Member Spotlight: The Stratton Family behind Truest Farms

Originally published in the Summer 2024 edition of the OEFFA newsletter.

“It’s been great. It’s been a lot of momentum. We’re doubling and tripling each year,” shared Cory Stratton during my first visit to Truest Farms in May 2023.

The Champaign County farm is co-owned by Cory and his father, Mark, but it’s truly a family-run operation. Cory’s high school sweetheart and wife Kirsten uses her background as a veterinary technician to support the pasture-raised livestock, and their five-year-old daughter Claire enjoys playing with the chicks and pushing the chicken tractor.

Spanning 21 acres, the regenerative farm is unrecognizable from its previous life planted in conventional corn and soy. All of Truest Farms’ chicken, lamb, pork, and eggs come by way of rotational grazing. Instead of using synthetic fertilizer, the pasture-raised animals provide necessary nutrients. The goats do the weeding while the barn cats and a thriving bird, frog, and bat population take care of other unwanted pests, allowing Truest Farms to be free of pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides, too.

A vision of food in its truest form

Truest Farms may be operated by first-generation farmers, but the family has decades of relevant experience under their belt. Mark Stratton was a farmhand, and his father was a plumber who regularly worked with farmers.

Cory and Kristen both went to The Ohio State University where they studied environmental science and animal science, respectively. Cory then worked in the campus dining halls for more than a decade, seeing firsthand how food was becoming more processed and taking a toll on the environment. He wanted to do something different.

The couple moved to Reynoldsburg, where they had a garden and started raising quail to bypass rules around chickens. Then, in 2020, they decided to start a hobby farm with a “farm for us, money later” perspective. The pandemic made it the right time to look for land of their own and expand their vision of a farm. By January 2021, the Strattons were moved into their current property and Cory had started farming full-time.

The early years

Cory reported that he was “a little crazy in trying everything” at the beginning. Having a garden with meat birds and layers proved too much, so the garden was temporarily put on the backburner. Now it’s planted in perennials like asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, and herbs. Truest Farms also contended with many of the barriers small-scale farms face, which were heightened by the complexities of the pandemic.

Finding a processor was difficult and entailed a lengthy drive. It isn’t uncommon for Ohio livestock producers to have to travel up to seven hours each way to process their meat. It wasn’t just getting to the processor that was difficult; Cory had to meet the 250-bird minimum, which required infrastructure and equipment like crates and freezers.

“No one thinks about these equipment needs for farming,” Cory said.

In 2022, OEFFA administered $30,000 in Begin Farming Pandemic Relief Microgrants to beginning farmers across the state, and Truest Farms was one of the eight recipients. “[The] mini grant was huge and helped us over a massive hurdle,” Cory said. “I didn’t really see a path forward.” The full award meant that he was able to buy processing crates and freezers, which were foundational for the farm’s continued expansion.

Years four and five

Cory was well into his fourth season when we connected again in June 2024. He filled me in on the past 13 months, sharing that things kind of exploded on the farm—for good and for bad—in June 2023. Sales stalled and he was capping out at his current markets. Cory reflected on a conversation with his family where he said, “I’m not giving up, but I don’t know where to go from here.”

Fortunately, some random things fell into place to support Truest Farms’ growth. A representative from the Ohio CAN program reached out to Cory on Instagram (@truestfarms). Operated by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Ohio CAN program provides locally-sourced food to communities in need through partnerships with Ohio foodbanks. It also provided Cory with a guaranteed upfront deposit for 1,000 meat birds.

Nearing closer to his goal number of meat birds, Truest Farms also doubled the amount of pigs they’re raising to 10, and increased their number of sheep to 16. By partnering with other Central Ohio producers in the Columbus Farm Club CSA, increased demand allowed Truest Farms to have more layers, too. Cory has made infrastructure updates to allow him to better care for the animals, and save himself a little time.

“The theme for year five is ‘what is the least amount of infrastructure we can add and still maximize what we’ve got?’” he said.

Meeting the needs of modern eaters

Year five will bring even more exciting updates to Truest Farms. An on-site farm store is well underway. This space is open for purchases during the farm’s open houses and it also has expanded freezer storage for Truest Farms’ next big project: one-day shipping.

“Competing with modern conveniences is a huge thing,” said Cory. “We don’t want to add too much to our carbon footprint because of how we’re farming.”

To that end, Truest Farms will keep shipping relatively localized and will reuse shipping materials. They are also working with the USDA on a carbon credit project. As a partner in the project, the farm’s stored soil carbon will be measured over a five-year period. They’ll have data and statistics to demonstrate carbon sequestration, while providing insights into how regenerative farms like Cory’s can help combat the climate crisis.

Until their one-day shipping option is available, you can find Truest Farms’ pasture-raised chicken, lamb, pork, and eggs at central Ohio farmers’ markets in Westerville, Union County, Clintonville, Bexley, and Upper Arlington, and from their front porch in Mechanicsburg. Visit truestfarms.com to learn more.

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