Our mission is to farm with care for the whole system: Animals, plants, soils, humans, community, economy
Our Land
Our farm business began on the beautiful hill that we owned in Wells, Vermont. After five years, our business had outgrown its infrastructure and land base, and in February of 2017, we moved to a former dairy farm in nearby Pawlet, Vermont. Since our move, the pastured pork, and flower and grain growing components of our business have expanded and are thriving in their new setting. Similarly, our family is taking full advantage of this very special historic farmstead, wandering fields and barns and sampling all the fruits of past labor: asparagus, blackberries, peonies, hollyhocks.
Our Team
Jill
Co-owner, marketing manager: Jill began farming at age 19 when she landed an endurance farming position at Heron Pond Farm on NH’s seacoast. Undaunted, she moved on to spend her summers farming until she finished her undergraduate degree in English. After college, Jill was part of the founding of Local Harvest CSA, a multifarm CSA, in NH, and subsequently co-authored Local Harvest: A Multifarm CSA Handbook. After spending time WWOOFing in Europe, Jill went to graduate school, earning her Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and subsequently split her time between teaching and farming until she and Rico purchased farmland in Vermont. In 2012, the couple had Leo and in 2015 they welcomed Julian. Jill relishes each day as a mother-farmer-writer-teacher–and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Rico
Co-owner, farm manager: An undergraduate plant biology major, Rico became interested in farming through a summer internship as an integrated pest management (IPM) scout for Rutgers University way back in the ’90s. Rico’s first stop after graduating was Howell Living History Farm in NJ, where he worked with draft animals and became convinced that farming was in his future. From then on it was a working apprenticeship: as assistant manager at North Star Orchards in PA, and as a production manager at Bishop’s Orchard in CT. While looking tirelessly for a piece of land to purchase, Rico worked with farmers in the Catskills on water quality issues, and continued this work in Vermont with UVM Extension and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) until 2019. Today, Rico is happy to work full time on the farm, and though he is joyfully and frequently distracted by his family and young sons, his focus is to run a modern, sustainable, and successful farm.