331. Soil, Stewardship & Safe Food: Kyle Becker on Growing Becker Farms

What does it take to build a thriving farm business while raising a family and stewarding the land for the next generation? Today on the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Michael is joined by Kyle Becker, owner of Becker Farms in Moorland, Indiana. Since 2007, Kyle and his wife, Emily, have grown their farm from a small freezer beef operation into a diversified livestock farm offering beef, pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, and local milk. In addition to running the farm, Kyle works as a food animal veterinarian, serving dairy and beef farms across Indiana and Ohio. With a deep focus on soil health, responsible stewardship, and producing nutrient-dense food, the Beckers are committed to providing safe, high-quality products to their community. Tune in to hear how Kyle balances farming, veterinary work, and family life — and why soil health is at the root of it all.   In This Episode, You’ll Hear:  Farm beginnings: Kyle shares the story behind Becker Farms and their mission to raise safe, healthy meats [1:32] Land and livestock: How they manage their acreage and raise multiple animal proteins [11:50] USDA challenges: Kyle’s perspective on the regulatory hurdles farmers face [18:53] Indiana regulations: The specific rules that impact their farm operations [27:52] Bird flu impacts: How Becker Farms navigated the challenges of avian influenza outbreaks [28:38] Turkey production: What raising and marketing turkeys looks like on their farm [36:34] Marketing strategies: How Becker Farms connects with customers through farmers markets and online sales [39:56] Words of wisdom: Kyle’s advice for beginning farmers and lessons learned along the way [49:53] Don’t miss this episode if you’re curious about building a diversified livestock operation and creating a meaningful connection with your community through high-quality, local food! Connect with Becker Farms: 🌍 Website: Becker Farms 📸 Instagram: Follow Becker Farms 📖 Facebook: Like Becker Farms   About the Guest: Kyle Becker is the owner of Becker Farms in northeast Henry County, Indiana, where he and his wife, Emily, raise beef, pork, poultry, and eggs with a focus on soil health and environmental stewardship. Raised on a livestock and grain farm in Wayne County, Kyle developed a love for farming early on and pursued his passion through a B.S. in Animal Science and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from Purdue University. Alongside farming, Kyle serves as a food animal veterinarian for Heritage Vet Partners, working with dairy and beef farms across Indiana and Ohio. Since founding Becker Farms in 2007, Kyle and Emily have expanded their offerings and built a loyal customer base at farmers markets and through local delivery. Their mission is simple but powerful: to grow nutrient-dense, responsibly raised food while improving the land for future generations.   The Thriving Farmer Podcast would like to thank our sponsor, GRIPP.  Got lots of people, places and things to track? Gripp is the easiest way for farmers to track anything important to their operation. With flexible QR code tracking, keeping digital records is a snap with Ag’s easiest operator-first mobile app centralizing alerts, reminders, electronic forms and team conversations. With simple month-to-month pricing and no long-term commitments, Gripp can transform and streamline your operation, so you can focus on what’s most important—growing. For a limited time get 15% of any monthly or yearly subscription at www.gripp.ag/pricing with the code THRIVEIN25  👉 Try out Gripp today!