San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
CIELO VISTA FARM
Farming has become a family affair for Schertz couple
When Paul and Gayle Rundus purchased 39 acres in Schertz in 2017, they envisioned a place where several generations of their family could come together. The Indiana couple wanted to grow their own food and build a new life on a self-sustaining farm. When Paul saw drone pictures of the Texas property, he knew they had found what they’d been looking for. After a family vote; they named their new home Cielo Vista Farm.
Paul made the move from Indiana to the farm in March, Gayle arrived almost two years ago, and their daughter, Abbi, her husband, Keith, and daughters, Hannah and Autumn, came in July of 2017.
Cielo Vista Farm, located off Interstate 10 on Weir Road, is about 22 miles from downtown San Antonio and 15 minutes from downtown Cibolo. Cibolo creek runs through the edge of their land, so they have water year-round. The property has a 1,400 square-foot house with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Abbi and her family live in the house while Paul and Gayle are temporarily residing in an RV behind the home. Paul, who worked for many years as a contractor in Indiana, plans to remodel the farmhouse and build two more houses. These days, he only works as a contractor part time. Gayle, a nurse practitioner, sees patients two days a week.
On Cielo Vista Farm, everybody helps out. Autumn and Hannah feed chickens and gather eggs from the egg mobile Paul built. At first, Gayle only wanted chickens so they all could have fresh eggs to eat, but now the farm has about 150 laying hens and a thriving egg business. Paul and Gayle also raise and sell meat chickens. Abbi and Keith help with the chicken processing. The meat chickens sell for $5 a pound, eggs cost $5 a dozen. Most Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to noon, you’ll find the couple at their roadside stand in front of the farm also selling Gayle’s homemade jams, jellies, bread, and gluten-free baked goods. Customers also can buy a variety of seasonal vegetables grown in the garden or greenhouse. They also sell their goods at several farmers markets in the area.
I recently took a tour of the farm where we discussed raising chickens and farm life in general.
Q: What is a typical day like on the farm?
Paul: Well, the chickens get up a little before sunrise, so we get up and we let them out because they’re free-range. The laying hens are. We feed them and clean out the egg mobile. We feed the other chickens. We’re getting ready to build a couple of houses here. Gayle’s brother is getting ready to move out here too. So, that will be another three generations on his side. There will be two sets of three generations here probably within a year. We’ve cleared a lot of the woods in the last couple of years. We’ve built the barn and built the greenhouse. So, it depends on the time of year. She spends a lot of time canning. She sells a lot of jams and jellies.
Q: Where did you learn how to raise chickens?
Paul: We both were around it a little tiny bit when we were younger, but not much. But we read. Online is really helpful. When we first had chickens and they got sick, we were able to find out real quick things to do, so that made it easier.
Q: On your Facebook page there are photos of Cornish Cross chickens. Why did you choose those chickens? Paul: Yes, that’s the most popular meat chicken. They’re bred strictly for meat chickens. They mature maybe 10 to 12 weeks. They mature at 4 to 5 pounds.
Q: Do you ever sell turkeys?
Paul: No, we haven’t been here long enough to do that. That’s something we might try next year, just a few to see how it goes. Processing a turkey is a little different process. We have a plucker that plucks the feathers off chickens, but we don’t know if it will do a turkey or not. It’s something we’ll have to look at.
Q: What are your top sellers?
Paul: Eggs (laughs) We’re pretty much always sold out of eggs. Especially in the wintertime. In the winter, we can get three dozen a day so that’s not too hard to sell out. Her tomatoes are always really popular in the season.
Q: What’s in season now?
Paul: Tomatoes and peppers right now are what we have in the greenhouse. We get a lot of jalapeños and banana peppers. They do pretty well. The tomatoes produce once in the fall and so right now we have multitudes of tomatoes.
Q: Has the pandemic had any impact on your business?
Gayle: It did. When you couldn’t get eggs from a grocery store a lot of people were knocking our door down. We had a six-week waiting list for people to get eggs.
Q: What advice would you give someone who might be thinking about buying a farm?
Gayle: Go slow, everything is a learning experience. Don’t try to get in over your head.
Paul: It’s more than a hobby. It’s work. You have to be up every morning when the sun rises. You can’t skip a morning. There’s always something to do on a farm.
For more information about Cielo Vista Farm, email paulrundus@gmail.com or call 812-453-4396.