LeNoir Family Farm sets down roots in Missouri
ELKLAND, MO. – Steven LeNoir grew up on a small farm in Georgia that was once part of a pre-civil war plantation that covered thousands of acres. He was a calvary scout with the US Army from 2008 until 2012, serving in South Korea and Hawaii. Since then, it is fair to say, that Steven and his wife, Jennifer have been on the move.
With a love of travel and a military disability discharge after an accident that initially left him with a broken back, they sold their property in Georgia and traveled, working with the National Fish and Wildlife service, serving in various parks throughout the country. Eventually, after visiting with several of his fellow veterans, they decided to seek a position in Italy and moved there with their children. They studied Italian for a year before embarking on this new adventure and today, Logan who is the eldest of their children, still remembers life there and speaks Italian as well as English. All their children are home-schooled which fits in well with their busy lifestyle. Today, that includes Logan age 12, Merida age 5, Octavia age 2 and youngest daughter, Aurelia, born in mid-February 2026.
In 2025, due to some new health concerns and the growing unrest in the world, Steven and Jennifer decided to return to the US. They began looking for land and found what they were looking for in an 11-acre farm in rural Dallas County near the Webster County line.
Today, they raise Tamworth pigs, a British Heritage breed known for its foraging abilities making it a good fit for outdoor environments. The Tamworth breed is also known for its high-quality pork. Lenoir Farms offers USDA inspected pork, including pork chops, sausage, bratwurst sausages, and hardwood smoked bacon done without nitrates. They sell much of their pork through the Lenoir Family Farms web page.
“We have our products in two stores in Buffalo, Missouri, including Crescent Hill Country Store. We are also working on getting them into retail stores in Springfield Mo.”
In addition to the swine, Steven and Jennifer have 50 chickens and about 17 roosters at the moment.
“They really help with the bug control,” Steven added. The roosters also serve as a family food source.
“We’ll add to the poultry soon, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys.”
The families’ future plans include expanding into orchards, especially apple production. They already have the holes dug in a nearby pasture to accommodate 150 fruit trees that will be arriving soon. Another 400 trees will be delivered later in the year.
“Of course, Missouri was once famous for apples and we plan to have a you-pick orchard as well as Normandy apples, an old world variety.” Steven stated.
“We already do farm and gardening classes for home-schooled and other kids,” he explained. “Logan is old enough to help with those and other areas with the various farm activities. It was really good to watch him, helping the kids with the gardening classes this past year.”
Other plans on their small farm include a greenhouse and expanding their poultry production up to 2000 birds. As a veteran-owned business, he is also interested in helping other veterans to start their own business ventures.
Steven concluded. “I’ve had horses and cows in the past in Georgia but the pigs really work well for us. We have 50 more piglets coming in soon. We raise them for eight months and then sell. That leaves us about four months to work on things around here on the farm, making repairs and improvements before getting more. That also allows us a little more time for travel.”
Steven LeNoir, a true Renaissance man, raising pigs, chickens, and soon apples in southwest Missouri.
