Jim Dunlop, former Marine and native of the east end of Long Island, New York, came to farming by way of several detours. One common theme, however, in his career progression was his love for working outdoors and being his own boss. He dabbled in guiding outdoor adventures, landscaping, masonry, a firewood business, carpentry, and starting a veggie box delivery service. Selling vegetables gave way to raising a few chickens for eggs, and then meat for his customers. He excelled at the chicken part, priding himself in his ability to catch and process 100 birds in a day. He is also an accomplished trail runner and loves to slack line and balance on just about anything precarious.

Rebecca Thistlethwaite, Jim's wife, grew up on the suburban edge of Portland, Oregon. Always very athletic and outdoorsy, she pursued an education in natural resources management. While working as a wilderness ranger in Idaho, she met a backpacker offering sweet, organic Idaho carrots to eat. Those carrots brought her to apprenticing on several organic farms and eventually studying Agro-ecology at UC Davis. With a special interest in tropical agriculture and biodiversity, she worked and studied in Guatemala and Honduras, eventually making her way back to California to work for a non-profit farm incubator. She now helps Jim with the farming business, blogs at www.HonestMeat.com, and works for UC Santa Cruz at the farm's CASFS center.

Fiona Dunlop is the commander-in-chief. At four years old, she has mastered the art of whining, demanding, and inducing guilt in her parents, Jim and Rebecca. She also is becoming a master egg packer and loves anything in the shades of pink or purple or sparkly. "Got Barbies?"

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We came up with the name TLC Ranch in 2004, wanting a name that contained both humor and our principles. Originally, "TLC" stood for "Tastes Like Chicken," since we started out raising meat chickens, and customers would always comment about how much the meat tasted like real chicken. Now that pork and eggs are the main products, "TLC" stands for "Tender Loving Care," which is not only about the level of care we provide the animals, but also how we treat our employees, and how we treat the earth. Pigs and chickens are best suited to the land that we rent, the capital we have available (or lack of it!), and the preferences of our customers.

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