Modern Stewardship

A Blog from Studio Hill

Home » Modern Stewardship » Economy, Ecology, & the Launch of a Regenerative Food CSA

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 stressing and pushing, something incredible is revealed.

I’m proud and relieved to say that today is one of those days.

Cally and I have a dream for this farm. We want to honor the work of three generations of the family by making the land they tended more wildly fertile. We want to restore and care for the buildings they erected by making the barns, sheds, and houses we have the privilege of using stand tall, straight, and strong. We want to honor their work by strengthening their legacy.

But we also think about the future generations. Cally and I want to convert the farm to 100% solar power—freeing future generations from dependence on oil and carbon-based dirty energy. We want to plant the fruit, nut, and sugar trees that will sequester carbon and provide our kids and grand-kids with abundant perennial crops for them and their animals. And, we want to pass on a farm that is both ecologically and economically profitable.

Much work in these areas has already been done. But we’ve got much farther to go—and we look forward to the work ahead. But today, we’ve reached a milestone. One of our “big projects” has matured. We’ve planned. We’ve tested. We’ve learned an incredible amount. And we’ve built a new enterprise for the farm.

And so, we’re proud to announce that we are launching Studio Hill’s Regenerative Food CSA Program! Our pastured meat enterprise has already proven to be ecologically profitable, and, we’re confident, that with the launch of this new Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm Subscription Program, it will prove to be economically successful—for the farm and the community—as well. (Only 2% of the money Vermonters spend on food is grown in Vermont. We hope we can capture and recirculate more of those food dollars back to our local area.)

Our 2016-2017 Regenerative Meat Winter CSA is now available, and we’d like to invite you to check it out.

We hope that this Winter CSA leads to a Summer CSA which leads to a year-round Regenerative Food CSA. We are proud to offer nutritious food from animals that have led wonderful lives doing the regenerative work of rebuilding the soils on our farm. (The grass needed the grazers. And the grazers need the grass.)

And, of course, as we’re trying to build environments for our animals that are as-natural-as-possible (for the benefit of the animals, the land, and the effectiveness of our regenerative work), we never use antibiotics, hormones, GMOs, herbicides, nor pesticides. We don’t need them. We don’t want them.

It is our hope that our CSA program grows slowly over time—as farming dictates—to include members all over Vermont and the northeast. (We’re offering home delivery to anywhere within 25 miles of the farm, and to select cities around the northeast.) We look forward to taking care of a community of forward-looking folks who value our environmentally-regenerative work, our nutritious food, our connection to the past, and our dedication to building a clean and bright future.

If you have any questions about our CSA, please feel free to call us. We’re always happy to help. Thank you.

,