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Our Public Comment on Vermont’s Required Agricultural Practices
We submitted the following letter to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets on the last day that they were accepting public comment on the Required Agricultural Practices—or RAPs. Now that the rule has been formally submitted by the Agency, we thought we’d publish our final comments. See the bottom of this post for an…
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Room to Romp, Room to Roam with Studio Hill’s Pasture-Raised Pigs
Last week was a big one for our pigs—they graduated! Assured that they had reached a good size to fend for themselves and were sufficiently trained on the electric fence, we let them out of the training paddock of their piglet youth and into the 5 acre parcel of pasture and woods prepared for them…
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Economy, Ecology, & the Launch of a Regenerative Food CSA
Farming is slow. It’s not often “relax-in-the-sunshine-with-a-frosty-beverage” slow. It’s more like “your-mortgage” slow. Or, “walk-in-ski-boots” slow. Or “build-the-pyramids” slow. Farming requires tremendous repetitive effort. And, the progress produced by that effort is incremental and, often, imperceptible. But every once in a while, after years (and generations) of planning and work and preparation and building and…
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Our Response to Vermont’s Proposed Required Agricultural Practices
I applaud Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets—herein referred to as “The Agency”—for trying to move the state’s water quality in the right direction. When our wonderful Senator Campion stood in my barnyard one morning a year or so ago and asked me my thoughts on a hypothetical program, I was all for it.…
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Hope in the Face of Climate Change…and a Quick Look Into The Science of Grass
Most people—as I did for over 30 years—overlook the importance of grass. It has been relegated by modern society to suburban lawns, soccer fields, golf courses, and strip mall embankments. Though our modern ways too often prevent grass from doing so, this unassuming little plant plays a vital role in the management of the earth’s…
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How Labels Bring Consumers into the Soil Movement
Soil is so hot right now. Between the “4 per 1000 Initiative” launched by France during the COP21 conference this year…to last Sunday’s New York Times article from Stephanie Strom, “Cover Crops, a Farming Revolution With Deep Roots in the Past,“…to the #CarbonFarmer campaign from Patagonia Provisions, it seems that soil is finally getting the…
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Our Regenerative Agriculture Bill Gets Support from Kiss the Ground and Regeneration International
I am thrilled to announce that our humble Vermont Senate Bill 159 has gained the support of two major regenerative agriculture advocacy groups: Kiss the Ground and Regeneration International. We are honored to have their help and support. They released the following joint press release today:
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The Vermont Regenerative Agriculture Certification Program
FINAL UPDATE: Friday, February 26th, 2016 I received word this afternoon that the Vermont Senate Committee on Agriculture has decided to table the bill for this session. I was given no more details than that. Sad news for the day, to be sure. But the future is bright! Throughout this process we’ve learned that support…
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2015 Winter Lamb Harvest Pickup
Hi everyone! We will be picking up the lamb orders from the butcher on Wednesday morning. Yesterday, Cally and I went and saw the meat hanging in the coolers…and it looks wonderful. I have no doubt we’ll have some tasty lamb chops for the holidays.
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Successful (and Somber) Winter Lamb Harvest
We feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do the work we do here at Studio Hill. We love the land, we love the work, we love the adventure, and we really love the animals. As you already know, we take great care in making sure that all the animals we bring to the farm…
