Alderspring is a small family owned operation raising delicious organic meat. Most of the work is done by the Elzingas: Glenn, Caryl, and 7 amazing daughters. We do need a little help though and here you can meet our permanent staff.
Ethan and Abigail Kelly
Ethan came to work for us in 2011 after working for a year at Polyface Farms with Joel Salatin. In 2014 Ethan married Abby, our daughter, and soon after they left for a year to work on sustainable farms across Australia and New Zealand. You can read about some of their adventures at Abby’s blog Ethan and Abby. Abby does all of the different facets of ranch work, and is one of our range riders. Her photographs and videos also dot this website and our Alderspring Facebook page. Ethan manages much of the day to day work on our cattle herd: moving electric fences to new grazing cells, keeping irrigation systems moving, checking for herd health, and moving cattle on the range. Ethan runs a side business of crafting custom holsters at Ethan Kelly Leather.
Melanie Elzinga
Oldest daughter Melanie is the primary wrangler and horse trainer at Alderspring Ranch. She is involved in all aspects of ranch work, as well as working on web design, labels, and other graphical design. Her photos are found throughout the Alderspring website and on Facebook. You can see her portfolio at Syringa Photography. She is currently studying Natural Horsemanship at University of Montana-Western.
Joshua Madany
Joshua also came to us after working at Polyface Farms. In 2015 and 2016 he raised all the pastured poultry sold through Alderspring, innovating on the Polyface model to increase the percentage of grass and pasture in the chicken’s diet and by selecting heritage breeds with foraging characteristics. Joshua manages much of the Alderspring shipping business including inventory management of our organic meat, webstore, and order packing. He also does all aspects of managing cattle, irrigation, and intensive grazing management and in the summer is one of our range riders. Some of Joshua’s photographs appear on the Alderspring website and Facebook page.
Linnaea Elzinga
Third oldest daughter Linnaea manages much of the web design, social media, and food photography for Alderspring Ranch. She, like all the Elzinga daughters, can also do all facets of ranch work and rides on the range. She runs a website called I Am Gluten Free where she shares many of the recipes she has developed over the years cooking for our gluten free household. You can see more of her photography and website designs at Linnaea Designs. She is currently studying business at Boise State University.
Kelsey Thorkelson
We’ve known Kelsey since she was little. She’s been working as our administrative assistant (a job title that encompasses all kinds of stuff) for about a year. She has been a lifesaver for us: efficient, cheerful, task-oriented, and detail obsessive. Kelsey will often be the person talking with you by phone or email about your order. She has a beautiful family of 3, and can work remotely for us and stay home with her children.
In addition to these fine people, we usually have 2-5 temporary employees and interns during the summer months.
If you are interested in employment with Alderspring Ranch, please check our Alderspring Ranch Positions and Internships page. If you want to learn more about our delicious organic meat, learn about Alderspring Ranch Organic Grass Fed Beef Here.
Many past employees at Alderspring showed up for the Ethan and Abby wedding shindig and we managed to get them to stop dancing long enough to get this picture. We still keep in touch with nearly everyone that has worked here in the past.