I love field trips. It takes me back to elementary school: the zoo, the science museum, brown bag lunches. Only now I don't need a permission slip from my mother.
Today we visited Chase Hill Farm, an organic dairy farm in Warwick that specializes in raw milk and artisan cheeses from grass-fed cows. Mark Fellows, a second-generation dairy farmer, spent the morning with us explaining the history of the farm and how he is able to succeed as a small farmer.
This farm is self-reliant and intentional. He keeps the dairy herd (a French breed called Normande) to about 25 and culls the rest for beef. He practices rotational pasture grazing, moving his cows to fresh grass often twice daily. His milking operation is seasonal and the cows are "dried out" in the winter, allowing him and his wife Jeanette, who handles cheese production, some breathing room in the colder months for a little R&R. The cheesemaking operation, however, continues to generate income.
Because his cows are grass-fed, he spends virtually no money on feed. He recently installed solar panels on the barn, which supply 70% of the farm's electricity. He has started working with draft horses to power some of the farm's operations. The by-product of cheese production, whey, is used to feed the pigs. He is not interested in expanding or increasing production. He is interested in making a high quality product and keeping it local. He sells his products on the farm, in a few small retail stores, and at farmers' markets in western Mass and Vermont. He says, "we're not rich, but the bills are paid and we have money in the bank."
Mark just purchased a giant horse treadmill, used by Amish farmers, which should generate enough power to run the milking equipment. He enlisted our help to get the draft horses accustomed to the sound of the contraption so that they'll actually use it. Our task was to simply walk on the treadmill. It took about ten of us to even get it moving!
http://www.chasehillfarm.com
