Ex-Marine Finds a New Life in Organic Farming

By Laura Marion
This past Tuesday, the field at the new location of New Life Farm in
Lenoir N.C. was flooded by heavy rain. Cory Bryk, the owner and
operator of New Life Farm, worked fastidiously to move all of the
chickens from their pens so that they wouldnt drown. Corys wife,
Jenny Bryk, helped him to scoop the soaking, muddy chickens from
their coop and place them inside his tractors trailer.
Agriculture is one of the few vocations out there where you are putting
yourself at the whim of nature completely, said Cory.
To Cory, the chickens arent pets; the chickens are his livelihood.
Who knows what will happen tomorrow? Maybe all of the pigs will get
loose, said Lori Bryk, Corys mother.
In late April, Cory and Jenny Bryk moved to a 46-acre farm in Lenoir,
N.C. because their home in Boone burned down. Now, they live in a
one-bedroom farmhouse with their four children, who are all younger
than 6-years-old.
Jenny Bryk said that when she was growing up, her parents had a
garden, and she had always thought that it was important to eat
organic foods because she believes it is healthier and more humane.
Jenny said that when she got married to Cory, she started cooking
more, and that they couldnt afford to buy organic produce. Cory said
that thats when he decided to farm.
He said, Im gonna be a farmer, and I could see where he would fit in
to that. No conformity in a box. Youre your own boss, said Lori.
Cory said however, that farming is not as easy as he thought it would
be.
Me being the stubborn person I am, you know, I wasnt going to quit
just because gardenings a challenge, Cory said.
Cory, an ex-marine, started school on the G.I Bill. He saw that
Appalachian State University offered a program on agriculture under
the sustainable development major. Cory said this focus broadened his
perspective on social, environmental, and economic drawbacks to the
current commercial food system in America. He said he felt like it was
a problem, and he wanted to do his small part in solving that problem.

We just basically started replacing elements on our grocery list with

stuff that we were producing ourselves and it was really satisfying,
Cory said. I had never really experienced anything like that, you know,
taking a like little seed and cultivating it and tending to it for weeks
and months and then finally getting something that sustained your life
and nourished your body.
An added benefit to farming, Cory said, is the healing aspect of tending
to the land.
Its kind of therapeutic, you know? Working outside in nature and
cultivating the earth to bring forth living things like plants and stuff.
Although Cory and Jenny were once discouraged by the price of organic
food, they said that they now know what it takes to grow it, and
understand why it is sold for so much in stores.
I know what its like to go to several restaurants and get turned down
because your stuff is too expensive or for whatever reason theyre just
not interested, Cory said. If I can find a restaurant that is supporting
local farmers, that says a lot about their integrity and their values.
And, the only way establishments like that are going to exist is if you
financially support them and vote with your dollar.
Cory, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Appalachian State University
alumni grew up in upstate New York. He didnt make his way down
south until he was stationed at Camp Lejeune. However, according to
Corys mother Lori Bryk, he has always had a bit of mountain man in
him. Lori recalls that when he was no more than 10 and the family was
vacationing on Sacandaga Lake, Cory and his cousin went missing. Lori
says that they were found stripped naked in the woods, covered in
mud as camouflage, roasting chipmunks that they had caught over a
fire they had made in the woods. She says she knew then that Cory
wasnt like most other children.
During Corys four-year stint in the Marine Corps, he was deployed in
Haiti and Iraq. Once Cory was out of the military, he went on a mission
trip to Nigeria. When he returned to New York, he told his mother that
he wasnt interested in living in New York anymore, and that the south
felt more like home. Lori says that she knew then that Cory had met a
woman.
I was shocked but not really, Lori says of when Cory joined the
military.

