About The Farm
The Hart Homestead is a versatile working farm.
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We grow the best food possible for our family, and extra for yours! So we have a manageable amount of many things.
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The farm started with chickens. Then dairy cows. Then gardens to go with our pre-existing orchard. Why not get some pigs to clean up any waste? Add some ducks and you've got quite the crowd! Kids, cats, a giant white dog. We're doing the best we can to coordinate the chaos.
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Below are some of the ways our farm compliments itself and how our animals work together to make it "easier" on us.
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(Farming isn't easy. That was a joke just for me.)
Some of our systems here...
Milk and Meat
Before I get into this, I'd like you all to know I was a vegetarian for a decade.
Animals that are loved, well cared for, well fed, and happy are gourmet and hard to come by.
This is important to know, because that's what we do here.
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The dairy cows are crossed with beef, giving us fat happy calves that have all the jersey milk they can drink. They are then grass fed and hay fed until they're ready to butcher. Eventually making their way into our farm stand.
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Our pigs are also hungry buggers! They get all the milk we might have extra and any cheesemaking leftovers, like whey and unused buttermilk. They are also fat and happy. Eventually, making quality pork for our customers as well.
Birds and Apples
Our flock of chickens and ducks are in our apple orchard.
Not just for the photo opportunities, but because they eat all the dropped apples and any bugs they can find! It helps the trees stay pest and disease free. Then helps us with our apple crop!
Food Scraps
We have a few local businesses that donate their food scraps to our farm.
We leave bins outside their establishment, and they fill them with pig friendly foods. We pick the bins up bi-weekly and replace them with empty ones. This helps us cut down on grain cost, but also save the businesses money because it's free to them! Cool, huh?
Pigs
I'd like to think our herd of pigs happened to us.
You read that right.
We bought a sow, and a few piglets. Only to be surprised by a large litter 2 days after Christmas.
One of those piglets is this beautiful gal Petunia. She's a favorite on the farm and makes beautiful Duroc piglets every spring.
Our pigs are moved throughout our woods over the summer months, helping to clear brush and overgrowth. While also being fed local food scraps, apples from our orchard, lots of milk, and some grain here and there.
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Chickens
Chickens are a staple on any homestead, and ours is no exception.
Our flock of mixed breed birds helps provide us, and you, with the best and freshest eggs imaginable.
Our chickens live in our apple orchard and help to keep things bug free while also eating any dropped apples.
We also provide clean water, grain, and food scraps every day.
Every spring we hatch our own chicks, and process any unwanted roosters for the freezer. We keep the hens, growing our flock manageably and sustainably.
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Cows
Our mixed cow herd consists of dairy and beef cows.
Our dairy cows are bred to beef by artificial insemination.
The beef calves get fed lots of milk until they are weaned.
The beef cows, and all cows, get constant access to clean water, grass, and local hay immediately.
Our dairy cows provide raw milk for our family AND YOU!
That's right! We have raw milk in our farm stand.
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Shannon is also a cheesemaker and butter lover.
The possibilities are endless with buckets and buckets of milk straight from the backyard!
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Ducks
To be honest, I don't even know how the ducks got here.
They just showed up one day and never left.
They laugh loudly, and find joy in any puddle possible.
Their eggs are huge and great for baking!
But above all else the pictureque white duck marching along the Vermont countryside is pretty great. At least when they're not being a bunch of troublemakers.
We are working towards increasing our duck flock and having more consistent ducks eggs for sale in the near future.
The Garden
Last but certainly not least, our wonderful garden.
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She's still a work in progress.
But what we grow, we grow extra for our farm stand customers.
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We're big lovers of beans, flowers, tomatoes, herbs, radishes, spinach, kale, squash, rhubarb, and more.
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Produce only available seasonally.
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Some day, garden tours! But for now, you're all going to have to enjoy the images on our social media.
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