Aunt Em's Urban Inn+Farm

Aunt Em's Urban Inn+Farm was the first urban farm stay I'd ever heard of. Needless to say, I was very excited to talk with innkeeper/farmer Emme Levine about what she does.

It turns out that there are a couple of other urban farm stays around the country. Very neat! More about those later. Of course, these places are very different than rural farm stays, but urban farm stays offer their own kind of farming education for guests who are fortunate enough to experience them.

Here's my interview with Emme.

Q: What came first, the inn or the urban farm?

Actually, I’ve always had a garden, even when I lived in New York City as a student I had a deck with cans of greens and even a tomato or two. This is our second house in San Francisco and one of our requirements was more land and south-facing. Land is hard to come by in such an urban setting, but we’ve been able to squeeze in a lot of crops into our 25 X 25 foot plot. I’m currently ripping out ornamentals and either donating or selling them off, replacing them with food crops to maximize the space we do have.

In the past few years, we’ve gotten so good at producing food, we always had extra. We started by just giving it away to food banks and neighbors.

Aunt Em’s Urban Inn was a brainchild of mine! I felt compelled to do something positive about our environmental situation. I had the physical space, so I started the Inn with the idea of educating the many tourists who flow through this great beautiful town of ours, San Francisco. I wouldn’t say I “sugar coat” the message, but maybe “salad coat” would be more apt. Once they taste the produce, they are total converts!

Guests have a chance to see how a green, organic, sustainable space works. The best part is it’s not huge – we are a micro farm and it’s the type of setup most working people could handle. They see the space, the setup, the compost bins, the recycling. They see us working the soil, weeding or picking fruit – enjoying it and eating well.

That’s really my message: Green is simple. It’s easy. Everyone can do it.

Q: What do you grow? 

We do have fog, so we grow a variety of greens mostly. We also have a small orchard of fruit trees. We experiment with varieties – right now, we’ve got lots of seeds from France and Italy, which have similar climate conditions that we do – Mediterranean. We are actually in what you call the ‘Transition Zone” of weather in San Francisco: some fog, some sun, but sunny enough to grow say, cherry tomatoes, instead of the big ones I grew up with in New Jersey.

In addition to greens and fruit trees, we grow other crops seasonally – greens we grow year-round: kale, spinach, chard, bok choy, lettuce all do well. Spring and summer we do: cherry tomatoes, beans, pumpkins, squash. We also have a dabble of strawberries and blueberries. We just put in another apricot and also mulberry and loquat trees.

We don’t hesitate to rip out stuff that doesn’t work. I’ve had to get really vicious! I used to be such a wuss when it came to plants –they were like little lost pets. Now, I try to find them good homes, but if not, it’s the compost pile for them. I just took out a non-producing Brown Turkey Fig tree that was getting out of hand and never produced anything but raw, green figs. Yanked it!

Q: Is urban farming new to many of your guests? Do many of them want to become involved and get their hands dirty?

Yes, most guests who come to Aunt Em’s Urban Inn+Farm have never seen a farm – much less a compost pile! We have not actually had a dirt shoveling party yet – most guests are happy to help harvest, especially if they can walk out their back doors and “shop” for tasty salad greens or pick a ripe piece of fruit off our trees.

Q: How common are urban farms in San Francisco?

Right now, we are experiencing a complete renaissance in urban farming in San Francisco. There’s a real buzz around town, and it’s not just the bees! More people are jumping on the “hay wagon” and getting turned on to growing organic, sustainable food. That said, I can look out my back door and see only a few neighbors who grow veggies – a few more have fruit trees. Eventually, I’d love to set up a neighborhood collective – establish drop-off points to gather and sell surplus produce to locals.

Q: Anything else you'd like to mention?

My education of guests is pretty soft-sell. I “salad” bowl them over with lots of tastes. That really piques their interest and I’ve won more converts that way. Like the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? Well, the stomach rules with green education. But really, it’s been an effort to get people to realize what the impact of local food systems can have on the environment. It’s all about using food to integrate larger concepts like sustainability and climate change awareness.

