Meet Your Farmers

Thank you for your interest in Stock Family Farm. We are the Stock Family: Ken, Molly, Abigail, Bridget, and Jane. We are first generation farmers raising chicken, eggs, pigs, and lamb on pasture.

In a former life, Ken and Molly were both members of the United States Navy. Ken was a helicopter mechanic and Molly a helicopter pilot. Ken grew up in Wisconsin and had no formal agricultural background, but had always liked the idea of farming. Not the row crop type, but the traditional homestead style with a variety of animals and a big garden. Molly grew up in Massachusetts and also had no exposure to farming, but became interested in learning where our food came from and discouraged at the state our of current food system.

While living in San Diego, we got involved in our local food scene. We frequented farmers markets, toured local farms, took butchering classes, etc. In 2016, we both got out of the Navy and moved to Milwaukee's East Side. Molly went to school for nursing and Ken enrolled into the business program at UW-Milwaukee. While living in the city, we built a pretty sweet, yet somewhat illegal, backyard urban farm. We kept laying hens in deep bedding, a bee hive, and a garden. During our time in school, we dove deeper into what it would take to start a farm and give it a real go. We watched YouTube videos, read books, learned about no-till gardening, and continued to looked for a piece of land to call our own. Truth be told, during Ken's last year of school, he was most likely spending more time learning about regenerative agriculture than he was studying accounting. But our biggest accomplishment while living in Milwaukee, was becoming parents. Bringing a child into the world cemented our need to pursue the dream of having our own farm.

In May of 2020, we purchased 37 acres and a house in Sullivan, WI, about 45 minutes west of Milwaukee. In preparation for the move, we built our first mobile chicken tractor and ordered 35 broilers (meat chickens) from a local hatchery. Even before all of our moving boxes were unpacked we were "farming". Just 4 weeks after the move we welcomed our second daughter. When it came time to return to work after paternity leave, it was decided Ken would not go back. We were going to take the leap of faith. Ken would be the farmer/stay-at-home dad and Molly would return to her job as a labor & delivery nurse at the local hospital.

Since making that decision we couldn't be happier. Our farm continues to grow, thanks in part to continued interest and support from our local community and customers. Thank you for your interest in our farm. We are honored to provide you with ethically raised, pasture-based products. We would love to hear from you!