The Farm: How It All Started

Locatelli Farms started as a dream we had to own land and build our own home. One Sunday, when we took a drive looking at pieces of property. We ended up driving down a long country road, which wound over a small bridge and two rolling hills. We came to the piece of property that was for sale, and the owner was pounding the sign into the ground. We stopped and talked to him, and on our way back home, I envisioned the road and what it would be like to drive down every day to our new home. Somewhere deep down inside, I knew that this was the place for us. We returned to view the entire parcel on a cloudy December day. With all five of us crammed into a tiny Toyota Tacoma, we were brought to an open area that the owner commented that he thought would always be perfect for a home. We realized in that moment that this was the spot that we had been searching for.

We purchased the land in 2020. Through an unprecedented time in our recent history, we managed to build our dream home in one year and moved in September 2021. The first residents of our property were actually chickens. I incubated eggs with my kids during COVID - since my youngest son missed the project in kindergarten. We hatched our own eggs and then supplemented others from our local farm store. Three months after closing on our property, the chickens moved into the “Poultry Palace“. After we officially moved in, residents were followed by goats, then cows, and in our move, we brought with us our bunny, three dogs, and cat. Recently, we added our Sheep - and for the time being, I think we are fairly well-rounded.

From the time I was a little girl, I dreamed of living in the country and building my own house. Moving here was a dream come true. We started with Angus cows that helped keep the grass down because of the high fire hazard here in California. I am a the type of person that once an idea gets put in their head. It’s very hard to get rid of. Highland cattle have become extremely popular, but it had never crossed my mind to actually own them. One day, I started to do some research to see if they could handle the heat that we have here in the California Valley. Everyone said that they are not made for our climate, which I would agree with. But I had heard about places that were making it work. After doing research and getting hooked on the breed, I purchased my first five heifers. They arrived all the way from Missouri in November 2022.

Having animals and teaching children animal husbandry is something I view as an extremely important skill. The lessons that come with hard work, watching life come to fruition, and raising animals in the country encompasses all of the things that I wanted to teach my kids. I wanted my kids to learn what hard work looked like, and I didn’t know how I was going to do that while living in a subdivision watching an HOA mow your front lawn. My dream originally consisted of a house in the country, but as we continue to live here, I knew that raising animals was going to be part of my journey. After retiring early at the age of 34 due to the loss of my hands and feet, I became a stay-at-home-mom. I needed an outlet outside of my home where I could go spend time that brought me peace. Animals and nature do this for me. I may not want to clean my house, but I will go muck out a stall and sweep the barn. Animals can bring such unconditional love and joy into your life, and I love learning about all of the different species that I raise on our farm.