I ask my guests where their food comes from. They say: "Mexico, Chile, but usually not local." How does that food get to their table? Once they realize the answers, the head-scratching starts, the wagon wheels start turning and they are on their way.

I’ve had guests from Brazil, Switzerland, Ireland, Canada, Argentina and many US states who say they have NO composting or recycling programs where they live! They’ve all gone back with a little bit of knowledge and some motivation to make that happen. That really makes me feel good! I’m just one person, but I really CAN make a difference - I’m planting a seed in someone’s head and making a green revolution one lettuce leaf at a time.

To contact Emme: 
Emme Levine
Innkeeper/Farmer
Aunt Em's Urban Inn+Farm
415.347.1367
www.emsinn.com
info@emsinn.com
Follow Emme on Twitter

Ecotourism and Agritourism: Possibilities for collaboration

I met Irene Lane last September at the International Ecotourism Conference. She recently launched an ecotourism website called Greenloons, and she got in touch with me to ask if she might write a guest post for The Farm Stay Project. Here are her compelling suggestions for ways that agritourism and ecotourism might be better integrated.

Michelle asked me to provide some suggestions for how organizations that promote agritourism can better cooperate with organizations that promote ecotourism considering consumer confusion about both types of tourism and the overlap of social and environmental goals.

As a manner of introduction, earlier this year I founded an ecotourism travel services company that specializes in offering independently certified, family-oriented ecotours.  I became interested in ecotourism when I noticed my own young son’s wide-eyed fascination with nature whether we traveled across an ocean or across the state.  Nothing delighted him more than visiting zoos, hiking through the wilderness, or kayaking through scenic waterways.

 

Consistently, my husband and I noticed the absolute wonder and amazement he had for the music, art, flora or fauna he saw in front of him. His wonder was almost always followed by an onslaught of illuminating questions about people and the natural world. 

These were 'teachable moments' for my son that marked his personal growth, and it occurred to me that other families might benefit from an opportunity to experience nature in a way that would be educational, inspirational, safe and fun.  In this way, agritourism and ecotourism are very similar. To answer the question at hand, there are some fundamental ways the industries can work together to promote our common sustainability goals, including:

• Incorporating farm stays into ecotourism itineraries
• Developing relationships with ecotour operators
•  Targeting promotion to urban areas including international cities
•  Promoting of the educational value of farm activities 

Incorporating farm stays into ecotourism itineraries

Earlier this month, the University of Costa Rica published a study that discussed the agritourism and ecotourism marketing efforts in that country.  Costa Rica has both strong agricultural traditions and a thriving ecotourism industry. 

The study delineated some interested examples of how cross-industry promotional efforts have helped farmers as well as ecotour operators. These examples included incorporating ½ to full-day coffee plantation, traditional fishing, dairy, and pineapple tours. Ecotour itineraries featured local guides and accommodations as well as meals made with, of course, local ingredients.  

Developing relationships with ecotour operators

With the exception of Alaska, the United States is relatively new to the concept to ecotourism and where there is chaos, in my opinion, there is opportunity.  Ecotour operators are looking to provide their customers with unique experiences in the United States that will set them apart from the traditional mass-market tourism that has existed in this country.  Therefore, it would be worthwhile for farm stay operators to contact ecotour operators (which I could help with) to see if the farm can be included as part of an itinerary (i.e. providing accommodation, providing local farm lunch, helping with some light conservation work, conducting a tasting of local farm products, attending a farm food festival).

Targeting promotion to urban areas including international cities

What is additionally interesting about the University of Costa Rica study is that the majority of agritourism visitors in Costa Rica are international visitors.  Most of the locals did not see a need to pay for a rural experience since they could visit their relatives in the countryside.  I think there is a marketing lesson here when promoting agritourism, namely to target urban populations and publications that have a critical mass of environmentally-conscious consumers.  An example in the Washington, DC region is Flavor magazine, an independently run publication dedicated to sustainable food, gardening, local farmers, and organic restaurants. 