Of course its had its mountaintops and its had its dark valleys, said
Lori Bryk
If I was going to keep my dream alive of having a family farm, I was
going to have to find somewhere else to do it, said Cory.
Now, Cory says that he is happy to be off of that rented land, where he
felt limited as far as what he could do with it, and where he had to
answer to a landlord.
JennyHer parents had a garden growing up
She thinks eating organic food is important and healthy
She disagrees with how chickens are commercially raised
She began cooking a lot more when she got married
Thinks that when food is natural it tastes better
"It keeps the money in the community. If you buy off a US Food or Cisco truck, that money is going
somewhere unbenownst to me and anyone else, so uh, by them patronizing farmers, they're supporting
someone they can actually have a direct connection with. It's cyclical, locals are more inclined to support a
local restaurant that's supporting local."
"My wife when we first got married was more of the conscienteous consumer. She was very conscious about
nutrition and eating well and good health and wellness. We couldn't afford to buy everything at the farmers
market and at earth fare so I just kind of took the initiative and I was like, I'm going to try to grow a garden.
So I started trying to grow a garden, realized it was much harder than it looked, and so I had to educate
myself because I didn't want to quit. this simple initiative sort of snowballed into a passion, and then from a
passion it snowballed into a job."
"I was in the military before. I served four years in the marine corp and getting out of the military, I wasn't
sure what I was going to do with myself. So, I was killing several birds with one stone by eventually
becoming a farmer. Not only was it satisfying to produce food and kind of knock things off our grocery list
with stuff that we were producing, but it's kind of theraputic, you know, working outside and you're cultivating
the earth to bring fourth living things like plants and stuff."
"I know what it's like to go to several restaurants and get turned down bcause your stuff is too expensive or
they're just not interested. If I can find a restaurant that is supporting local farmers, that says a lot about their
integrity and their values. And the only way establishments like that are going to exist is if you financially
support them and vote with your dollar."

Corys mother recalls that when he was under ten and they were
vacationing on Secandawga Lake, she found a less-than-ten year old
Cory and his cousin in the woods, covered in mud, roasting chipmonks
that theyd caught. She knew then that Cory wasnt like the other boys.
All of his grandfathers were part of the military I was shocked- but not
really

him getting through the marines- we couldnt have done it without the
lord in his life
He said Im gonna be a farmer and I could see where he would fit into
that. No conformity in a box. Youre your own boss.
Amsterdam, NY
Aderondak watershed
When he got back from Iraq, he was at camp lejune when he got
back. Spend a couple months on turtle island living off the land. I was
like what are you thinking? It was gross
Went on a mission trip to Nigeria and when he got back to Nigeria he
told his mother that NY wasnt his home, he was moving down south.
It was all god ordained
Of course its had its mountaintops and its had its dark valleys
Weve always been a close family unit, and family is everything
Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Maybe all of the pigs will get
loose
I saw the struggle with forst year of marriage, full time college, new
baby. Talk about stress. If you can do two tours and go through what
you did for 4 years in the marines- its keeping things in perspective,
really, and your priorities. Chickens are chickens, ok so they drown. But
a loss of life is different, you know?
I know its his livelihood
He moved to at the end of april
House they were renting burnt down
Desperate to find somewhere to keep farming
If I was going to keep my dream alive of having a family farm, I was
going to have to find somewhere else to do it
6 of them live in the one bedroom farm house

cory is happy to be off of rented land. 46 acres. Only him and one
employee taking care of it
Good things come in time so Im trying to stay focused
Whats unique about pastured poultry is we have our turkeys on a
rotational grazing system movable pens which protect them from
most of the elements, Cory chuckled, Except rain
It can still scratch around and graze and breathe fresh air
only emphasize efficiency and doesnt have any regard for biology or
the animals natural habits
The weather can do extreme things at the drop of the dime and pose
a threat to your flock
Agriculture is one of the few vocations out there where you are putting
yourself at the whim of nature completely.
It was somewhat of an accident. It took me a while to come to the
conclusion that I wanted to farm for a living
Back in 2007 I got out of the marine corp, and around the same time I
met my, now wife, Jenny
Started as a garden- Cory thought it would be cheaper. Quickly found
out that gardening wasnt as easy as he had thought.
Me being the stubborn person I am, I wasnt going to quit just because
growing a garden was a challenge
we basically started replacing elements of our grocery list with stuff
we were producing ourselves and it was really satisfying I had never
really experienced anything like that, you know, taking a little seed and
cultivating it and tending to it for weeks and months and finally getting
something that sustains your life and nourishes your body
Im kind of fresh out of the military with not too much direction other
than I knew I didnt want to be in the military anymore- I had to find
something to do.
Started school on the GI bill and saw this program that app state
offered- sustainable development signed up for agriculture program.
Broadened his perspective on social, environmental and economical
drawbacks to ou current food system.

