CD&J Mini Ranch

In 2018, Cynthia, along with her husband David and son Justin, started a 35-acre ranch/farm outside San Benito, Texas. Initially motivated by concerns over meat and vegetable recalls, harsh conditions for market animals, and food scarcity due to natural disasters and the pandemic, they began raising their own meats and produce. Over time, they expanded to selling their fresh, grass-fed, locally grown proteins and vegetables to neighbors and friends, starting at local farmer's markets and eventually through an online store and Protein Pack CSAs.

The farm follows Certified Naturally Grown standards, emphasizing free-range, grass-fed, and humanely treated livestock. They raise a variety of animals including Kunekune pigs, Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, miniature cattle, Miniature donkeys, Mini Rex rabbits, and Midget White turkeys. Organic feed from Coyote Creek is used for their Rhode Island Red and Issa Brown chickens, as well as their pigs. They also grow several vegetables, which they preserve by canning, dehydrating, and freeze drying.

The farm is woman and veteran-owned, and offers educational experiences and farm tours to teach self-sufficiency skills such as canning, butchering, and meat processing. They raise and sell Buff ducks and Pilgrim geese, and their Midget White turkeys are classified as 'Critical' by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy. The farm's products are available through their online store and Protein Pack CSAs.