Promoting the educational value of farm activities 

Many school curriculums are beginning to incorporate the use of a school garden into their science, health, nutrition, and math lessons.  What better way to bring these concepts to life than to have a designated farm stay school program that teaches about farm traditions and food production?

Basically, for both ecotourism and agritourism, it comes down to increased awareness and better perception of the industry’s economic, social, and environmental benefits.  Since my family ecotour destinations company, Greenloons, has launched, the site has been phenomenally received.  It’s been very exciting and proves that there is tremendous market potential for these unique, educational, and fun tour experiences.

-Irene Lane

Stonehaven Family Farm

Stonehaven Farm is a gem of a farm stay in a gem of a spot. Westport, where Stonehaven is situated, is in the Southeastern corner of Massachusetts, 60 miles south of Boston, and 30 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island. Only minutes away from Stonehaven Farm, Horseneck Beach State Reservation is a beautiful, 2-mile long beach on Buzzards Bay with 600 acres of salt marsh and sand dunes. Horseneck Beach is most popular in summer, but the off-season holds its own kind of magic. I was there in late September, when the oblique fall light shone golden on the dune grass. To my surprise, the bay water was plenty warm for me to venture in for some delighted wave jumping. The public washrooms were closed for the season, and only a handful of cars littered the windy parking lot, but Horseneck Beach in September felt like heaven to me.

Back at Stonehaven Farm, the guest suite has a big, airy bedroom with a cathedral ceiling and a view past gently sloping sheep pasture and all the way down to the wide Westport River. Windows on all sides, plus a sliding door to a small balcony, let in the ocean breeze. The beds are made with crisp white sheets and an off-white blanket for warmth -- it's woven from the wool of the farm’s own Dorset Horn sheep, a dual-purpose heritage breed good for both meat and wool. 

In 1995, Virginia Merlier moved to Stonehaven Farm from Cambridge, Mass., where she worked in Financial Administration at Harvard for 15 years after a shorter stint as an assistant professor of Medieval French literature. Virginia grew up on a 312-acre farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where her father also raised Horned Dorsets. Originally from France, Virginia’s father came to America when he was 18, marrying Virginia’s mother in 1941. At that time in France, Virginia tells me, having a farm was a dream common to many. Though her father was raised in the city and studied business in college, he decided to buy a farm in America. He essentially learned to farm from USDA pamphlets, says Virginia, and he did well at it, supporting their family of 5 and sending Virginia and her sister to college.

Virginia tells me that she always wanted to get back to farming, but her father wouldn’t give or sell the farm to her because she was a girl. Once she had her own 7.5 acres, Virginia started gardening and raising chickens, then sheep, and finally ducks. Today she has a flock of 20 permanent sheep, which are kept in line by a friendly border collie named Cody. Virginia tells me, “You look at a happy sheep and it’s almost meditative.” The 35 free-range chickens on the farm include American heritage breeds like Delawares, Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, and Ameraucanas. The wide variety of breeds presents a pretty palette of brown, light peach, and light green shell colors in the gathering basket. Virginia sells eggs, in addition to seasonal vegetables and berries, to customers who stop by the house.  Lambs or half lambs for the freezer and ducks are available by order, as is yarn processed by Bartlett Yarns in Maine. Virginia started offering a farm stay in 2009, after being inspired during an agritourism conference by a keynote talk by charismatic Beth Kennett, who has hosted guests at Liberty Hill Farm in VT since the 1980s.

Agritourism beyond Stonehaven Farm includes the Westport farmers market every Saturday, pick-your-own berries at Berry Hill Farm, a brewery called Just Beer, the Westport Rivers Winery and Coastal Wine Trail, and Orr’s Farm Stand. Virginia is a generous and informative guide to the area. Though Westport’s population swells with beachgoers in the summer, the town has maintained its unspoiled feel, with beautifully preserved 1700s homes and buildings and strong farming and fishing communities. The Point, where the fishing boats dock, is an active lobster port. Around 12 percent of Westport’s current farmland is protected from development thanks to groups like the Westport Land Conservation Trust.  Westport prides itself in being the home of a variety of turnip called the Macomber turnip, which has its own dedicated historical marker. Dairy and crops like potatoes, squash, corn, and hay are also important. A not-to-miss Westport edible is Hannahbells, a soft-ripened, bell-shaped cheese crafted at the Shy Brothers Farm from the milk of the brothers’ 120 grazing cows. While the farm is not open to the public, the cheese is available at specialty shops and by mail. The farm also forms a lovely picture for those who drive by.

