Elizabeth Collins is a first-generation farmer co-running Otter Creek Farm with Brad Wiley. Originally from Cincinnati, she moved from Lexington, KY, and now leads the farm’s livestock, regenerative operations, and Graceful Acres Farmstay.
Otter Creek Farm is a 440-acre multigenerational farm in Pittstown, NY, with 200 tillable acres, 100 pasture acres, and 140 woodland acres. A former dairy farm (1937–2018), it now raises pastured poultry, pigs, grass-fed cattle, and turkeys, and hosts a 20-acre chestnut orchard run by Breadtree Farms.
Alrighty, ranch 3!
Today we speak to Elizabeth Collins. Elizabeth has an amazing story of how she battled the odds to become a farmer at age 40. We discuss:
How Elizabeth became a farmer in her 40s after a life in business and food advocacy
The role of grants and how they enable regenerative agriculture to survive
Why she opposes USDA slaughter rules and advocates for humane, on-farm kills
The legacy of Temple Grandin and how autism helped redesign slaughter systems
Why she nearly became vegan—and how Cowspiracy gets regenerative farming wrong
Are co-ops viable, and what lessons she learned from working with one
What regenerative ranching really means to her, and how she's living it
Timestamps
00:00:00 Why Elizabeth rejects USDA slaughter and does on-farm kills
00:00:30 Her awakening to food, fat, and the broken health narrative
00:11:15 Selling a business and moving north: the midlife pivot
00:15:30 Lessons from a failed co-op and how the system is broken
00:19:40 The visceral moment she knew she needed to farm
00:26:15 Interning at 40 and what the 22-year-olds taught her
00:40:30 Grants as a lifeline for regenerative farms—and why they're vanishing
00:45:00 Legal barriers and values behind her small-scale slaughter model
00:50:40 Temple Grandin and the redesign of humane slaughter
01:09:00 'Cowspiracy' and why it's irrelevant to regenerative farming
01:20:30 Why she can’t legally sell her own meat in her farm store
01:26:15 What regenerative ranching truly means to Elizabeth
Connect with Elizabeth!
Website
Come Stay At Otter Creek...
Instagram
Follow the tour on YouTube
Share this post