Patrick Rider didn’t set out to run a livestock farm that supplies meat to fine dining restaurants and grocers. He simply wanted to provide healthy options for his family. “I didn’t want my family eating industrial food,” he said. In 2003, Patrick and his wife, Thanya, began purchasing farmland in Meredith, a sleepy town in Upstate New York, nestled within the Catskill Mountains. Today, they own 400 acres and lease another 1,100. Patrick’s family has lived in the region for eight generations. In his childhood, Patrick’s chores included cutting hay, but he didn’t grow up raising animals. A Family Farm At one time, Patrick had a career in consulting that brought him to Mexico, where he met Thanya. As a couple, they decided to settle down in the lush, quiet area of the western Catskills where they now reside. When the Riders purchased the property, it was an empty field. …