If you go:

A spacious guest suite sleeps four on one double and two twin beds, and offers a fantastic view. The suite is $150/night for two, plus $25 for each child. The suite includes a mini-fridge and large private bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. Children are welcome to stay in the main suite or down the hall, in a smaller guestroom with two twin beds. Virginia is an accomplished cook, and she invites guests to share breakfast (included) and dinner ($35/person) with her. Almost all of the dishes she makes – from roast chicken with fingerling potatoes to juicy fresh melon for dessert -- are raised right on the farm when the season allows. Guests are welcome to harvest all the garden vegetables they can eat, and to help with gardening, egg collecting, and caring for the sheep. Contact Virginia for rates.

Web: http://www.stonehavenfamilyfarm.com

Phone: (508) 636-1361

Email: vmerlier@verizon.net

Virginia Merlier

Stonehaven Farm

1506 Drift Rd

Westport, MA 02790

Berry Fields Farm: Our Family Farm Vacation

I had visited lots of farm stays on my own, so I wanted to see how my parents, sister, and her two cutie pie kids liked the experience. Last August, I planned a farm vacation to Berry Fields Farm in North Central PA for the five of us. I especially wanted to see how my nieces Skylar (5) and Ruby (2) took to gathering eggs and feeding the animals, and to snap a few adorable pictures of them along the way.

My parents live in Western PA, my sister and her kids live in Connecticut, and I live in Maryland; Berry Fields Farm was almost equidistant for the three of us. In addition to the location, I loved that the farm had a tiny field-to-table restaurant, a farm store, and a focus on growing diverse crops and livestock sustainably. Plus, my family and I are blueberry fiends and figured the berry bushes at the farm would be heavy with fruit, and we could pick gallons of them to take home and freeze. The drive to Berry Fields winds through Pennsylvania's beautiful Endless Mountains region, with the last two miles climbing a gravel road up the side of K-hill Mountain. I arrived to the hill farm just after dusk, and my sister pulled in with the kiddos a few minutes later. My parents would arrive a few hours after us.

After stepping out of my car, the warm lights of the restaurant and farm store guided me inside, where I met Barbara Gerlach, who was finishing serving coffee to her dinner guests. She pointed me towards the stairs to my family's home for the next three days, a one-bedroom apartment that the Gerlachs renovated for guests just this year. It's the second apartment they have built on their farm. Our cozy place was just big enough for our group of 3 adults and 2 kids. My parents took the bedroom, I slept on the futon in the small entrance room, and my sister and nieces slept on the pullout couch in the living/dining room/kitchen. The farm's other apartment, which the Gerlachs opened to guests about ten years ago, sleeps up to 10 in three bedrooms and sits on the second floor above the farm store and restaurant. 

In the 1970s, Charlie Gerlach bought the property where Berry Fields Farm now stands. The land was much different then -- it was covered with forest and only had a primitive hunting cabin. Charlie and Barbara spent decades clearing the land, and building their house and barn using recycled materials from Charlie's design-build general contracting business. Charlie describes his desire to build things as almost a compulsion. He plans to add at least one more guest apartment to the two others already on the farm. Charlie and Barbara have slowly built up their poor mountain soil to grow their lush, 1-acre organic garden, and have planted a small orchard of apple and pear trees as well as putting up fencing for their grazing beef cattle. Down the farm's driveway and across the road, a field of blueberry bushes invites u-pickers. Weekly, Barbara and Charlie sell meat and produce at a farmers market in Eagles Mere, a nearby resort town.

