Zach Miller grew up on his grandfather’s farm in Charlottesville, Virginia when it was still a “gentleman’s farm” for racehorses. But Zach and his parents wanted to take the family legacy in a new direction. Zach wanted to see the farm—his childhood home—preserved as a profitable model of an alternative to industrial agriculture. That meant great-tasting steaks, healthy grasses, and a land stewardship that could continue long into the future.

The idea for Autumn’s Harvest Farm was born in 2001 when Tim and Sarah Haws went on their first date.

“It was on our first or second date, and Sarah was telling me how she always wanted to hatch chickens,” Tim explains. “She told me how she used to take eggs out of her family’s refrigerator and put them in a drawer.”