DOWNSVILLE, La. (RFD-TV) — At 3 Board Farm in Downsville, Taylor and Jadie Underwood are growing more than food — they are fostering community bonds and growing care from the ground up.
It is a foggy morning at 3 Board Farm. But fog or not, the cows have to be milked.
“They give about three to four gallons of milk a day,” said owner Taylor Underwood. This three-board fence surrounds a scenic farm in Downsville, Louisiana — fittingly named 3 Board Farm. Despite having no background in agriculture, the Underwoods decided to take a bold new direction in life, dedicating themselves to building soil and feeding souls.
Underwood did not grow up on a farm. Neither he nor his wife, Jadie, had ever milked a cow. But when they were expecting their first child, they knew they wanted to raise their children closer to the land — to learn responsibility, hard work, and gratitude from the ground up.
“They’re very self-sufficient and mature; we make them work,” Underwood said. “They will grow up to be adults who will work and take care of themselves and respect the animals. And know where your food comes from and appreciate it, and it was somewhere else before that.”
What started as just one cow, two pigs, and a few chickens has grown — and so has their family. It did not take long for the Underwoods to realize that farming is about more than animals. It’s about what lies beneath their feet.
“We’re more soil farmers than anything,” said Underwood. “The point is, if the soil is healthy, it will grow good grass that your animals are on, not soil that’s been depleted. It will grow healthier animals, better for you to eat — healthy for the environment, and it draws down carbon, too.”
The Underwoods have even opened a small farm store where they sell their proteins and raw milk. Their motto greets you at the front door: “Building Soil and Feeding Souls.”
“The second half is feeding souls,” Underwood explained. “We didn’t want it to just be feeding people. We view our customers as souls — people we want to care for. We’re Christians and believers, and the souls need to be cared for as well.”
What happens inside those three boards does not stay there. It reaches deep into Downsville and the surrounding community through food, faith, and regenerative farming.
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