In 2018, Cynthia along with her husband David & son Justin, started CD&J Mini Ranch, a Certified Naturally Grown 35-acre ranch/farm outside San Benito, Texas.  San Benito is in the Rio Grande Valley, close to South Padre Island and the Southern most border next to Mexico, where the gulf breeze always blows.  

 

   Cynthia & David chose to start raising their own meats & produce after seeing so many reports on meat & vegetable recalls; the harsh conditions market animals are raised; and the food scarcity that hurricanes, floods, freezes & then Covid caused. They raise a variety of animals including pigs, cows, ducks, seasonal turkeys & chickens. They also raise several of their own vegetables that they and their neighbors enjoy, but they also preserve by canning, dehydrating, and freeze drying much of what they grow. When The Cooks first started their farm in 2018 they just wanted a better, readily available, healthier choice of food for themselves, but after a while, they heard from many other local folks concerned about these same issues.  The Cook's decided to start selling their fresh, grass feed, locally grown proteins and vegetables to their Valley neighbors and friends. 

​

   Cynthia first started selling their meats and products at local farmer's markets, from their farm and to a few small local businesses.  Here at CD&J Mini Ranch we sell our products through our online store individually and through shares of our Protein Pack CSAs. It’s the same concept as a produce-only based CSA, that communities are more familiar with, but along with our Certified Naturally Grown produce, we also raise and concentrate on our free-range, grass-fed, and humanely treated Angus & Wagyu cattle, Kunekune and Idaho Pasture pigs (IPP), heritage and seasonal broad breasted turkeys, free range chickens and farm fresh eggs.   

​

Thank you for stopping by, we hope you like what you see and please do not hesitate to call Cynthia if you have questions. 

​