Auburnlea Farms

Tucked into 246 rolling green acres in Campbell County, VA, Becky and Rick Bennet – and their six children – truly embody the spirit of the local, family farm. Born from a desire to provide good, healthy food for their children, friends and neighbors, today Auburnlea Farm raises pastured, all-natural beef cattle and poultry while being careful stewards of their land and the environment.

Becky smiles as she recounts the decisions and innovations that they have made along the way – for example, their commitment to safe, on-farm poultry processing, and the Bennet-designed mobile chicken ‘greenhouse’ that can withstand high winds across their rolling pastures. “When we started I hadn’t even heard of Polyface and Joel Salatin!” she says. “We worked through each decision to arrive at this ‘beyond organic’ way of working on our own – and now we’re in real good company.”

An on-site retail shop features meats, eggs, and a sampling of products made nearby, including grains and bread. Their Cornish Rock broiler birds are plump, creamy-fleshed and tender; the heritage-breed Freedom Ranger is slightly larger, with more dark meat and a firmer texture.

The Bennets are working now to not only feed their animals exclusively from crops grown on site, but also hope to grow non-GMO field crops and offer custom blends to other growers in Central Virginia.