Patrick Revier is the Owner and President of Revier Family Farms. Unlike most farms, you can find Revier Family
Farm’s barn, a warehouse unit, in Moorhead industrial park.
As a UND graduate, Patrick started his first business, a window cleaning company, in 2012. Nearly five years later, he decided to follow his idea of farming crickets.
“I decided I wanted to get back into farming, but by the time I realized that my parents had sold their farm. That meant I had to figure out how to become a farmer with no land, and not a lot of money to work with. A few google searches later I stumbled onto insect farming. Each new piece of information I found just made me want to learn more and very quickly I decided that that is what I wanted to do.”
There are numerous environmental, nutritional, and other benefits to farming and eating crickets. Revier Family Farm’s mission is to help grow the practice of entomophagy (eating insects) for all its benefits. They also want to improve the processes used in raising crickets to reduce their cost and help make them an affordable nutritional option for anyone trying to feed their family.
“There are two things that drive me. First is my family. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, growing up on a farm meant being able to spend everyday with my family, and that was the best part of my childhood. I really wanted to do something that allowed me to do that again, and farming was the solution for me. Second, I love a challenge, and there are countless challenges when it comes to a farming crickets, plus the whole idea of cricket farming is being used to solve other problems that are globally impactful. I have been raising crickets for just over a year now, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Although Revier Family Farm’s started farming crickets as a protein source for people, they actually serve a variety of customers and industries and are expanding to more. Their cricket powder is used by individuals who incorporate it into their baking, smoothies or shakes, breakfast cereal, even coffee or tea. Revier Family Farms also sells frozen crickets. There is no transport infrastructure in place for edible insects like there is for most other meats, so frozen sales are limited to the local market. They are looking to find a few local restaurants that would be willing to give them a try as one of their menu options. They provide live crickets to the Red River Valley Zoo and NDSU for their animals and research projects. They also sell live crickets to individuals and pet stores who use them to feed their pets. This coming spring they will start distributing their crickets to some of the local bait shops. One area they serve that some may not think of is gardening because crickets produce an organic fertilizer.
When asked about their struggles in their journey and how they got through them, Patrick shared, “The lowest points are the times when I’ve thought about giving up. I love what I do, but there are very hard days sometimes, along with problems that just seem insurmountable. The highest points are when I’ve achieved a new goal. It doesn’t matter how big or small that goal is, it proves that I am striving and continuing to strive to do better will always be my high point.”
With these high and low points in mind, Patrick also shares how the community can best support his business in their next stage of growth “The main thing is just to give crickets a try. Turn your next batch of cookies into something a little less guilty by removing carbs and adding protein. Turn your heart healthy bowl of oatmeal into one packed with protein. The next time you need to go pick up hamburger, think about maybe trying a cricket burger instead. They are delicious by the way. If you know someone who owns a restaurant, tell them to give us a call. Ask your bait shop if they could start carrying crickets. Tell your gardening friends who want to be organic that we have a great option for them. Next time you find out someone owns a pet reptile, ask them where they get their crickets. Most importantly, don’t dismiss the idea of eating insects before you try it. I won’t go so far as to guarantee you’ll like them. We all have our own likes and dislikes when it comes to food, but we shouldn’t say we don’t like something before tasting it. What do you say to a toddler that refuses to eat their broccoli? A great example to think about is sushi. 30 years ago people in the US used to think eating raw fish was disgusting, now we can’t get enough of it.”
To learn more about Revier Family Farms, visit their Facebook account or website. Patrick shares “I also love to just talk with people. Send an email, or call me on the phone.”
