About Us

We think more businesses should strive to create healthy products in a manner that supports our natural world and provides benefits to our nation at large.

Like you, we wondered how our actions affect the planet, and, how we could affect positive change. We started Autumn Olive Farms in 2008 with a dual mission: first, to create a business model that provides a chemical-free solution for invasive plant species that disrupt nature's balance in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Secondly, to raise healthy meat that provides clean nutrition for our family, neighbors, and friends.

We are accomplishing those goals with the African Boer Bok goat.

"Boer Bok" means "Farmer's Goat" in Dutch, and are prized for both their meat and temperament. Boer Bok goats forage on some of the country's most destructive and invasive weeds: Autumn Olive, Poison Ivy, Honeysuckle, Multi-flora Rose, Bittersweet and others. What is deemed bad for us is great for them! The Boer Bok convert this high protein forage into one of the world's healthiest and most delicious specialty meats.

How It All Began
We began raising Boer Bok in the spring of 2005 in North Carolina. With our love of animals, Linda's background as a Veterinarian Technician, and Clay's experience of growing up on a farm, it was a well suited match.

In 2006 and 2007, we experienced a severe drought in North Carolina. Our pastures burned up and we had to feed animals hay in the summer. We noticed that along the roadside and utility easement right-of-way that the forage was still green and lush while everything else was parched.

We decided we would go “old school” and herd our goats along the road to forage the green invasive plants. It was quite a sight herding 50 plus goats along the road! We would do this twice a day for about an hour. It was a great way to meet our neighbors and make new friends while watching our animals' health improve very quickly.

We realized that the plants goats love and that are good for them are the ones that are a problem for Clay and Linda Trainumfarms and land owners. They are also the plants that are deeply rooted and thrive when it is dry. 

We moved to Clay's family farm just north of Waynesboro in 2008. The farm was overgrown with a large stand of Autumn Olive and that is how we got our name. We started a business in 2009 renting our goats to clean up overgrown land. We received a grant from the Shenandoah Valley Resource and Conservation Development Council for a project at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton.  That served as a model for landowners to see how you can use goats to clean up overgrown land.  We started selling our USDA processed meat to high-end local restaurants and gourmet grocery stores in 2010 once we felt we had mastered both the quality and consistency of our meat.

Visit our Farm and See for Yourself
Linda and beloved farm dog, ChloeWould you like to visit our farm? In this day and age transparency exceeds labels or claims in regard to quality and ethics. We would love to show you what we do. Depending on the season, our animals might be here, on forage sites off the farm, or both. We can take you to those locations so you can see them in action.

At this time we are as "hands on" as one can be! We operate our farm of over 200 Boer Bok with the help of our teenage son. We're located located 40 miles west of Charlottesville and 165 miles south of Washington, D.C. outside the Shenandoah Valley city of Waynesboro. We are located in the headwaters area of nine streams that flow to the Chesapeake Bay.

We welcome visitors to our farm. Contact us to set up a time for a visit. 

You can find our Boer Bok meat in some of the country's finest restaurants, or on your table when you order from our online store . When you do, you'll support a family business that produces local meat in a sustainable way that's healthy for you and healthy for our shared environment.

Thank you for supporting Autumn Olive Farms.

Sincerely,
Clay and Linda Trainum
Waynesboro, Virginia