Producer

Here at Casad Family Farms we use Organic, Biodynamic, and Permaculture principals to sustainably steward 360 acres of land in Jefferson County, Oregon.

The Farm is co-owned by husband and wife Chris & Cate Casad. They live on and manage the farm with their son Hesston who was born in July 2021. Chris has been farming since he was 20 years old, a first generation farmer. Chris studied permaculture design as a young man and started farming on just a few acres of leased land near Bend, Oregon. His first farm was called Juniper Jungle Farm, he grew vegetables for a large CSA program, farmers markets, and started growing more for wholesale distribution. He also is a beekeeper and loves to have a milk cow or two. Influenced greatly by the principals of biodynamics, Chris has always tended to land he manages and the community he feeds with deep care and affection. Cate began volunteering on Chris' first farm in 2014, pretending to enjoy weeding carrots so she could get to know farmer Chris better. In 2017 they moved to a new farm together in Madras, Oregon where they could purchase land and expand their growing capacity. Cate's dedication to the farm and to Chris drive her to help in any way she is needed; from planting and harvesting potatoes to developing new business opportunities.

At Casad Family Farms we grow mixed vegetables and root crops for wholesale distribution to local restaurants and grocery stores in Oregon. In addition to diversified veggies, we raise hays, grains, and specialty seed crops. In 2020 we expanded our prescriptive grazing & pasture management program.

We raise cattle and heritage breed hogs, pastured chickens and turkeys. Though we have sold our meats to customers in our region for almost 10 years, in 2022 we launched our Direct Delivery Meat Box Program where we ship our meats frozen to customers all over Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California.

We do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides, protecting the soil, the waterways and our bodies. Our farmland is certified Organic and we have helped to transition over 200 acres of previously conventionally farmed land into Organic land managed regeneratively with cover crop and prescriptive grazing.

At Casad Family Farms, we have farmed organically for over 10 years, since we started farming. In total we manage 360 acres of land organically, about half is Certified Organic and the other half we have helped to transition to organic and will be certified within the next 2 years.

All of our animals eat the hays and grains we raise ourselves here on our farm, organically. The animals are not treated with any hormones or prophylactic antibiotics. Our animals are raised outside on ample pastures with free access to shelter. Our meats are all raised organically, but currently we do not *certify* our meats organic with the USDA mainly because our processor only has a very limited number of “organic” butcher dates available and it’s very competitive to get any butcher dates at all. This is a bottleneck issue for all farmers/ranchers all over the USA. This is the only reason we do not put “USDA ORGANIC” on our labels, despite the fact that they are raised organically, fed only Organic grasses and grains.

We want our customers to know their meats are raised organically, using regenerative land management practices that yield the healthiest soils and the healthiest food for you. We are a transparent operation and any customer is welcomed here to see where the animals live and the natural way of life they enjoy under our care.