Inspiring Conversations with Mollie Shipman of Dooley Creek Farm

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mollie Shipman.

Hi Mollie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
​My degree is in dietetics, human nutrition. As I worked in healthcare, I began to become disillusioned with the disconnect between quality nutrition and medical care. I began to see that the food people were eating was giving them calories but not truly nourishing them. The myriad vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients that not only give life but health and vitality, were severely lacking in the processed, mass-produced “food” that they were eating.

So I wanted to somehow work to encourage people to nourish their bodies with real, quality food for healing and wellness. Around the same time I was pondering these things, my husband Jake and I had started reading and listening to various experts in the regenerative farming field. What these farmers and scientists were saying strongly resonated with us and we knew that farming addressed health at the ground level – literally – and that’s what we wanted to do.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The greater Roaring Fork Valley community has been very supportive! The demographic here has a high level of personal and environmental health awareness and want to eat real, wholesome food grown in an environmentally responsible way.

One of the biggest challenges has actually been production – we’re having a hard time keeping up with demand.

Our farm is 100 acres with only about 25 of that in pasture so there’s only so much we can produce on our place. This year we acquired a grazing lease that has allowed us to up our cattle and hay production.

Learning to navigate the regulations surrounding food production, packaging and sales has been tricky and we’re still trying to figure it all out.

Finding good help as we expand is our next big challenge. Up until now, we have had an internship program but we’re hoping to hire our first full-time employee this year in addition to the interns.

We’ve been impressed with Dooley Creek Farm, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
In 2019 we started Dooley Creek Farm, LLC on my family’s property near Carbondale, CO, about an hour’s drive west of Aspen, CO.

We raise chicken, turkey, eggs, pork and beef. Our animals are all pasture-raised with no chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and we use Certified Organic, non-GMO feeds. They are raised and harvested humanely, allowing full expression of the essence of their respective species: pigs root, chickens and turkeys forage, cattle graze.

Our main enterprise is a Meat CSA where members sign up for a 1 year membership to get a variety box of our meats delivered to their doorstep each month. We also sell at local farmer’s markets and directly off the farm.

What makes you happy?
The farm has grown exponentially in the four short years since we started and we love owning our own business, a business we are passionate about and that serves our community in a very meaningful way.

We’re living out a dream. Is it hard? Yes, it is. There are days we want to give up and quit. But there are so many rewards too! We get to steward the land and work together as a family to produce wholesome, nutritious food.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dooleycreekfarm.com
• Instagram: Dooley_Creek_Farm
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dooleycreekfarm  

Image Credits
Courtesy photos and Charley Speer Photography