Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggie Rutland
Maggie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
So, our story starts with my family. My family has farmed here in Aiken County since the early 1800s. in the 90s when my great grandad passed. His children did not want to farm. One of the children sold off a lot of land and all the farming equipment. I was only a child then and had no say nor did i know what I wanted to do with my life then. the remaining land sat dormant and grew up. minus a few pieces leased out for row crop farmers. Fast forward to my late twenties. I’ve been working a steady job as a welder for the past 10 years. and I met my husband. He started watching videos from Joel Salatin, Justin Rhodes, and Sheraton Park farms and many others. he really wanted to try regenerative farming. So, i called my grandma up, I told her our plans. She was excited we wanted to turn the farm back into a working farm. We built a house and moved out to the property. The next few years were a whirlwind. We started small with one makeshift chicken tractor and 60 chickens. we wanted to test the waters to even see if there was a market for it. and there was! we had all 60 chickens spoken for and pre-paid. The difference in the meat was life changing. We moved on adding two more John Suscovich chicken tractors to our fleet. and increased our numbers in chickens to 120 every 8 weeks. We added laying hens in the mix and started selling pasture raised eggs. Next came pigs. we started with 4. They were pasture raised/ vaccine free. They free ranged through the woods living their best life. Our motto with all our animals. is they only have one bad day. because we try to make their life the best most authentic way of living. Our number of animals and customers have grown so much in the past two years. I feel one of the reasons we have so many customers, is because our product is top quality, and we take the time to insure that. but also, we have an open gate policy. anytime anyone wants to see how their food is being raised they can come out to the farm see the animals see us feed them and take care of them. we hide nothing from our customers because they deserve to know what’s going into their body and what they are paying for. Now its 2025 and Aiken got hit by a horrible hurricane. and destroyed a lot of our hard work. but because of our customers stepping in during the hard time and buying all our meat. we are able to take this year off and rebuild our structures. so, we can come back bigger and better than ever. and hopefully take the next step in offering beef.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been, with anything agricultural expenses arise. and with that being 1st generation farmers we were having to start from the bottom. Our goal from day one is to purchase as we go. never get into to debt. We wanted to enjoy the farming lifestyle without the added financial stress that so many around us are facing. so, our farm is small but growing. just not as fast as other farms. and that’s okay we are right where we are meant to be. is how I like to think about it. That has been our biggest struggle. but we have also had small struggles that we keep pushing through. anytime you have livestock lost is always going to happen and those days are hard, and we learn a lot. As a farm that does not vaccine or medicate it is always a learning experience. we find better ways each time to insure we avoid it for next time. Crop lost is another. Gardens don’t always do the same as they did the year before. Our produce isn’t our main income. but it is nice to have produce to offer our customers. But again, we learn from each year on how to make the next year better.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Rutland Ranch LLC ?
Our ranch is a regenerative farm. Meaning we our actively restoring nature using our livestock. Our Pigs are vaccine free, and pasture raised. we have a section of pasture and wooded area fenced off with one strand of electric wire. The pigs go through and eat what they want and till up the dirt for fresh hay to grow. They are moved to a fresh area every two weeks to insure cleanliness and no disease. Our pigs are happy and trust us and to watch me move the pigs to a new area with nothing but calling them over is an amazing site to watch. They love getting in a new spot and all the new things they get to explore. Next is the chickens they are also pasture raised and vaccine free. They are in chicken tractors to protect them from predators while also getting to be free range and getting fresh hay all day every day. They are moved once sometime twice a day to insure cleanliness and no diseases. The chickens keep the insect population down while actively fertilizing the fields to produce the most beautiful greenest hay you’ve ever seen. Our cows in the future will do the same with rotational grazing followed by chicken tractors. Our gardens are pesticide and chemical free as well. All this leading to our best pasture raised vaccine free meat and eggs. I think what sets us apart from others is our open gate policy. we welcome everyone to see how their meat is being raised and see what we are doing. we hide nothing from our customers. and i think that creates a special community. The product I’m most proud of is our chicken. people rave about it. and it fills me with pride. I have had costumers even try our chicken with others in the area and store bought and they tell us our quality can’t be topped. and all the blood sweat and tears we had to get where we are, make it worth it. it fills my heart with so much joy i never thought i could have. You can find our meat selections on Facebook or our website. Just google Rutland Ranch Aiken and all our pages pop up.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think choosing to farm, especially starting from scratch is a risk. I’d say we always try to make the right choices since choosing to farm, so we don’t have many risk. But there is always worry that our meat won’t sell or maybe suppliers choose a different meat supplier. or a storm will destroy all our hard work. all of those are risk. but i try to take everyday step by step.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rutlandranchllc.wixsite.com/mysite
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rutlandranch150/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100087056079616
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RutlandRanch
