We Use Pigs to Dig
The pigs are living plows that knock out quack grass and thistle infestations; and also disturb vole and gopher habitat. They are on pasture all year long, digging and rooting when the ground is not frozen. They thrive on quack grass roots, grain, winter squash, pumpkins, corn, zucchini and chard leaves.
The Clean up Crew
Katahdan /Barbados-crosses are hair sheep, who shed their coats each spring. They are a small breed, weighing in at 60 pounds (27 kilograms). Our sheep are wonders at reducing thistles, knapweed and other weed species. Autumn through spring they clean up around the perimeter of our farm and add manure to the fields. During the summer they pasture on the east side of the valley.
Neighborhood Grazers
The cattle graze areas of our farm that are too rocky to be broken up for other agriculture. We pasture them on small neighboring fields. They are the lead contributors to the compost, reduce some weeds and most importantly give our dogs someone to bark at.
Pest Control
Chickens are omnivores, eating a wide variety of foods. On our farm we open the door to the chicken house in the morning and the flock fends for themselves. They can feed from the hog grain that is always available, but they prefer other morsels. They roam the farm in search of worms, voles, seeds, fruits, grasshoppers and other insects. They make a surprising impact on grasshopper populations. There have been summers when everyone complained of hoppers mowing down their crops, and we had relatively little damage.
Veggies
We grow a variety of nutrient-packed food. Through our rotation of crops and animals, we create a healthy soil that grows healthy food. We add trace minerals and compost yearly to our vegetable fields to replace nutrients that were used from the previous year. This way we continue to build the soil and the quality of our crops reflects our dedication to soil health. Check out our selection of regeneratively grown vegetables and where to buy them.