About Solstice Farm

Our history

Solstice Farm sits on six acres east of Waverly that was not previously farmed. It was founded in 2017, soon after Mark and Theresa Westbrock and their daughter, Robin, moved to Iowa. Prior to that, they lived in southern New Mexico where they enjoyed pursuing urban homesteading on their ¼ acre, net-zero-energy downtown home, which included raising chickens for eggs and meat, fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and beekeeping. Visit our online store to read more about each of our products. In 2023, we started a new hard cider business, Paha Cider, located right here on our farm.

our practices

1. We aim to minimize fossil fuel and chemical inputs and to maximize healthy outputs.

2. Our animals are rotated on pasture to provide them with optimal foraging conditions and restore the health of the land.

3. Our animal feed is grown and milled at a local family farm and is all non-GMO. The soybeans in the feed are roasted, rather than being chemically treated as is done for conventional feed. This makes a big flavor difference in the finished product!

4. The farm is managed with holistic methods and without any chemical sprays or fertilizers. The young fruit orchard is transitioning to organic.

5. We retain natural areas on our farm to provide habitat for native wildlife and encourage biodiversity.

6. Our farm and home are powered by a solar photovoltaic system to offset the electricity that we use with clean, renewable energy.

What is pasture-raised poultry?

Pasture-raised is about movement and the health of the land and goes way beyond free-range. Pasture raised birds are moved regularly to fresh ground with growing vegetation and abundant insects for the birds to eat.

Our egg-layer flock is housed in a mobile coop (Eggmobile) that we move about once per week in the growing season. They have a large area around the Eggmobile and inside an electric fence in which to forage.

The chickens that we raise for meat are housed in pasture shelters (AKA chicken tractors) that we move to fresh ground every single morning. Our turkeys and geese have a central roost building surrounded by a permanently fenced pasture with four quadrants that they are rotated through.