Our Story
Tuckley Ranch and Dairy was officially started in 2024 when our Ranch started out producing what our friends and family could consume. We were fed up and let down by the quality of our global food system and wanted to get back to a more holistic way of growing food. When we realized that there was almost no place locally to get the quality of food we wanted we decided to take things into our own hands and our own acreage to grow healthy sustainable food that honors the animal and the land. We believe that animals deserve to have a great quality of life doing what they were designed to do and filling the niche in the ecosystem they were designed to fill. Chicken need to scratch and peck while they hunt for bugs, pigs need to root and wallow and cows need to graze. This sounds simple but sadly this is not what industrial agriculture offers. Most offer large facilities with cramped quarters often fed antibiotics and/or steroids where they can turn grain into committee meats. We are focused on regenerative practices that build the land, the soils, and the ecosystem where cows rotationally graze down the prairie, the chickens eat the insects and fertilize the land. This may sound old school but is actually more modern than our industrial models. Recent technologies such as electric fences give us the ability to manage where and how the cattle graze in ways that were not available to previous generations, skid steers let us make compost in a way that was much harder to do with a pitch fork. Our developing understanding of the impact and function of soil microbiology is opening up a whole world of understanding of potential for the future as well as learning the unintended consequences of previous production models.
Meet the Team
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Betty Keetley
Bio coming soon!
Chris Keetley
I grew up in the small town of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Although I had no real connection to farm life, I did grow up owning and raising almost every kind of animal we don't eat. Not just owning, but raising everything from dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, snakes, lizards, spiders, salt and freshwater fish, and lots of birds! Loving, caring for and understanding the needs of all kinds of animals has always been a major part of everyday life. Most of my professional life was working at pet shops and nutrition shops, helping teach people about animals and nutrition and how to feed and care for them. Managing saltwater fish stores is where the whole goal is building a fully functional ecosystem in a box. My love of animals led me to even work as a scuba diver in Australian reefs. Eventually the curiosity of understanding animal behavior led me to become a certified dog trainer that specializes in dog development, behavior modification, and ethology. This love and interest in animals and systems came to the farm in 2020 when my mom decided she wanted to move to the country and start a small homestead. The simple question of “how do I build soil” in our dry high plains led me down deep rabbit holes of compost building, animal impact, rotational grazing, water management, mushroom and permaculture. We started with a few beef cows and a small flock of chickens but soon had goats, ducks, geese, rabbits, turkeys and even pigs. The whole ecosystem wouldn't be complete without worms, flies, fish, and fungus. Within a few years we had a farm that would make old Mcdonald a little jealous. And our little hobby moved from more of a hobby to a “jobby”, and in 2024 we decided to make it a full time job by starting up the dairy and raising and processing 500+ meat birds. Living this life lets us experience just how much better farm fresh everything is and also learn how our small scale production is way different than the way a vast majority of animals are raised. Not only was it a better life for the animal, but you could clearly taste the difference in the quality of the meat as well!
Natasha Chilton
Growing up I loved spending time on my grandfather's small farm. Helping feed and water horses, chickens, ducks, turkeys, etc. I've always been passionate about animals and enjoy being around them and caring for them!
In 2020 I began my journey towards my dream career as a dog trainer and met Chris, my now fiance. I grew more passionate about my love of dogs and then found a passion for dog nutrition and health. After my heart dog developed severe allergies due to a lot of the way our food is grown and the way dog kibble is made. I started raw feeding him but had a hard time finding food that was up to my standards that he could have and wanted to start raising my own eggs he could have as well as quail and other meat that he could eat!
Living on the farm and being a major part in the daily care and nutrition for all inside and outside animals gave a great outlet for my passion for proper nutrition. Raising animals this way gives them a great quality of life and a great quality of meat for my family, my animals, and my community