Ninja Cow Farm plans first Open Barn Day Saturday

Ninja Cow Farm ... yep! that's what it's call ... will host its first open farm day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 6.

Ninja Cow Farm is a fairly new, small, 84-acre family farm located just outside of Garner. They are the closest large animal farm to downtown Raleigh - just 15 minutes from the heart of downtown, owner Dan Moore tells me.

Here's more about the farm from Moore: "We raise grass fed, grass finished (an important distinction) cows, and heritage and rare breed hogs. We utilize no commercial feed in our operation, instead relying on produce we glean from various sources as our primary food stock for our pigs. Our produce recycling/upcycling efforts now divert approximately 7 million pounds of produce from the landfill each year. In addition, we recycle 250,000 pounds of cardboard, 24 truck loads of pallets, and 12 truck loads of plastic totes per year."

The farm sells products directly to the consumer and a few restaurants. In addition to beef and pork, the farm also aggregates products from 11 other small family farms and sells those products in their small store, giving each of the partner farms equal billing.

"We are beyond a family farming operation," Moore tells me. "We actually have five families directly involved in our operation, not counting our employees. We are a true community effort, all working together."

Moore and his wife have three kids, who all work on the farm. In 2013, Moore tells me he started giving farm tours to people interested in local farms, organic practices and other issues. Now, the farm gets about 2,000 visitors to the farm, along with another few thousand visitors to the farm store.

On Saturday, the farm will open its doors to the general public to walk through the barn and see the operation. There will be cows and baby goats to feed and pet, along with tours, samples to taste and a chance to meet the farmers and vendors in the Ninja Cow store.

Open Barn Day is free. It takes place at the farm, 7125 Old Stage Rd., Raleigh.