Cadence Farm

Gwyneth Harris & Neal McNaughten, sons Cole (8, not pictured) and Grayson (6)

         I met Gwyneth and Neal at their farm in Wolcott on a hot summer day. Their farm is situated North of Route 15 on a dead-end dirt road in Wolcott, with beautiful mountain views. Gwyneth and Neal and their two boys had been looking for quite some time for land to buy to farm and build on. They looked in Maine as well as Vermont and finally found this piece, moving here three years ago. They have recently put it under conservation with the Vermont Land Trust to protect it from development and keep it a working piece of land. When they arrived the work was significant, the land had been neglected for years. The barn was collapsed and only a partial foundation remained of what was the house. The family currently lives in a foundation on that site, a walk out basement with two large windows. It was pleasantly cool inside and Gwyneth explained that eventually that would be come their cheese cellar and plant. 

         We headed out into the heat and first met the livestock, they have Jersey and crossbred cows for milking and Percheron draft horses that they use for working the land, using their tractor only when necessary. As Gwyneth and I wandered through the animals’ fields they all came up to say hello, obviously used to such human contact and recognizing Gwyneth. She admitted to having a favorite, Tilly, a large tan Jersey cow who was very happy to stand next to us and get a few scratches.  From there we visited their growing fields. The long rows had been worked this spring by the horses. The family planted peas, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, carrots, potatoes, kale, and other miscellaneous crops. Neal spoke of how well carrots grew in the soil, as if that’s what was meant to grow there. For those of you who have ordered some of Cadence Farm’s carrots I think you will agree, they are picture perfect, straight and smooth and taste delicious (particularly delicious eaten raw on the drive home as I often do!)

Cows grazing on pasture

         As we walked to the barn I stopped to snap a picture and Neal chuckled; the roof of the barn is covered with a variety of colored metal siding. One might think it odd, but I found it quite beautiful and as he pointed out “you can’t just build something with that type of patina.” The metal had been purchased as scrap from Poulin’s Lumber in Hardwick and Cadence Farm made good use of it The same can be said about their chicken tractor, made from one of those pop-up garages you often see, and salvaged blowing across the neighbor’s field one winter’s day. (A chicken tractor is not really a tractor, but it is a shelter for the chickens that is built on wheels so that the chickens can move around, still coming back to roost at night.) Grayson, 6, informed me that we like the chickens because “they eat the cows poop.” While it may seem like they eat the manure, they are actually eating the flies that are attracted by the manure or bugs that are living in the older “cow pies.” This is often seen on diversified farms, where animals living together compliment each other.  The chickens, and their tractor, follow the cows from field to field. It doesn’t take long for chicken to figure out that there are bugs living in the older cow pies, and even less time for the chicken to scratch the dried cow pie apart, eating the bugs and breaking down the waste to be absorbed by the land. 

A colorful bar roof, rows of veggies and hay covered up from the rain

Mountain views from Cadence Farm. Chicken tractor on the left

         Next we checked out this years garlic harvest. These tall long stalks were in baskets and wheelbarrows in the barn, ready to dry out for the fall. Gwyneth planted many varieties but the labels faded in the field, so we had some fun picking up bulbs and trying to guess what variety each was. 

Garlic harvest

         A lot of our time was spent discussing what we had in common. Neal spoke fondly of parts of Maine I had never been to, despite being born and raised in the state and Gwyneth explained her connection to Sterling College, where we had first met. Years ago she worked there as the Farm Manager, on their working, educational, diversified farm. Now Gwyneth works as part-time faculty in their Sustainable Agriculture program. 

         I left as the mid afternoon heat was setting in, Grayson was playing with the water hose after collecting many “treats” in the field and barn as we walked. Gwyneth decided that dinner would include some garlic, as she and Grayson had peeled several heads. 

Grayson finding ripe tomatoes

Questions for Cadence Farm...

What are the challenges, and rewards, of this farming lifestyle? Particularly of raising a family at the same time?  

Being able to fit everything in!  We believe strongly that a farm is a great place for a kid to grow up, because of all the lessons they learn, and all the time outside.  However, some of those lessons are hard for a young kid--like that we have to get through chores each morning before we can do anything else.  They are starting to get the hang of it, though, and will really pitch in to get things done on a good morning--especially if there's something fun to do after chores!

Where do you see the farm in 5 years?

