April 26, 2026 – If you had told a farmer, just a generation back, about the expanded duties of today’s producer, his head would have exploded. It was all pretty simple then. Raise the animal, grow the vegetable, and pass it on to the buyer, or directly to one of a handful of companies that arose out of the industrialization and centralization of the national food supply. Today’s farmers, those who operate outside of the “conventional” agriculture established in the 1950s, have gone back to their grandparents’ ways, with their gentler, hands-on relationships with their livestock, but have had to learn to market themselves in the modern world of decentralized media.
Christian Schmoe, who owns and operates Schmoe Farm near the Georgia-Florida state line, alongside his partner Drew, has mastered this art. They met in Chicago while attending Roosevelt University’s College of Performing Arts and singing for the Chicago Opera Theater. Now they use those skills in promotional videos released on their social media accounts each holiday season. In one of these videos, Drew, dashing in a black sweater by the glow of their home’s hearth, wraps us in the warmth of his baritone as he sings to footage of the “Bleak Midwinter” outside in Quitman. In another post, Christian cradles a chicken as he sings to a nearby pig, his rich tenor assuring the animals that he’ll be “Home for Christmas.”
Their advertising worked on me. I had occasionally bought Schmoe chicken at the market, but I became a devoted weekly regular soon after the release of their music videos, charmed by the quaint whimsicality they evoked. Could any animal farm possibly operate like this? Can any place be that cute?
The Schmoe driveway, canopied by the branches and moss of oak trees planted seventy years ago by Christian’s grandfather, puts me in a storybook vision as the car rolls toward the main house. Jeff, one of the nine part-time employees who helps with everything that needs to be done out here, is leaving for the day and points us to Christian and Drew’s abode, past a thicket of bushes to the right of the house.
Our time to visit is short, and Christian’s truck is the best way to see all 1,040 acres of this land. Joe, one of the three Great Pyrenees dogs that lives here, follows us. Before we reach the gate to the pasture, we pass the brooder, where mail-order chicks grow until three weeks of age. Nearby, a grown chicken pecks the ground. He has found a way out of the hoop houses on the pasture. Christian appreciates the chicken’s cunning and will allow it to live the rest of its days free range.
The rest of the meat chickens live on the pasture in what look like miniature open-air plane hangars, covered with transparent mesh to block invading hawks. Poles on the front of the hoop houses allow Christian to hitch them to his truck and move them once a day onto fresh grass. The laying hens frolic in larger paddocks, their laying houses looking like Peaky Blinders caravans atop wheels taller than the grass, moving every other day.
In the woods past an 80-acre stork preserve, the pigs root for insects and nuts, and their rooting sounds like water running over pebbles beneath the trees inside a 2-acre enclosure bordered by electric wire. Once they have eaten everything in that space, they’ll be moved to the next paddock over. The land that is picked bare will soon become full again, fertilized by the pigs’ manure.
A baby pig, no bigger than a two-month-old puppy, weaves around the hooves of the older herd. Christian steps in to move it to safety. Henry, horned and hairy and the biggest boar in the bunch, ambles over to him, squealing in delight.
Recipe: Chicken Schnitzel with Bacon-Sauerkraut Mashed Potatoes, Honey Mustard Glazed Brussels Sprouts and Lemon-Caper Browned Butter Sauce
INGREDIENTS
For the Mashed Potatoes:
3 pint containers yellow potatoes, cubed
4 pieces bacon, cut into chunks
1 cup sauerkraut, drained
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the Schnitzel:
2 thick boneless chicken breasts (about 1.25 pounds)
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
For the Sauce:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 tablespoon picked thyme leaves
¾ cup chicken stock
Juice of half a juicy lemon
For the Brussels Sprouts:
1 pint container Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed and halved
1 shallot, diced
2 tablespoons honey
1.5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
METHOD
Give yourself some time to make this meal. It’s four separate components involving multiple pots and pans. If you’d like, make the potatoes ahead of time and reheat in the oven once the other parts of the meal come together. You can even do the first roasting of the Brussels sprouts ahead of time.
- Put the cubed potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Add 2 big pinches of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.
- While the potatoes are simmering, cook the bacon over medium-low heat in a dry skillet until browned. Drain onto paper towels.
- Warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan until the butter melts. Add a ladle of this mixture to the cooked potatoes, then mash and stir. Continue until all of the mixture is incorporated. Add the bacon and sauerkraut and stir. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.
- Toss the halved Brussels sprouts in grapeseed oil and spread onto a baking sheet. Roast at 400°F for 15 minutes, until golden brown.
- While the sprouts are roasting, sauté the shallot over medium-high heat in a tablespoon of grapeseed oil until soft and lightly browned. Stir in the mustard and honey.
- Combine the roasted sprouts with the honey mustard mixture. Set aside until final warming in the oven. Decrease oven temperature to 350°F.
- Place the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs into three separate deep plates. Season the flour with salt and black pepper, whisking to combine.
- Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise halfway through their thickness to create 4 thin pieces.
- Add about ½ inch of grapeseed oil to a long, deep pan and heat over medium.
- Cover the mashed potatoes with foil and place in the oven to warm. Place the Brussels sprouts on another rack, uncovered, so the glaze can caramelize.
- Coat each piece of chicken in flour, then dip into the egg, and finally coat in breadcrumbs. Place on a clean plate.
- In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Cook until golden brown flecks appear. Add the chicken stock, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until reduced by half. Meanwhile, the oil for the chicken should be hot; reduce heat to medium-low.
- Add the chicken to the oil. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side until browned. Remove and drain on paper towels.
- Add the capers, lemon juice, and thyme to the sauce and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter.
- Remove the potatoes and sprouts from the oven. Plate by placing a mound of potatoes in the center, topping with chicken, surrounding with Brussels sprouts, and spooning sauce over everything. Serve immediately.
Feeds 2 very hungry people or 4 reasonable people
About the author
Chris Underwood is a Fayette County native who once happened upon a used copy of Kitchen Confidential while picking up his 9th grade summer reading at the Omega Bookstore. He’s been fascinated with food and the people who grow and cook it ever since. On Saturdays, he’ll probably be at the Forsyth Farmer’s Market buying fresh ingredients for delicious meals he prepares and posts to his Facebook page.
MORE BY CHRIS UNDERWOOD
- Aura Farming in South Georgia, Set to Song
- Living in Joy at Bootleg Farm
- Stinging sun & soaked soil – A Farmer Adapts
- Bringing the Inside Out – Beekeeping and Redemption
- Blueberries, Bugs and a Farmer Named Forrest
- “Good Food for Good People” – Billy’s Botanicals and Widespread Panic
- Market Days: 920 Company and Mexican Coke Ribs
- Dottie’s ‘Changed It All’ – Reflections from The Kitchen
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