Simpson's Family Farm Market
Darby Simpson grew up on his family's seventh generation farm located in Morgan County Indiana. However, growing up he never learned anything about the family business but instead, he was encouraged to pursue a career outside of farming. After spending over 15 years in the engineering industry, Darby returned to his roots and began his own farming enterprise in 2007.
The farm produced 150 pastured broilers the first year and by 2012 the operation was producing up to 3,000 pastured broilers, 125 turkeys, 60 hogs and 12 beef per year, while using less than 20 total acres. The Simpson Family Farm now financially supports Darby, his wife Brandy and their two sons. Darby has transitioned himself from a successful mechanical engineer into a full-time farmer and enjoys the many benefits which come with being self-sufficient. His success shows that it is possible to build a business from scratch. The moniker of the family business has been to go "beyond organic" in all of the farm practices, including the exclusive use of GMO-free and chemical-free grains for feeding the poultry and pork, as well as raising the cattle 100% on grass and hay.
In 2014 the Simpson Family Farm received Clean Water Indiana (CWI) grant funds from Morgan County Soil and Water Conservation District (MCSWCD) to assist with fence expenses for grazing cattle and lambs. The unique advantage of the fencing was to help create corridors between large existing grazing pastures as well as create additional grazing areas. Another CWI project which was funded for the Simpson Farm was reseeding 15 acres of land. Simpson Farms utilized the MCSWCD no-till Truax seeder drill to reseed within the newly established fence. Prior to reseeding, this was well managed land with continuous no-till with an average soil loss of 1.5 tons per acre. Conversion with seeding to a permanent cover will further reduce the losses to 0.75 tons per acre.
The Simpson Farm has utilized best management practices for longevity and sustainability of the farm. This provides a visible, successful local sustainable operation which they are sharing with interested residents and landowners.