Justin Butts of Black Wind Farm is a chef, Navy veteran, and first-generation farmer working to reconnect people to food, land, and each other. Nestled in the rolling hills of upstate New York, Black Wind Farm is home to a small herd of Kunekune pigs, cattle, sheep, and goats. For Justin, animal welfare is paramount—from the way he raises his livestock to the reverence with which they are brought to the table. 

Justin began growing food with his grandfather as a young child in northern New Jersey. At 17, his family lost their home during the housing crisis, and he no longer had land to cultivate. He dreamed of attending the Culinary Institute of America, but the steep tuition kept that dream out of reach. Instead, he followed a different path—honoring his grandfather’s footsteps by joining the Navy in pursuit of new opportunities. After six years of service, an injury during his second deployment led to a misdiagnosis of leukemia, which resulted in an early military retirement.

Justin returned to his hometown to pursue farming. He trained for a year in both conventional and organic agriculture at The Seed Farm, while leasing a 10-acre farm with 500 chickens for egg production. He worked in kitchens across restaurants in New York and Pennsylvania, eventually funding his culinary education through his veterans’ GI Bill benefits. After culinary school, Justin was hired as a livestock manager at Soul Fire Farm and later at Laughing Earth Farm. Alongside this farmwork, he built a lard-based soap business and raised his own Kunekune pigs—laying the foundation for what would one day become Black Wind Farm.

When an opportunity to purchase an abandoned organic cattle farm in upstate NY arose through the Local Farms Fund, Justin stepped forward, and Iroquois Valley stepped in. With investor support from our Rooted in Regeneration Notes, Justin secured financing to purchase the farmland and establish a permanent home for Black Wind Farm. Traditional mortgage lending wasn’t an option for him as VA loans don’t support commercial farms, and conventional banks often require down payments beyond reach for new farmers—especially those raising livestock on large acreages. With the support of our impact-driven investors, Justin was able to turn his vision into reality.

Like many beginning farmers, Justin still works off-farm jobs to make ends meet—splitting his time between the fields, working as a chef, and unloading trucks overnight for UPS. But that hasn’t slowed him down. On top of building his grazing operation, Justin hosts on-farm hog butchery workshops, organizes a seasonal farm-to-table dinner series, and participates in the annual Le Pie du Mont Boucherie at Comfort Farms, the nation’s first Acute Veterans Crisis Agriculture Center.

Justin stewards the land using rotational grazing and organic, regenerative practices, cultivating healthy animals, thriving pastures, and resilient ecosystems. Black Wind’s fields are rich with native forage that nourishes the animals while supporting pollinators and birds like the Eastern Phoebe, Common Yellowthroat, and Wilson’s Snipe. These interconnected efforts reflect his broader goal: to build a food system rooted in resilience, animal welfare, and a deeper connection between people and the land. Justin’s long-term vision is to farm full-time with on-site butchery and education programs that deepen the connection between food, land, animals, and people. 

For Justin, farming is more than a livelihood—it’s a way to honor his roots, nourish his community, and remind us all that eating is an agricultural act, one that demands reverence and responsibility.