Freedom Farm: Next Generation of Family Farms

Free-range chicken is a meat product grown by Freedom Farms. Photos submitted by Gary Palmer.
Gary and Kylene Palmer are the owners of  Freedom Farms, located at 1863 Eagle Rd, Fort Scott.
“WE LOVE FOOD!!!, Gary said.  “We eat a lot, with a family
of six. With eating being one of the things we do most, just like many of you, our minds began to wonder about the nutritional value of the
food we eat.”
So after research and thought, the  couple decided to start raising and producing some of their own food, he said
“We have been raising our own cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens for several years to provide healthy, great tasting meat for our
family,” he said.  “This way, we know exactly what is (and
what is not) in our food.”
“We take much comfort in knowing where our food comes from,” he said.  “We believe other people would too!”
They strive for a healthy option for the animal and themselves, Gary said.  “We take great pride in giving our animals the best life possible. They are treated as part of our family. Our dream is to work as a family to share this with others.”
Ground lamb is one of the meat products grown at Freedom Farm. Photo by Gary Palmer.
Currently, the Palmers offer free-range farm fresh eggs, whole, and packaged chicken, lamb, and goat meat.
“Our eggs are currently available at the Downtown Star Emporium,” he said. “We hope to offer meat there in the near future.  We are licensed with the state of Kansas and candle and inspect every egg sold in the grocery store.”
The egg label shows Grade: AA Size: Large and the Package Date. Photo by Gary Palmer.
“Since our eggs go from free-range to package quickly we can grade them AA,” Gary said. ” To my knowledge, we are the only provider of Grade: AA eggs in town. Each egg is inspected and approved by hand.”
Gary, along with his wife, Kylene, and their four daughters currently operate the farm.
Gary and Kylene Palmer and their four daughters. Submitted photo From left to right: .Lexi Marchiano, Jentry Palmer, Kylene Palmer, Gary Palmer, Riley Marchiano, Sadie Marchiano
  Gary is a Fort Scott native and second-generation farmer and entrepreneur in business.  Gary’s parents, Ron and Shirley Palmer,  have a farm and raised beef and sheep while Gary was growing up.
Kylene is from the Hume and Nevada area originally, and her parents Stephen and Jeanette Zinn had a small farm and raised pigs while she was young.
  Together Gary and Kylene purchased a farmstead adjacent to Gary’s parent’s farm shortly after they married.
 “Freedom Farms is a constant work in progress and we have been working diligently to upkeep both Palmer’s farms,” Gary said.

There are many dreams yet to happen.

“After seeing and feeling the benefits of raising and producing our own food, we decided to share it with others, he said. “Our goal here at Freedom Farms is to provide quality food for you and your family as well.”

 

“We hope there are many things new on the horizon,” Gary said.  “We have big dreams of agri-tourism, building a certified kitchen for local farmers to benefit from, along with hosting fairs and educational field trips for schools.  We want to be involved in bringing economic growth to the local farmers and rural community and educate others, as we continue to learn ourselves, about the importance of a sustainable agriculture community.”
“We may be starting from the ground-up, but we have quite big dreams,” Gary said. “As a family, we dream of working and growing together in a greater way than our society generally exemplifies.
We dream of freedom as a family and freedom as farmers. We dream of a time when neighbors were connected as well and when the small farmer provided for those around them.”
We dream of doing things differently! Change, in the way people view their food and honor in the way it is produced and shared. We would love to grow our farm to become a place for people to be involved and learn. We want people to know where their food comes
from and have every opportunity to see that it is grown in a natural, sustainable way. We dream of offering a vast variety of produce and meats in the future, a CSA program, as well as connecting
other small farmers that have amazing products to offer. In order for us to farm responsibly and sustainably, we believe we have to start small, so that’s what we are doing! We are looking for a few
dreamers like us that will join us in this venture and bring healthy sustainable food direct to the customer.
Freedom Farm website is scheduled to launch soon, he said.
Gary has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Pittsburg State University.
He has been active in the Fort Scott community for years currently serving in the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation, Rotary Club, and Faith Church.
Contact info:
Gary Palmer
620-224-1001
Kylene Palmer
620-719-9909
Or

One thought on “Freedom Farm: Next Generation of Family Farms”

  1. Yay! Farm fresh eggs have got to be the best! What a great family. Congratulations on their farm and their processes. It’ll be great to have the fresh meats also. I’m vegetarian but my hubby is not. And he will appreciate having farm fresh produce.

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