Day 1

In the morning, we woke to a big, wonderful view out the living room window. Skylar was jumping to get outside and see what animals she might find, and Ruby was excited to be a part of it all too. Once we met the bunnies, it was hard to pull the kids away. Skylar and Ruby could have fed them for hours, poking grass and weeds through the wire cages and watching while they chewed. Barbara and Charlie also introduced us to the chickens and showed us how to collect eggs, pointed out their huge pregnant Tamworth pig, and found a hidden pile of kittens for us to cuddle. We all had a great time wandering around the farm. We decided to venture away to visit the nearby World's End State Park, where a s-shaped bend in Loyalsock Creek that forms a big, scenic swimming hole. After a dip in the chilly water, we headed back to the farm for a field-to-table dinner in the little restaurant. We had a lovely meal of greens, beef, mashed potatoes, and corn, all raised on the farm, with locally-made goats milk cheesecake and hot drinks for dessert. 

Day 2

The kids headed out again for their dose of animal feeding and petting. Charlie and Barbara told us that the blueberry season had ended early, and that the bushes were pretty much bare, but we were unshakable and went to forage for leftovers anyhow. We managed to wrangle a few berries, enough for a little taste. We asked Barbara for hiking recommendations, and she pointed us towards The Haystacks, where a gentle, relatively flat trail along the Loyalsock River and rounded rock formations make for picturesque pools and rapids. The trail was a great choice for hiking with kids. 

Day 3

For our last day at the farm, we stayed put and found plenty to do. We harvested a bed of onions, with Skylar taking the helm and pulling almost all of them by herself. Charlie rewarded us with a loaf of bread that he had made that morning. We pulled spent cornstalks and threw them to the cows. We helped Barbara search for ripe carrots in the greenhouse. We watched the beautiful changing sky as a storm blew through. And to end the day, cozy again in our apartment, we cooked up a feast in our little kitchen.

It was a great vacation.  We loaded up our coolers with beef, pork, and chicken from the farm since the quality was great and the prices were much better than what we could find at home, bid the farm goodbye, and went our separate ways. For more photos from our stay at Berry Fields, check out my Berry Fields Farm album.

If you go:

Berry Fields Farm has two guest apartments. One can sleep 10 in three bedrooms; the other can sleep a very cozy 7 in one bedroom, a futon, and a twin and double pullout beds. Both apartments have full kitchens. Rates start at $100/night and $600/week. Meals are available ($15-30) on the farm with advanced notice; non-guests are welcome to reserve dinners in The Strawberry dining room as well. The farm’s beef, pork, chicken, sausage, vegetables, and fruits are available at the farm store. Berry Fields also offers u-pick berries in season.

Note: some of the material on the website is outdated, for example, the farm now has two guest apartments instead of one. Also, it’s a great idea to ask what fruits and vegetables are in season before you go, so you know what to expect and don’t suffer from blueberry disappointment.

Web: 
http://www.berryfieldsfarm.net 
gerlach@epix.net


Postal/Physical Address:
 
Charlie and Barbara Gerlach
Berry Fields Farm

New Albany, PA 18833
Telephone:
 570-924-3019

Your Questions, Answered: Part II

"So, how expensive are these 'farm stays,' anyway?"

Lots of folks who approached our Farm Stay U.S. booth at the Mother Earth News Fair asked this question.  For the answer to another common question, check out this post, which talks about farm stays v. WWOOFing v. B&Bs.

Back to the question at hand. Farm stays are a broad category of accommodations, ranging from a spot to pitch a tent to luxurious resort with five-star amenities and service. The unifying factor is that the accommodation is situated on a working farm, i.e. a farm that produces food or fiber. Accordingly, price varies tremendously. For a non-working American farm stay, you can pay from $10-15 for a tent site at a place like Four Springs Farm in VT or D Acres of New Hampshire, to upwards of $1000/night for an all-inclusive stay at the Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. Of course, you can find all prices in between as well. The most typical range is something like $70-150/night, so comparable to other B&Bs you would find in the same area. There's a farm stay for every type and every budget -- what a relief!

