KICKSTARTER HELPS LAUNCH SMALL PENNSYLVANIA DAIRY FARM

As the fifth generation in a dairy family, Mikayla Fasone was ready to step away from tradition and make a fresh start.

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When Mikayla Fasone graduated from Penn State, she stepped into a management position at her family's 100-year-old central New Jersey dairy farm.

She served as the farm's herdswoman and manager of on-farm agritourism, including the annual summer camp, for three years.

Then, with a dairy legacy that spans five generations, Fasone, 28, was ready to branch out on her own and create a dairy-farming lifestyle that spoke to her.

That is when she created Fresh Start Farm in Pipersville, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Fasone's fresh start in making a dairy allowed her to balance her passions - cattle, selling raw milk, and people.

"I wanted to separate myself from my family's farm, but I also wanted to keep farming and working with cows, so this felt more aligned with me," Fasone says. "It's my farm, my fresh start." Fasone didn't create Fresh Start on her own; she leaned into making a connection with community members by asking them to help her turn the 11-acre horse farm she bought with her husband, Joe, into a micro-dairy.

Through Kickstarter, a crowd-sourced funding platform, her plans captured the attention of neighbors, who wanted the property to remain a small farm.

"I figured making a campaign was worth a shot. At most, it can't hurt," Fasone says.

She set a goal of $15,000, which she felt was an achievable number, to help her purchase equipment for milking and fences.

Exceeds Her Kickstarter Goal

By creating various sponsorship-like levels with rewards, she raised more than her initial pledge, receiving over $17,000. One of the rewards was the opportunity to name the first calf on the farm for a donation of $250.

Most people selected the $25 pledge, and she recognized their support on her Facebook and Instagram platforms.