Five Cardinals Farm is a family-run homestead in Shacklefords, VA, focused on providing high-quality, nutrient-dense food through regenerative practices. Rather than selling to the general public, the farm operates as a Private Membership Association (PMA), creating a direct and secure link between the land and your table.
What is a PMA?
A Private Membership Association is a legal structure that allows the farm and its patrons to interact within a private domain. While a standard business is open to the public and governed by broad state and federal commerce regulations, a PMA is a private contract between members. It shifts the relationship from “retailer and customer” to “association and member.”
The Purpose: Why Choose This Model?
The “why” is rooted in food sovereignty and freedom of choice.
- Regulatory Independence: By remaining in the private sector, the farm can provide products—such as herd shares for fresh milk or farm-processed items—that members specifically request but are often restricted in the public marketplace.
- Direct Accountability: The farm answers to its members, not a government agency. This ensures that the standards for animal welfare and soil health are set by the people actually eating the food.
Benefits for the Member
Joining the Five Cardinals Farm membership offers more than just a place to shop; it provides a direct connection to your food source.
Community & Sovereignty: You become part of a local food system that prioritizes health and constitutional freedoms, ensuring you have a reliable source of clean food regardless of external supply chain or regulatory shifts.
Exclusive Access: Members gain entry to the on-site farm store, which is stocked with pasture-raised poultry, eggs, and homemade sourdough breads and treats.
No Weekly Commitment: Unlike a traditional CSA, there is no requirement to purchase a weekly box. You shop when you need to and buy only what you want.
Transparency & Education: Members are encouraged to tour the farm, see the animals, and learn exactly how their food is raised.
Available exclusively to our farm members. become a member and Shop our harvest of chemical-free produce, pasture-raised meats, and handcrafted sourdough.
Raw Milk & Dairy Products
When you get a herd share, you can enjoy rich, creamy raw milk exactly as nature intended—unpasteurized, unhomogenized, and full of life. We carefully manage our herd to ensure a reliable, year-round supply of fresh milk, artisan butter, and yogurt for our community. Taste the difference.
- 1/2 Gallon Shares
- 1 Gallon Shares
Pasture Raised Pork
Our Idaho Pasture Pigs live the absolute best life here in Virginia. Raised outdoors in the sunshine and woods, they spend their days foraging, rooting, and doing exactly what pigs were meant to do. Through our farm’s hog shares, your family gets access to premium, pasture-raised pork that’s sustainably raised without any shortcuts. Taste the difference that fresh air, moving to fresh ground, and regenerative farming make!
- 1/2 Hog Share
- Whole hog Share
Grass-fed Beef
At Five Cardinals Farm, we believe that incredible beef starts from the ground up—literally. Our grass-fed beef program is built entirely on regenerative agriculture and rotational grazing. By moving our cattle through our pastures and silvopasture, they naturally fertilize the land, build healthy topsoil, and thrive on a diverse, natural diet. When you choose our grass-fed beef for your family’s table, you aren’t just getting exceptional flavor; you are directly supporting a sustainable, sovereign food system right here in Virginia.
- 1/4 beef share
- 1/2 beef share
- whole beef share
Homemade Pies & Pastries
It’s not just pastures and livestock around here—we’ve also got a serious sweet tooth! Every week, our farm kitchen turns out an amazing lineup of sourdough baked goods. From our rich chocolate chip and lemon crinkle cookies to our freshly baked muffins and maple pecan scones, everything is crafted from scratch using high-quality, non-enriched flours. Treat yourself to something sweet and wholesome when you stop by the farm store!
Pasture Raised Chicken Eggs
we believe the best eggs come from hens who actually get to live like birds. Our heritage flock roams freely through our pastures and silvopasture, foraging for insects and soaking up the sunshine. We supplement their diverse natural diet with high-quality, non-GMO feed to ensure they have exactly what they need to thrive. The result? Stunning, nutrient-dense eggs from our happy hens that will completely elevate your morning breakfast
Pasture Raised Poultry
Our pasture-raised meat chickens live their best lives out on fresh Virginia grass. We raise our Cornish Cross birds entirely outdoors, moving them daily to fresh ground so they can forage for bugs while naturally fertilizing our pastures. Supplemented with only high-quality, non-GMO feed, these birds yield incredibly tender, flavorful chicken that you can feel great about feeding your family.
Seasonal Veggies
our regenerative approach extends right into our market garden. We believe that nutrient-dense vegetables start with healthy, living soil, which is why we strictly avoid chemical fertilizers and harsh tillage. Instead, we focus on building up organic matter to grow incredibly flavorful, wholesome produce. Whether you are slicing into one of our heirloom tomatoes for a summer sandwich, you are tasting the direct result of our commitment to holistic land management. It’s real food, grown from the ground up.
** 2026 Garden relocation project – Garden is currently under construction so no produce at this time.
Melons & other Fruit
Nothing beats the taste of fruit ripened under the Virginia sun! From the crisp tree fruits in our holistic orchard to the heavy, sun-sweetened melons in our fruit patches, everything is grown without harsh chemical sprays. By focusing on healthy soil and natural pest management, we harvest sweet, juicy fruit you can feel completely good about feeding your kids. Stop by the farm store and grab the season’s freshest harvest!
** Our orchard is still growing but we should have some fruit soon!
** We are also working on a Member-only u-pick strawberry patch! coming 2027!
Sourdough Bread
One of our most popular items; sourdough bread. we believe the heart of the home is the kitchen, and our kitchen revolves around our sourdough starter. Every week, we mix, fold, and bake our signature artisan and sandwich loaves using exclusively non-enriched flours. We skip the commercial yeasts and quick-rise shortcuts, relying instead on long, slow fermentation. The result is a truly wholesome, easily digestible bread with a perfect crust and incredible flavor, baked fresh for your family’s table.We make fresh bread every week. Artisian loaves, sandwich loaves, and speciality loaves.
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