In five years we hope to be set up and producing cheeses, milking around 6-12 cows, and have narrowed down the crops we produce to those that fit well with our site and the rhythm of our year.  As we see it now, there will be pork, chicken, garlic, potatoes, and some other root crops. 

Why did you choose this area of Vermont? 

It was really a coincidence--We looked for land for five years before finding this piece that was the right size, the right soils, and something we could actually afford.  Gwyneth's family is from Vermont, and she had worked at Sterling College and in other parts of Northern Vermont many years ago, and knew it would be a good fit for them.  We looked at land that fit our criteria in Northern and Central Vermont and Central Maine.  We knew we wanted enough land for grazing and hay, some woods, and to be in a place that would give us reasonable access to markets, and a community we could become involved with--preferably where we had some existing connections.

If you were not farming, what would you be doing?  

Sleeping!  No, really, we'd always have animals and gardens.  I've always worked in agricultural outreach and education and Neal has always been a carpenter.  I think the only thing that would change is the scale!

Advanced Workshop on Social Media - May 16th

ADVANCED WORKSHOP ON USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO MARKET
SMALL BUSINESSES & NON-PROFITS

To be Held at the Green Mountain Technology and Career Center, Hyde Park, VT, May
16th, 9: 00 am ‘til Noon

This workshop is for social media users who have started using this powerful marketing
tool but need help in taking it to the next level. It will be an interactive training session
on how to expand and manage your social media presence. Participants will be shown
how to use and understand recently released Facebook features as well as more in-depth
analysis of secondary and tertiary social media outlets like Twitter and Youtube. They
will also be shown ways to track social media successes on line as well as introduced to
social management tools like Hootsuite.

$25.00 workshop fee and preregistration is required. Please visit www.vtsbdc.org
and click on TRAINING to register and pre-pay online via credit card or email or call
Heather Gonyaw at hgonyaw@vtsbdc.org, 802-728-9101. For more information call
John Mandeville at 888-5640.

Workshop presented Patrick Ripley, the digital media specialist for the VtSBDC. He has
been working professionally with digital media for over 10 years and has worked for the
Hearst Television stations and has written, edited and managed thousands of pieces of on
line content and managed the development, creation and design of multiple websites and
social media campaigns.

The LEDC Business Skills Workshop Series is co-sponsored by the Lamoille Economic
Development Corporation and the Vermont Small Business Development Center.

Hurry! Enrollment Closes Dec 29 for QuickBooks Classes for Food Producers!

A condensed QuickBooks accounting workshop tailored to food producers will be held on January 3, 5, 10, and 12 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Hosted by the Lyndon State College’s Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and Vermont Food Venture Center, the course offers start up businesses and establish business owners hands-on experience in setting up and maintaining business accounting. Essential QuickBooks accounting skills needed to succeed in the food producing business will be covered, including:
• setting up vendors and suppliers

• billing

• tracking inventory

• building assemblies for finished product

• formulating financial statements.


John Castaldo (Lyndon State College Business Accounting Professor) has over 20 years of teaching in accounting and is a certified QuickBooks Advisor. He will guide participants through this interactive workshop, providing practice problems and personal attention for questions. Workshop participants will leave with handouts on the wide range of material covered.

Participants are required to own a copy of QuickBooks Pro 2011 and bring a laptop to class. Classes will be held at the Vermont Food Venture Center,

140 Junction Rd, Hardwick, VT.

The cost for the four classes is $115 and enrollment is limited to 10 participants. Enrollment closes on December 29.

Cooking with Jacques Pepin in Mo'Vegas

Some of the best stew ever had in Lamoille County was rabbit with a French name (lapin). A recent Burlington Free Press article may help revive interest in this meat, advising it be cooked “low and slow.” That’s perfect for our winter months.

Sixteen year old Josh Gillen (McKinstry Hill Rabbitry) takes excellent and kind care of his stock, and he supplies a few restaurants and Yourfarmstand.com in Morrisville with fine rabbit meat. Josh is a very earnest and serious young man, and learning how to market and vend through Yourfarmstand.com is like a mini-business school.