Photo: Four Springs Farm, Royalton, Vermont

Walpole Valley Farms Tour

I've uploaded some photos from the October 1st farm tour at Walpole Valley Farms. Gorgeous red barn, lively chickens and turkeys, content cows, and my favorite, the pretty pigs. All of them are out on pasture, with movable shelters, and they hardly set foot in the big barn. After the tour with farmer Chris Caserta, his sister Jackie Caserta, the innkeeper, showed me around the lovely Inn at Valley Farms. More about that later.

New England Farm Stays!

The first week of October, I was lucky enough to visit 11 farm stays in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts during fall colors in New England, one of the most beautiful displays of nature anywhere. A bold statement perhaps, though thousands of "leaf peepers" agree. Here's a roundup of the 11 farms I visited; I'll profile each of them in more detail later. Please excuse the lack of photos; I don't have good internet right now. These farms are wonderful spots, combining awesome scenery with delicious farm-fresh food and the chance to milk a cow or pick some bright green chard. There's something here for every type and every budget.

I started off by tagging along on a farm tour at Walpole Valley Farm in Walpole, New Hampshire. Farmer Chris Caserta showed off his pastured poultry and livestock operation on 100 acres. The farm is gorgeous, set in a valley with a huge old classic red barn, which actually doesn't get much use because the animals spend their days and nights out on the pasture. After the farm tour, Chris' sister and innkeeper Jackie Caserta showed me the elegant 3-bedroom Inn at Valley Farms and plied me with fresh-baked cookies. Jackie also rents two 3-bedroom cottages and a 3-bedroom farmhouse. Children are welcome in the cottages and farmhouse; the inn rooms accommodate guests 12 and up. Inn guests enjoy a farm-fresh, candlelight breakfast. Cottage and farmhouse guests are supplied with kitchen pantry basics and are welcome to gather veggies from Jackie's lush, no-till garden. Rates are $175-220 for two.

I visited Shearer Hill Farm in Wilmington, VT next, a comfy, six-bedroom B&B and farm with a small herd of grass-fed beef cattle and maple sugaring in the spring. Patti and Bill Pusey moved to Vermont from Long Island 40 years ago. They have now raised seven children in the farmhouse they worked for years to restore, and their B&B is in its 20th year. Every morning for breakfast, Patti and Bill serve apples baked with their own maple syrup and topped with vanilla ice cream. Rates are $85/night for single and $115/night for double occupancy. Children are welcome. 

Kenburn Orchards B&B in Shelburne, MA, offers three lovely rooms, decorated with art from local craftspeople, in a restored colonial farmhouse that has been in owner Susan Flaccus' family since 1924. Susan's husband Larry wanted to be a farmer in his youth; he and Susan have made a second career out of farming Christmas trees and berries on their scenic 150-acre farm. Guests shouldn't miss a walk through the farm's abandoned apple orchard to spot birds, beavers, and coyotes. Susan and Larry cook up a big breakfast that includes homemade breads and muffins topped with their own fruit preserves. What's not from Kenburn Orchards comes from nearby farms. Rates are $139-169 for one or two.

Currier Brook Farm in Wentworth, NH is a diverse, 20-acre farm with one B&B room and plenty of space for camping along the Baker River. Carol Friedrich and her daughter Amy raise organic vegetables, free-range laying hens, Icelandic sheep, and heritage pigs, mostly for their own use, and they are interested in building and sharing their set of sustainable living skills. The Friedrichs welcome interns and work-traders in addition to B&B and camping guests. A rail-trail for hiking and skiing goes right through the farm.

I met up with a couple of dear friends from Montreal for a 2-day stay at D Acres in Dorchester, NH, an organic farm, "educational homestead," and hostel where I lived and worked in 2005. It was good to be back and see all the new buildings and the results of years of building the soil: kale tall as trees and cabbages as big as babies. Guests choose from three private bedrooms ($55-65) in the impressive, modern, green-built farmhouse, floor space in the yoga room ($15/person), or tent camping on platforms ($10/person). Guests are also welcome to share dinner and breakfast with residents ($10/person per meal). Meals are 95% organic and centered around fresh D Acres veggies. The farm sits on 180 acres, mostly forested, with hiking/skiing trails throughout, and artistic, handmade greenhouses, animal houses, and outdoor kitchens made of wood and cob (a mix of sand, clay, and straw). Rumney Rocks -- a great rock climbing area -- is only 10-minutes away.

