It is a life neither of them necessarily could have predicted, but for Justin, the desire to make the Northern Neck home had been there for a long time.
Justin grew up in Fairfax, but his family's roots in the Northern Neck run deep. The land where Sion House Farm sits belonged to his great-grandparents, and he spent much of his childhood coming here to visit family, hunt, and fish. His family has also gathered here for an annual reunion for more than 60 years.
“I'd always loved it down here,” he said. “The goal was to move down here.”
After high school, however, Justin's path took him far from Farnham. He studied park and resource management at Slippery Rock University and went on to work for the National Park Service, first as a wildland firefighter at Great Basin National Park in Nevada and later as a law enforcement park ranger in Yosemite National Park.
Jamie spent much of her childhood in Charleston, West Virginia, after spending her earliest years on her grandparents' beef cattle farm in North Carolina. She attended Liberty University before ultimately returning to West Virginia and working primarily in the restaurant industry.
The two met through a mutual friend in Charleston, married in 2013, and eventually moved to Pennsylvania, where Justin worked long overnight shifts in the oil and gas industry. The money was good, but the schedule was hard on a young family.
Justin's father began brainstorming ways they could create a business that would allow them to move to the Northern Neck and have more time together. Eventually, those conversations turned to hydroponic farming and the question of how they could make the family land profitable in a way that was different from traditional corn, wheat, or soybean farming.
Justin and his father attended a two-day hydroponic farming class in Ohio. After one particularly miserable Pennsylvania winter spent working nights in the oil fields, Justin called his dad and said, “What's it going to take? Let's try to start this hydroponic farming thing.”
In June 2015, Justin and Jamie moved to Farnham with two-year-old Josslyn and another daughter, Joely, on the way. They moved temporarily into Justin's parents' home and began the process of building their first greenhouse.
Looking back at the leap they took, Jamie's explanation is simple.
“I just believed in it.”
They built their first greenhouse that year with the help of family and friends and planted their first tomato seeds on Dec. 30, 2015. Their first farm dollar came from Old Farm Truck in White Stone, which purchased lettuce from them.
From there, they learned as they went.
Unlike traditional farming, hydroponics allows plants to grow without soil, receiving their nutrients through water instead. Justin relied heavily on support from the company that supplied their equipment, along with plenty of phone calls, internet searches, YouTube videos, and trial and error.
By 2017, Sion House Farm had added two more greenhouses and a packing shed, and Justin began experimenting with growing crops in the ground as well. Sweet potatoes were among the first, after a customer suggested the Northern Neck's sandy soil might be perfect for them.
While Justin was discovering how much he enjoyed traditional farming, Jamie began imagining a way to sell more directly to the community. She initially considered taking their produce to farmers markets, but eventually her idea grew into something more permanent.
In late 2018, the McKenneys purchased the property in Village that had long been home to the old Self Produce stand. They constructed a new building and opened County Line Market in April 2019.
Jamie remembers standing inside the empty building before they opened and wondering how they would ever fill it.
That is no longer a problem.
The market began primarily with produce, a few coolers and a freezer, but Jamie knew they needed to offer more than tomatoes to keep people coming back. They added hand-dipped ice cream, flowers, mums and vegetable plants, and eventually Jamie began transforming the market from a traditional produce stand into more of a specialty grocery store.
Her goal is to carry things customers can't easily find somewhere else, with an emphasis on Virginia-made products when possible and options ranging from vegan and gluten-free foods to plenty of full-fat favorites.
“I try to keep it weird,” Jamie laughed. “I try to keep it fresh. I try to keep it different.”
Meanwhile, Justin's farming operation continued to grow. In 2019, he planted a small patch of pumpkins and discovered not only that he was good at growing them, but that he loved it. Today, he grows about 15 acres and roughly 40 varieties, from tiny gourds to 100-pound pumpkins, with some now sold to customers as far away as Richmond and Northern Virginia.
Despite being largely self-taught, Justin is quick to point out that he hasn't built the farm alone. He has developed friendships with other area farmers who willingly share advice, equipment, and experience.
“I don't look at anybody else down here that grows produce as a rival,” he said. “Everybody works together.”
Jamie believes that spirit is one of the things that makes the Northern Neck special.
“There's abundance,” she said. “There's not a scarcity mentality.”
Today, farm life also includes their three children, Josslyn, Joely, and Jude, each of whom has found a place in the family business. Josslyn, the family's bookworm and artist, enjoys working at the market and can handle the register like a pro. Joely has been driving the Gator since she was five and is equally comfortable dressed up or helping her dad change the oil in a truck. Recently, she packed 350 pints of cherry tomatoes before heading out on deliveries with her grandfather.
And then there's Jude, whose favorite phrase when Justin heads out is, “Let me get my boots on.”
“He just wants to be with Dad all day, every day,” Jamie said.
The McKenneys homeschool their children now, a decision that works well with the rhythms of farm life. Summers are far too busy for traditional vacations, while winter gives the family the freedom to travel together. Their children also learn plenty outside of textbooks as they help at the market and on the farm.
Their roots in the community have grown alongside the farm. Justin has served with the Richmond County Volunteer Fire Department for about eight years, and the family has attended Rappahannock Church of Christ since shortly after moving here. They also make a point of supporting local schools, churches, and community events.
“We love the community. We love our customers,” Jamie said. “We love serving and helping people.”
There are still new ideas ahead for Sion House Farm, including what Jamie teasingly calls plans to “spice up the market,” and Justin recently added another 30 acres for traditional vegetable farming. But even after a decade of growth, the reasons they chose this life haven't changed much.
They wanted to raise their family here. They wanted the freedom and slower pace the Northern Neck offered. And they wanted to build something of their own.
When asked what they would tell someone considering moving to the Northern Neck, their advice was simple.
“Slow down and enjoy it,” they said. “Embrace the pace.”
For two people who arrived with no farming experience, a young family, and little more than a plan they believed could work, it seems they've taken their own advice pretty well.