil health, biodiversity, and chemical free farming. What You're Really Buying When you purchase pork from Miller's Bio Farm, you're not just buying bacon or pork chops. You're supporting a way of farming that's been proven over generations, one that respects animals, regenerates land, and produces genuinely nutritious food. We're proud to raise pork the right way, even though it's more work. Because at the end of the day, that's what good stewardship looks like. And that's something worth bringing home to your table. Check out our: ✔️Corn & Soy Free ✔️ Vaccine, Drug, GMO-Free ✔️Heritage Breeds ✔️Woodland Raised PORK COLLECTION HERE: https://millersbiofarm.com/sto...