After leaving D Acres, I visited with Jinny Cleland at her Four Springs Farm in Royalton, VT, an organic vegetable, small fruit, and pastured poultry farm on 70 acres, with a small campground (each secluded site is $25 for up to 5 guests, and includes a fire ring and picnic table), and a rustic cabin rental (no electricity, $65 for up to 5 guests). Guests are welcome to tag along with chores and u-pick berries and vegetables. Jinny is passionate about sharing her land and beautiful Green Mountains view with the public in a way that's accessible and affordable for families. On Saturdays, you can also find Jinny at the Norwich Farmer's Market.

At Liberty Hill Farm in Rochester, VT, I chatted with Beth Kennett as she and her friend Lois danced around the kitchen cooking up dinner for 15 guests. Beth is a pioneer and a charismatic spokeswoman for Vermont agritourism -- she's been hosting guests in her farmhouse since 1984. Beth loves to cook, and she treats guests to two homemade meals a day featuring Cabot cheddar and food from her neighbors' farms. Liberty Hill Farm is a dairy farm (and proud member of the Cabot Dairy Cooperative) that's been owned by Beth and Bob Kennett since 1977, and their two sons have now come back to work on the farm as well. Guests are welcome to tag along for chores and try their hand at milking a cow, and the farm abuts both the White River and the Green Mountain National Forest. Rates (includes lodging, breakfast, and dinner) are $98 per adult, $75 per teenager, $54 for children under 12, and kids 2 and under stay free.

Echo Hill Farm in Craftsbury, VT is a 4000-tap maple sugaring operation owned by Louise and Randi Calderwood. The Calderwoods are about to open a new sugar shack that will serve up pancakes topped by the farm's own maple syrup. They also rent out a sweet 3-bedroom guesthouse ($130/night, 2 night minimum stay), and guests are welcome to help with maple sugaring in the spring. Louise is a great person to chat with about farming and farm policy, as she served for 8 years as Vermont's Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and has worked as both a farm consultant and a dairy extension agent. 

Stony Brook Farm in Hyde Park, VT (near Stowe) is a small farm with a managerie of goats, geese, chickens, cows, and turkeys that pose together like a barnyard scene from a childrens’ book. Tom and Carole Younkman have converted their blacksmith shop into a comfy two-bedroom cottage (sleeps up to 6; pets are welcome), complete with a kitchen, deck, and grill. Guests are welcome to help feed the animals and gather eggs. Carole also makes goatsmilk soap that visitors can find in the farm's little gift shop.

At Vermont Grand View Farm, I got to meet Romney sheep, angora goats, and mohair rabbits so sweet and soft it made me giggle. Shepherd Kim Goodling sends her animals' fiber to be spun into wonderful yarn that you can buy at her farm store, through an online shop, or by becoming a member of her fiber CSA. Kim hosts B&B guests in two bedrooms ($85-95) of the older, 1700s wing of her family's beautiful home. Kim cooks breakfasts with organic ingredients from her greenhouse and garden and from other local farms. She also offers dinner with advanced noticed ($25/person). The farm has a calendar of fiber retreats, summer day camps, and natural dye classes scheduled throughout the summer.

My final stop was to Trevin Farms in Sudbury, VT, which was founded by two chefs who escaped north to Vermont from urban Massachusetts. Troy and Kevin are devoted caretakers of their herd of Nubian goats, and they are passionate about cheesemaking. Most of the guests who stay in the B&B's three plush bedrooms ($105-$165) take advantage of the cheesemaking package ($295-$395, including lodging), which includes a cheesemaking class, dinner, and a bundle of fresh chevre for guests to take home. Visitors are also free to pick vegetables from the garden, gather eggs from the hens, and learn to hitch Tyrone the draft horse.

Thanks to Sarene, Noah, D Acres, and the Viking Motel for hosting me on this whirlwind New England tour. I also appreciate the farmers who told me they would have hosted me if they hadn't been all booked up. And thanks to all of these farmers who took the time to meet with me during their busiest time of year and who fed me with scones, baked apples, cookies, and fresh berries. Such generosity!

