Melissa and Aaron Miller, Miller Livestock
Our Farm to Fork partners Melissa and Aaron Miller of Miller Livestock were the first Food Alliance-certified livestock farm in Ohio.
The Millers raise grass-fed beef and lamb, pastured pork, chickens and turkeys, and laying hens on 168 acres in Kinsman — about 70 miles from Cleveland. Bon Appétit Dining Services at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland has long been buying the Millers’ pork and in past years has bought up to half of their hogs.
The Millers have a close relationship with their livestock. The cattle are apparently partial to Aaron’s uniform of blue hooded sweatshirts, so much so that any time he wears something different, they think he’s someone else and don’t really trust him! They’re so observant of Aaron’s wardrobe that “if he has his raincoat on, they don’t like that because it’s a different color,” Melissa says. The turkeys, meanwhile, make a content cooing sound whenever they’re rotated to a new piece of grass, a much appreciated thank-you for the effort Aaron puts forward to move their portable fence and house.
Food Alliance is an independent agency that evaluates farms’ standards for safe and fair working conditions, humane animal treatment, and careful stewardship of ecosystems. Food Alliance’s are among the highest standards around. Take a gander at the Food Alliance map, and you’ll see that the Millers are a lone dot in the state and one of only a handful of Food Alliance-certified operations that far east.
Melissa and Aaron thanked us for our role in helping them attain Food Alliance certification. “You really pushed us to take it to the next step,” Melissa said. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.”