Rabbit is an “old” source of nutrition; we’ve been eating it since human time began. It can be grown in small areas and uses fewer resources to produce protein. It can be grown in raised hutches creating a rich to use in vegetable production.  The American Rabbitry Association has this to say about rabbit meat:

• Rabbit meat is all white meat.
• Rabbit has 795 calories per pound. Compare: chicken at 810, veal at 840, turkey at 1190, lamb at 1420, beef at 1440 and pork at 2050.
• Rabbit has the highest percentage of protein.
• Rabbit has a lower percentage of fat than chicken, turkey, beef, or pork with unsaturated fatty acids at 63% of the total fatty acids.
• The cholesterol level in rabbit meat is much lower than chicken, turkey, beef, pork.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture has stated that domestic rabbit meat is the most nutritious meat known to man.
• Research shows that rabbit meat has been recommended for special diets such as for heart disease patients, diets for the elderly, low sodium diets, and weight reduction diets.
• Because it is easily digested, it has been recommended by doctors for patients who have trouble eating other meats.

I highly recommend Jacques Pepin as a source of great rabbit recipes, particularly stew. Everything I ever made from a Pepin recipe has turned out well; he is the master. This week, I’ll be providing his recipe in all orders from the Morrisville Yourfarmstand.com. (Vegans and vegetarians, please forgive me.) McKinstry Hill rabbit meat arrives frozen and carefully packaged. Try it!

And that’s the Bounty of the County.

Lamoille: The Bounty of the County: Driving With My Mind on the Bar

Lamoille: The Bounty of the County: Driving With My Mind on the Bar: It never fails. I’ll be driving home on Route 100, 12, or 16 at near dusk, and I’ll see a Vermont farm tractor chugging down the road towar...

Driving With My Mind on the Bar

It never fails. I’ll be driving home on Route 100, 12, or 16 at near dusk, and I’ll see a Vermont farm tractor chugging down the road toward me. Sometimes there’s a load of balsam or hay. In the spring it’s a manure spreader or logs.

I never get inpatient when I get behind these venerable machines. They are, after all, the sign of people renewing their pact with the working landscape. I remember fondly how my then 98-year old father once confided, “The best day of my life was when I got a tractor.” And I do know what it’s like to sit up high and haul a load of heavy material across the barnyard and over the hilly fields.

Now, however, I drive with my mind on the bar.

Tractors made before 1985 often lack installed roll bars. This is such a hazardous situation that the Lamoille Economic Development Corp has decided to underwrite  UVM’s Extension Service Roll Over Protective Structures Program (ROPS) for the next four years in Lamoille County.

A roll bar saves lives and farms. There’s a 70% likelihood that farms where a roll over death occurs will be out of business within one year. We know this from experience right here in northern Vermont. So, the LEDC has committed $140,000 to help Lamoille County farmers purchase and install roll bars on their mechanical workhorses, in order to protect the biggest ag asset there is: farmers.

If this doesn’t underscore the Bounty of the County, I don’t know what does. It’s a firm commitment to the agricultural community and a practical way to lend support.

If you know someone driving a tractor without a roll bar, check out the ROPS project at (877) 767-7748 and then nag them until the roll bar is installed. This program applies to tree farmers and foresters as well. The rebate is 75% for an installed bar/seat-belt, or 70% for a self-installed kit. In special cases, LEDC might approve a higher rebate.

What’s a farmer’s life worth? Everything. And that’s the Bounty of the County.

Oh Honey...Really?

My husband was asking me the other day about why the honey we buy is called “raw.” What’s the big deal? What’s the difference between this little jar and what we used to buy at the supermarket? So I launched a little research project.

I wasn’t too surprised to read about a study showing that 75% of honey sold in supermarkets is…not really honey. In fact, it’s so processed that it ends up as just sugar. Most of the pollen is removed through heavy filtration. The end result is homogenized and, in my opinion, low-flavored “honey product.”

Furthermore, Leah Zerbe, in her article on honey for Rodale publications, notes, “The problem with removing … microscopic pollen particles is this: without the pollen, there’s really no way to trace where the honey originated, or if the source is safe and uncontaminated. (Previous reports have found honey laced with antibiotics and heavy metals.) And for this filtration to work, the honey is often heated, which can damage some of the natural products’ disease-fighting properties.”

In Lamoille County, we’re lucky to have the products of Honey Do Farm. You can order their delicious raw honey through www.Yourfarmstand.com at the Morrisville market. And here’s a Spanish home remedy to knock out a cold with honey. We use it at my house; we buy Honey Do farm honey, and we’re very healthy!

Garlic Tea with Honey

In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups of water and 3 cloves of garlic (cut in half) to a boil. Turn off the heat when the water boils, and add ½ cup raw honey and ½ cup of fresh lemon juice. Strain. Sip ½ cup, warm, three times a day. Refrigerate extra to use the next day. (Prevention, 2003)