Blake was born and raised in Vernal, Utah as the youngest of six. His dad farmed crops and livestock, his mom was a school teacher. He always had farm chores to do like cleaning pig pens or unwrapping expired hostess treats by the hundreds to feed to the pigs.

One winter he was cleaning pig pens, he might have been 10 years old, and it was his job to put new straw in the pig pens. He carried a bale of straw in his Radio Flyer red wagon, walking on the edge of the iced over manure pond. But on the way back he walked across the middle and broke through the ice. He nearly drowned. Luckily his cousin was nearby and pulled him out.

His entrepreneurial spirit has been alive for quite some time. He learned from his older brother that the expired hostess twinkies could be sold for a quarter to his friends in the school cafeteria, rather than wasting them on pigs. His teacher caught on quickly and had to call his parents for a meeting.

In high school he took “Foods 1, 2, & 3” which were classes about different cultures and their foods, different methods of cooking and hands on cooking. This is so fun to know, because today he still LOVES to cook and LOVES good food. In fact most of the recipes I share are ones Blake finds and shares with me, then I try them out on our family and if they are good, share them with you!

After high school graduation, he went on a mission to Germany from the time he was 19-21. He spent two years there serving the people and teaching about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hardest two years of his life, he still remembers.

Learning a new language, being in an unfamiliar place, far far away from home. He became self sufficient really fast. You get up, exercise, make your bed, study, and get going. You cook your own food, do your own laundry and try to find ways to stay busy.

Next time you see Blake at the Farmer’s Market you can ask him how much German he remembers.

He came home and went to Utah State University. He graduated with a degree in Wildlife Biology. Each summer between terms he would spend fighting wildfires and make enough money to pay for his next year of school. As a college student he would pride himself on eating on a budget of $20 a week. Tortillas and cheese, maybe some eggs (back when they were $1.50 a dozen) and a gallon of milk. He might buy some chicken or eat some antelope that he had hunted on his quesadilla.

He took his horse to college his senior year and would ride it on the weekends. He kept it at a doctor’s ranch in exchange for working for him doing little side jobs.

3 Generations of Bell farmers: Grandpa, Dad and Blake, around 2010

After graduating college he took a job in Arizona with USDA Wildlife Services doing livestock protection, working on a black bear study, as well as a predator study involving black bear, mountain lions and wolves. His next job took him to Craig, Colorado doing livestock protection for sheep ranchers. After that he worked in Denver, Colorado at a Air Force Base working to prevent wildlife strikes with military aircraft.

This is when it gets REALLY interesting….drumroll…

This is when Julia enters the picture!

When working on the Air Force base he met me and we got married a year later.

Our most memorable wedding gift was a wild, untrained, untouchable mule. Still not sure if it was a gift or a curse, but it makes for a fun story!

Two years later we have a baby on the way and we buy our first house in Colorado.

Shortly after our baby arrived Blake started drawing up plans on his vision board for our 40 acre property. I guess he was ready to settle in. He had plans for barns, fences, fruit trees, garden spaces, pigs, chickens, cows, goats, sheep, turkeys, berry bushes and more.

This is when our BIG dreams of homesteading started.

This is a rough sketch of Blake’s plans for our farm in Colorado.

A couple years of growing our own meat, eggs and veggies and we started growing a few extra to sell. Blake always did this farming after his day job as a Wildlife Biologist.

Bottle lambs at our Colorado house, were known to come into the kitchen looking for their next meal. This was around 2012

He was eleven years into his career as a Wildlife Biologist and he started to wonder, is there more? He wanted more. He wanted to show up to a job he was on fire for, but was not feeling that lit up by his mundane 8-5.

He was applying for jobs within the USDA umbrella, thinking that maybe a job in a different state would bring more excitement. We applied for a job in Roseburg, Oregon and took a road trip to interview in person!

We loved the area, we were amazed at how lush the grass was, we didn’t get the job but we moved here anyway. That was 6 years ago. He left his career as a Wildlife Biologist to be your farmer.

You never know if it’s going to work out until you try!

Our first fall in Oregon at Nourished WIth Nature Farm, 2017

He has a deep passion for regenerative farming, for intensive grazing, for reversing desertification and building an ecosystem teeming with beneficial bacteria, microryza, improved soil health and healthy biodiverse pastures that turn into nutrient dense meats!

He is still chasing the dream to be able to farm full time. But he still has a day job as a warehouse manager at a grass seed company that pays the bills and keeps the lights on.

A couple years ago we knew we had to start having vacations if we were going to be able to withstand the long hours and stress levels that are involved in having a business.

95% of new farmers go out of business within the first 5 years. This is our sixth year and this year we are excited to be able to hire help. We have been steadily growing and working our tails off and this is all because Blake is really stubborn and bull headed and won’t give up on his dream.

Many, many, many days we ask ourselves if working two jobs while raising a family is worth it. We ask ourselves if we are doing the right thing for our mental and emotional health. And sometimes it feels like too much. Then the rain lets up and we get a sunny day and we get giddy watching the grass grow.

He listens to podcasts daily about regenerative farming. His favorite show right now is Clarkson’s Farm. He loves the land and the animals with all he is. Its in his blood to work with animals and he finds so much joy in raising them in a way that honors nature’s way and is nourishing to our health.

He loves getting up and doing his chores first thing. It gives him a sense of accomplishment to have put in a couple hours of work before the sun rises.

He loves interacting with you at the Farmer’s Markets. YOU are the reason we can even have this business. We are grateful for YOU, our customers. Without you being mindful and selective about who you get your food from, we wouldn’t be farming like this.

Leave a comment below of something that struck a cord with you or something you appreciate about Blake and his hard work ethic.