The dreamer behind the operation. A lover of animals and nature. She strives to live life authentically, especially on her farm. She is the granddaughter of a tenant farmer on her father’s side and a park ranger on her mother’s. One could say that it is truly in her blood. In addition to her work on the farm, Rachel works for SMADC and supports farmers in Southern Maryland.

The brains behind the operation. If you have ever wondered, “how we do it all?” It’s because Ryan is an engineering redneck to his core. He has automated our operation and streamlines our processes. He does not come from a farming background, but has really embraced the lifestyle.

Together they had a dream. Ryan’s of owning land with the intention of hunting and riding. Rachel’s to own an abundance of animals and help others along the way. And so, Achterberg Acres was born. in the spring of 2020 with both dreams in mind. As time went on and they learned their land, they realized that they had enough to be able to share their space wealth with you. They never imagined their dreams would take them this far.

Transparency is our number one goal. We want you to know how your food is grown or raised, the care that goes into each product, and how we got it there. Not everything we do is easy. Some things result in tears. Some in joy. But we promise to be transparent with you. #NoFacelessMeat

We are often asked if we are “organic.” This is a difficult question because it can mean so many different things to so many different people. We do grow all of our produce organically. However, we are not certified organic because the cost is out of our reach. We hope to be Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) in the near future. Our poultry is fed Non-GMO, free choice feed. Unfortunately, without having a grain producer locally, it is a significant barrier to find and purchase organic feed. In the next year or two, we will have enough chickens to purchase a ton of organic feed at a time from a grower in the North East. The same is unfortunately true for our pork. They probably eat more grapes than even a human could because they are well cared for and love those as a treat, but they are only considered pastured raised because the organic feed is cost-prohibitive at this moment. We will get there!

We believe that farms have a unique ability to play a very important role not only in supporting and bolstering the local economy, but also serving as a community learning center, bringing people together around shared interests and values. We hope to share our home and our knowledge with you. As we become more established in our community we look forward to building an intentional community around our farm in addition to feeding those who need it most.

Everything we do we keep the earth in mind. It is our job is to steward our land to the best of our abilities. We promote soil health by not disturbing the earth, furthermore by keeping the soil covered (by way of plants and layers of compost). We strive to always continue learning in order to offer only the healthiest products. We limit our single-use plastics and often bring once-loved items back to life. The saying, “someone’s trash is another person’s treasure” could not be more true for us!

This one probably does not require much explanation, but we’ll say it anyway, we believe in taking care of our land and our soil to produce the highest quality products possible. We take pride in the appearance, taste and nutritional value of our crops and we put only our highest quality products on display.

We believe that farming in general is the definition of a labor of love in it’s truest form, something that one must be incredibly passionate about to succeed in. We treat our plants and animals with love, and care for them compassionately. And, of course, we love our customers, and everyone in our lives that supports us on this journey. Love and gratitude for everything that we have keeps us happy and working hard from day to day.