The Life of a Catholic Farmer on Whiffletree Farm

A well-known and very much-admired Catholic farmer in Northern Virginia is Jesse Straight. Owner of Whiffletree Farm in Warrenton, Virginia, Straight has embraced both his farming and his Catholic life, and with his wife and children, has created something of a rural paradise on their 80 acres. There he raises herds of pigs and cattle and flocks of chickens and turkeys. And because of his products, streams of visitors stop by to view the land and to pick up produce and farm products from their onsite store.

He is also a staunch Catholic, but the pathway to his faith was not straight. Raised in a suburban setting in Warrenton, Virginia and as a devout Evangelical, he had teased his parent that they raised him to be such a good Evangelical that he became Catholic. His parents also taught him that true happiness is found in Christ, and Straight took that to heart. But he was troubled by the disunity and the lack of firm doctrinal basis for the Protestant faith, he said.

When Straight attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, he kept studying theology. As a result, he shifted more to traditionally oriented church worship. “My wife Liz and I went to an Anglo-Catholic Episcopal church,” he said, “and friends and I talked all about it. Then a new priest came, and he was not as friendly with Anglo-Catholics. We then decided we should attend RCIA classes, and that priest was an impetus to join the faith”.

Why farming? Straight explained that when trying to figure out his true life’s goal, he was profoundly impressed by reading Wendell Berry’s book, A World Lost. He said that the text is a critique of the transient nature of modern life that separates families, communities, and church. The book inspired him to focus on living a “good life”. A native of Warrenton, an upscale town surrounded by farming communities, Straight decided that farming near there would bring him that integrated life of work, home, and community to be the center of his life.

To achieve that, the couple moved from Charlottesville back to Warrenton to start their new farming life in a rural setting. Fortunately, the couple and Straight’s parents had been looking for farmland near his family and where he was raised. The perfect property was up for sale, and they bought it immediately.

Farming has been a powerful way to fulfill his dream. “I have dreamt of becoming a sustainable pasture-based farmer with my family joining me,” he said. “It was a longshot because I am not from a farm family, and I had to learn two things at once — running a business and being a farmer.” In addition, he wanted to raise animals in a way “most fitting to nature as God’s order and with transparency and with kindness,” he said. “I want to make animals and staff happy. I hope to have the healthiest chickens in Virginia, and I also want the happiest employees and interns. That is part of community life.” To underscore that, Straight brings staff together several mornings a week for a team breakfast, and that helps people get excited about new friendships.

Straight decided to start farming on a small scale by just raising chickens for meat. The couple had had that experience when living in Charlottesville because they had raised laying hens in their backyard there. The farm’s initial batch included only 52 chickens and the couple decided to give away the processed meat to family and friends. As the couple gained confidence in their work, they grew the batch to 150 chickens, and the numbers kept escalating.

After raising the meat chickens, Straight decided to add laying hens for eggs, and he added turkeys and livestock to his barns and pastures—at one point had 800 turkeys, 160 hogs, 70 cows, and more than 12,000 chickens. The biggest sellers, he said, have been the chickens.

As a clever businessman as well as a successful farmer, Straight added to his company an on-site store that sells eggs, organic vegetables, local raw honey, grass-fed lamb and other farm-based products. He or staff members now deliver orders for his goods to various drop sites throughout Northern Virginia where customers can pick up and pay for their good. He also sells to local restaurants, which account for about 60 percent of his business.

After 16 years of farming, Straight said he really believes in what he does. “We raise animals in a healthy way to benefit the land, people, and the animals,” he said. “I I love to be outside. I like to see life and see things growing. I like working with nature in a way that fits and makes sense with God’s system.”

Clearly Straight understands that God brought him to his farming life for a purpose. His farming life has taught him to understand something about God’s world. “We want to follow God in the spirit of humility and practice the Catholic faith,” he said. “Our role is to love God and our neighbors and to thank God for all He has given us. I am grateful for all the people who buy our food, and I am excited to see our land become more and more fertile.”

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