Local ranch offers farm-fresh products

Ranching and farming runs deep through Susan Duncan’s veins. 

She grew up on a dairy farm in Indiana, lived on a 20-acre cattle ranch in Arizona for 13 years and raised her family on a dairy and cattle farm in Missouri before she moved to Florida in 2003. Today, Duncan, 54, operates Sugar Cube Ranch at 4054 Rex Drive in the Lake Avalon rural settlement in Winter Garden. She runs the ranch with her son, Landon Tate, and daughter-in-law, Erin Lorenc. 

“I raised my kids up in Missouri, and their papaw had a big cattle farm,” Duncan said. “We just decided when we bought this place we wanted to do a little (business). … We got some chickens, and then we found an egg cart out there by the road, and we got that.” 

Sugar Cube Ranch — located at 4054 Rex Dr., Winter Garden — offers farm-fresh eggs daily, available at an egg cart located outside of the ranch along Rex Drive. Customers can grab a carton of eggs from the cart, and also drop off used egg containers at the cart for reuse. The cost of each carton of a dozen is $4, and an honor system is used for payment.

‘People drive up, get their eggs out, put their money in and then go on,” Duncan said. “We found that they’re not going to knock on the door and say, ‘We need eggs.’ They don’t want to do that, so it’s an honor system, and we haven’t had any trouble.”

The ranch also offers goats milk, as well as “bottle baby” goats for pets. They even offer “fresh meat” chickens that are slaughtered and dressed onsite. For those purchases, customers are encouraged to call ahead. 

“We’re getting ready to gear up in (selling) goats milk,” Duncan said. “It’s the best goat milk I’ve ever had. I mean it, and I’m not just saying that (because it’s from here). We went down to the store and bought some goats milk. (It was) awful.”

Duncan purchased the house and 5-acre property that make up Sugar Cube Ranch in 2017. At the time, the house and property needed some work. After purchasing the home and property with her son, they turned it into the ranch.

“We had to redo everything … (but) it’s come a long way — it’s a beautiful home,” Duncan said. “We just wanted to start something that would (offer) fresh foods (and) farm-fresh eggs. I’ve supplied a few restaurants around town with our eggs.”

Sanchez said. “He’s going to change her life in so many ways.”