Board Member:  Natasha Paris

Natasha Paris is a pasture-based farmer and high school agriculture teacher in Green Lake, WI. She is from Eastern Wisconsin originally, holds a BA from Knox College in Education and Modern Languages, and has taught preschool, adult English learners, Spanish, German, Science, and Agriculture. She has also lived in Madison, Western Illinois, and Norway. She and her husband own ParKelm Farm where they raise grassfed Classic Hereford Cattle, grassfed Icelandic Sheep, and pastured Large Black Hogs. They direct market all of their meat through their website and at a farmers market in Madison. They started farming in 2012 and bought hogs in 2017 after the loss of their son put them on a new path in life. Natasha is passionate about advocating for pasture-based agriculture and serves on two SARE advisory committees, is on the Grassworks Conference planning committee, and is the Vice President of the Green Lake County Farm Bureau. She has spoken at events on her farm and at conferences on the topics of soil health, pasture-based meat quality, pasture-based hog rations, multi-species grazing, and diversity and inclusion in agriculture. She recently won the WI Farm Bureau Young Agriculturist Excellence in Agriculture Award and placed in the Top 10 in the American Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture contest. With regards to Large Black Hogs, she is interested in breeding pigs with good conformation and efficiency for meat/litter production on pasture.