The Birth of a Mission-Driven Livestock Farm
Deep shade and dappled sunlight drape over Salty Feathers Farm, where big-jowled Kunekune pigs loll under the trees and the chatter of ducks and chickens provides constantly bubbling background music. At a long table serving as her workbench for a new rabbit hutch, Anne Miller, PhD, embodies the warmth and purpose of the homestead she started here in 2020. Yet when asked about her philosophy, Miller begins by declaring something wholly unexpected.
“I don’t believe in self-sufficiency,” she says, “because I think community is so important. Mutual sufficiency is a wonderful thing.”
Miller doesn’t come from a multi-generational farming family; rather, she describes herself as the middle of a Navy “cookie,” supportively sandwiched between her father and two sons who currently serve as chiefs in the Navy’s nuclear submarine program. Miller and her husband, Bill, were new to rural living when they purchased Salty Feathers’ five acres in Arcadia. She was in the middle of obtaining a doctorate in strategic leadership—a capstone to her MBA, two bachelor’s degrees (one in international business and trade and another in technology management), and an associate’s degree in entrepreneurship. For her dissertation, she set out to develop a replicable business plan to sustain small-farmer training programs for transitioning veterans.
“Of the top five reasons for that horrible 22-a-day veteran suicide number,” Miller says, “the first two, we can’t do anything to change: what they saw and what they did. But the other three have to do with once they’re home: job security, work-life balance, and a desire to continue to serve.”
Miller saw that agriculture could directly address the non-combat traumas faced by those exiting the service, and she also realized that a military life actually instilled the ideal farming mindset.
“Veterans get that farming is not a job, it’s a lifestyle,” she explains, adding that their training in situational awareness, threat assessment, and response readiness translates perfectly to animal husbandry and crop monitoring. Farming offers veterans that vital, continued sense of service—now to their community by feeding it.
“All of my passions had an opportunity to come together with Salty Feathers,” Miller says, “and what I really want to do here is offer a full-time training program for our veterans.”
“My personal mission in life is to make sure every Floridian knows a farmer,”
As a “full-circle homesteading” demonstration farm, Salty Feathers focuses on showing farmers and families who are interested in raising small animals how to create diversified, viable income streams and buffer against loss. Miller has hosted popular classes in poultry and rabbit processing, teaching students how to harvest their backyard stock and prepare the meat for the family freezer. She also loves to shed light on regenerative farming practices and the great possibilities in closed-loop systems, such as worm composting or making biochar to smoke pork raised right on the farm. The animals’ non-GMO feed gets enriched by moringa, comfrey, and cranberry hibiscus that naturally flourish on the property. Miller rotates the fowl enclosures daily to evenly distribute the fertilizer they leave behind and to minimize conditions for pests or diseases to build up. She also allows areas to completely “rest” periodically, encouraging diverse plant growth and restoring soil vitality while the land lies fallow.
Miller is a woman fueled by many causes. In addition to veteran support, resilient local food systems, and land stewardship, she’s also committed to bridging the gap between farmers and the folks who eat their food.
“My personal mission in life is to make sure every Floridian knows a farmer,” she states.
Miller’s vision translates the highest callings of service into the most grounded of vocations. At Salty Feathers Farm, she is planting the seeds of mutual sufficiency so that anyone seeking a new lease on life can discover a supportive community, thrive, and participate in giving back.
