Naked Acres Farm

About Naked Acres Farm

Portland, Oregon is a mecca for small urban farms of a half-acre or smaller, according to Augustus Gibson. She and her partner, Margo Liszka, were lucky to find a three-acre property in 2010 on the edge of the city. The couple had years of experience growing on a very small scale, in addition to Augustus’s experience being raised in central Oregon’s ranching country and two decades of veterinary experience. Their small farm, which they named Naked Acres, gave them just enough space to begin expansion. In their first year, Margo and Augustus spent a lot of time digging garden beds by hand and sold produce and eggs at local farmers’ markets. Now the farm has expanded production to include 120 AWA-certified laying hens, many of which were hatched on the farm. Margo and Augustus also have eight AWA-certified Pygora goats. A cross between the Nigerian dwarf goat and the Angora fiber goat, the Pygora is a dual purpose goat, producing high-quality fiber for spinning and milk. Augustus and Margo take their responsibilities as animal farmers seriously. “Any animal we choose to have on our farm depends on us 100 percent for their health and wellbeing, so paramount to the success of our animal program is their health,” says Augustus. “That’s where 20 years of veterinary experience and a lifetime’s experience of raising animals comes in handy. Making sure they are happy, healthy, and well-cared for is more important than production—without happy healthy animals, we have nothing.” In order to ensure their goats’ health, Augustus believes it’s important to allow their does to rotate kidding—if a doe gives birth one year and milks for the season, the next year she is able to rest. Certifying their pasture-raised livestock as Animal Welfare Approved gives Margo and Augustus the opportunity to verify to customers that their management practices truly put the animal’s welfare first: “As a small farm, we refuse to certify organic because we exceed the standards, but for many consumers it’s important to see that we meet some standards, rather than taking our word for it,” says Augustus. “In searching for some sort of regulatory agency to comply with, we found AWA to be the best and it parallels everything we were already doing with very minor changes. AWA stood out to us as number one in the country.” Margo and Augustus hope to make the farm more self-sufficient over time and look forward to a day when Margo won’t have to continue her off-farm landscaping work and when Augustus’s veterinary work will be confined to their own livestock. This may require that they eventually expand beyond their current three acres, but their focus will always be to produce food from happy, healthy animals, raised sustainably, working with natural systems rather than against them. Naked Acres’ raw goat milk can be purchased according to Oregon state raw milk laws direct from the farm by appointment only, along with eggs, goat fiber, and handmade goat milk soap. Margo and Augustus also sell their soaps, eggs, and produce at various farmers’ markets in Portland. To make an appointment to buy Naked Acres’ products, contact Margo and Augustus at [email protected] or (971) 227-5670. For up-to-date information about the farm, visit their Facebook page or www.nakedacres.webs.com.