Goodlife Farm
Waynesville, Ohio
Laura Sperry’s family have lived on what is now Goodlife Farm in Waynesville, OH, for nearly four decades, and their relationship to the land has led to a fruitful business and a regenerative way of life.
“My family, we’re growers,” says Sperry, who recently purchased her mom’s family farm nearby. “My mom and dad have always grown herbs and plants. For the past 10 years we’ve been selling at farmers’ markets.”
Goodlife Farm maintains a full market garden of produce and herbs, and raises pastured cows, chickens for eggs and meat, and pigs. After years of selling at farmers’ markets and through a traditional community supported agriculture program (CSA), Sperry and her family decided to look for a more flexible way for consumers to access their products. Their new model became especially helpful when Covid-19 threw a wrench into more conventional sales avenues.
“Luckily for us, we’re on our fourth season of the Farm Club,” Sperry explains. The Farm Club combines the relationship of a traditional CSA with the ease of online shopping. “We had this group of people who were interested in supporting the farm and buying local produce and meat, but not in committing to buying a box every week through a normal CSA.”
Members of the Farm Club receive an email each week with a password that allows them to order as much or as little as they want from the Goodlife website and pick it up at the farm or at one of their farmers’ market locations.
While Goodlife is not certified organic, Sperry says they follow those principles. “We’re kind of beyond organic,” she explains. “We’re very focused on soil health and try to be biodynamic. We don’t use anything synthetic.”
That stewardship of the soil has allowed them to share their way of life with customers. “Our business is from our abundance,” says Sperry. “Our primary goal is to feed ourselves and our family well, and that’s spilled over to providing that to others.”