If you've driven by the farm on Route 102 lately, you've probably squinted at the tree clearing and jumped to one of three conclusions: solar farm, new subdivision, or "are they clear-cutting the whole hillside?"
Nope, nope, and heck no. What you're looking at is a silvopasture conversion — and no, that's not a spell from Hogwarts.
Here's the problem we're solving: a thick forest gets too little sun to grow good forage. An open field — especially with our sandy soil — gets so much sun the ground dries out and the grass just gives up. Silvopasture splits the difference: some trees, some sun, and cows that get shade on a hot day instead of a sunburn. And the trees keep sequestering carbon all the while.
The logging is nearly done. Next up: we'll spread 600 lbs of grass seed (about 300 million seeds). By next summer, that hillside will be 30 new acres of pasture — which means more 100% grass-fed beef for your freezer.
Then we will host tours and workshops to showcase all that we learned during the process.
It's all part of our mission to transition the world to a healthier food system through personal connection.
If you have any questions or curiosities about this project, just reply to this email. I love talking about silvopasture - which I firmly believe is THE future of New England food production.