I thought, heres a problem, I should be at least a small part of a

solution.
Now were just kinda right in the story. Were trying to keep new life
going and
Thats where we are. Were kind of right in the middle of the story
now.
Theres never really been too many middle men between me and final
consumer
90 percent of our stuff is retailed to couples, people, individuals, who
want to know where their food comes from.
Lori says that for Cory, this chapter of his life has had its mountaintops
and its dark valleys. However, according to Cory, farming isnt just a
way to support his family.
Its kind of therapeutic, you know? Working outside and youre
cultivating the earth to bring forth living things like plants and stuff.
it's kind of theraputic, you know? Working outside and you're cultivating the earth to bring fourth living things
like plants and stuff."

90 percent of our stuff is retailed to couples, people, individuals, who

want to know where their food comes from.
Thats where we are. Were kind of right in the middle of the story
now.
The Bryk House
My boyfriend and I arrived at Cory Bryks house for my interview. I
wasnt sure what I would be able to accomplish in the pouring rain as
far as video or photos were concerned, but I was anticipating Cory
would be as cheerful and accommodating as he had been the first time
we had met at the farmers market. Corys wife, Jenny, and his mother,
Lori, answered the door. Cory wasnt there.

Jenny spotted him in the lower field, and she yelled down to him to let
him know I was there. His reply was muffled by distance. Cory began
sprinting towards the house, yelling the same phrase repeatedly until
he was close enough for us to hear him. He was yelling, My fucking
chickens are drowning!
I began running toward him, my boyfriend Charlie shortly behind me.
We helped Cory hitch his trailer to the tractor and spread hay in the
back. Jenny came up to Cory and asked if she could help him move the
chickens. He replied, You never help with anything anyway, why would
you start now? I refused to make eye contact with either of them at
that moment. Charlie and I hopped onto trailer and Cory rode us down
to the lower field.
The field had turned to muddy water that rose up over my boots. Cory
climbed into a chicken coop and began handing the soaking, muddy,
angry birds to Charlie and I on the other side. We put them in the
trailer and quickly moved on to the next bird, sometimes carrying two
at a time. The trailer became so full with chickens that we just began
dropping them on top of each other.
I tried to hold down the wings of each chicken, but sometimes the
wings would get loose, flopping muddy water and chicken poop all over
my face. I am sure this is not what Charlie had expected when I asked
him for a ride to Lenoir.
After a few minutes, Jenny and three of their children, all under the age
of five, joined us in the field to help with the chickens. Jenny timidly
reached for a bird as Cory said, Its not going to bite you! Just pick it
up! Cory began throwing the chickens at Jenny.
I imagined how great the footage of this event would be, but I wasnt
about to be the asshole who stood back to film while a family saved
their livelihood from a flood.
By the time we had gotten the 300 chickens onto the back of the
trailer, each of us was covered in mud, rain, feathers, and poop. Cory
parked the trailer under the shed in hopes that the chickens would
warm up and would survive for one more week until he could take
them to the processer.
We hosed off our clothes on the porch. Cory sat shirtless in a white
lawn chair with a yellow towel wrapped around him.
I dont guess you wanna go back out and film? I asked.

Cory stared off the porch into the pouring rain. No, he said, And you
dont either.
I interviewed Cory along with his mom and wife so that I could put
together a print story. I thanked them for helping me out with my
school project, Cory handed us a bag of food, and we left.
When Charlie and I were back in the car, I looked inside the bag. Along
with two butternut squash and several sweet potatoes, Cory had put a
frozen chicken in the bag.
We laughed, because we never want to see another stupid chicken
again.