We’ve been stewarding this land for 10 years. I like to think about the many farmers before us who were stewards of this same land, too. I still have a lot to learn about our predecessors on this land even before it was farmed.
Whenever I walk the back fence line of one of our pastures I come to this one particular place that impacts me deeply.
There’s a stone wall, right next to a barbed wire fence, grown deep into gnarled trees. These two signs of past stewards sitting right next to our modern high tensil electric fence seem to affirm our observations. Just think about having to build a stone wall to keep your animals in!
The technology may have changed over time. But across generations, the farmers tending this land have all agreed. The contour of the land, proximity to water and the density of the old trees–we all agree this is the best grazing area our animals could have.
What’s interesting is that as we grow, we get to expand our impact. We’re leasing 3 parcels now so that during the growing season we can rotate our expanding herd to fresh grass every 12 hours.
While our home farm is the heart and soul of our operation - we get to live here and raise our family here on this historic farm land. The other two farms are also very old New England farms. They too have been in the families for generations. By doing what we’re doing we’re keeping these historic farms in tact and productive.
The truth is, as you already know, if you like the bucolic views of New England, then you need to eat food from New England farms. By supporting our business, you are helping to preserve historic pastures and farmland.
It’s because of our customers that we’re able to honor this land’s legacy and keep producing local, regenerative food here.
Our farming practices are region specific, season specific, and forage specific. We farm like farmers did before factory farming was ever invented.
When we started farming, it took 6 acres of land to raise one cow (because the pasture was so depleted after being hayed for decades).
Now, 10 years later, it takes just 3 acres! That means we’re building soil and building species of forage and building the ecology of the farm.
The land owner said last Spring that after a lifetime of experience on this land she has never seen as many birds as she sees now.
We’re fostering a healthy certified organic, spray free ecosystem here. It’s measurable and observable. And as we look back on our 10 years of farming this land so far, it’s satisfying that we have been able to honor and rehabilitate the land in this way.