Your Questions, Answered: part 1

Last weekend, my wonderful mom and I hosted a Farm Stay U.S./Farm Stay Project booth at the Mother Earth News Fair at Seven Springs Resort in PA. We talked with hundreds (thousands?) of people about farm stays, and they had lots of questions for us. I'm going to do a series of little posts in the next few weeks trying to answer some of these questions. Here's question number one.

Q: How is a farm stay different than a B&B? How is it different than WWOOFing?

A: The term 'farm stay' is pretty broad - it just means you're staying on a working farm for a short time. The 'farm stay' might be interactive, with the guests helping out with chores, or it might not be, depending on the needs and wants of the guests and the farmers. The 'stay' could be in a B&B, or it could mean camping as a WWOOF volunteer. On this blog, I talk mostly about farm stays where guests pay for their lodging, like a farm B&B or cabin rental, and there's absolutely no work requirement. These farm stays are great for people who want to escape to a farm to relax for a weekend, while getting a closeup view of the source of their food. Many of these farm stays are especially suited for families with kids, though some are retreats specifically for adults.

There are some great resources out there for people interested in working farm stays, where there's usually a minimum work requirement and length of stay, and in return the volunteer gets free or very cheap lodging. For short-term working farm stays, in addition to WWOOF, check out GrowFood.org.

Guest Post: Morgan Farm Stay, OH

I just finished up the exciting Eco and Sustainable Tourism Conference in Portland, Ore., where I co-presented with Scottie Jones, owner of Farm Stay U.S. and also got a chance to stay at her lovely Leaping Lamb Farm for a night. Watch for a post about those soon. I also have to catch up on writing about my family vacation to Berry Fields Farm in PA and my visit to Pleasant Springs Farm, VA. Great places all.

For today, Dan Morgan, who owns Morgan Farm Stay with his wife Annette, kindly wrote this post about their reasons for starting a farm stay, and about the steps they took to make their business what it is today. It's an especially interesting read for anyone thinking of starting a farm stay themselves.

Morgan Farm Stay

In 2005, Dan and Annette Morgan renovated and updated with “English Upgrades” a 144 year old farmhouse on 10 lovely acres in Ashland Ohio. The home is now used primarily as a “Farm Stay” self catering vacation rental property, not to be confused with Bed and Breakfast. Morgan Farm Stay has steadily increased business each year since it opened its barn doors for this unique business in 2008.

We wanted to return to Ohio, from 10 years in NY to a more relaxed “country living” pace. The house had been Amish for over 20 years so the plumbing, electrical, septic and roof were all in need of replacement (English Upgrades) After a year of this type of work the Morgans determined that they needed to be closer to a major metropolitan area for both their lines of work, Nursing and Commercial Photography. The option of selling the farm house in the down economy, after investing in all the upgrades, was a very dismal one. After a great deal of research online and inspiration from travels to Europe, we decided to make the property into a Farm Stay in 2008. The concept is still very new in the United States, however it has been implemented in Europe, Australia and New Zealand for many years, providing weary travelers a clean comfortable rest, in an extra room of an old farm house.

In the first year we spent living in the agricultural community of rural Ashland County we observed many disturbing things that tarnished our “country living” experience. Wanton urban sprawl was tearing up beautiful farmland and farmers were struggling to make a decent living. Learning more about modern industrial farming practices, designed for larger production at lower cost to the farmer is a model we are all paying for with our health. Fresh healthy food from small family farmers has been replaced by overly processed foods manufactured by chemical companies, the same companies that are providing synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to these large scale farming operations, who have all but replaced the small family farmer.

Our mission at Morgan Farm Stay has been to provide a clean comfortable place for a quiet vacation, in a setting that inspires thoughts about how the old family farm needs to be preserved for many reasons. Our old farm house is just one of many, many old farmhouses that dot the countrysides across America, remnants of what used to be. The best thing we could offer the community around us was an example of how new life can come to an old farm, both conscientiously and economically.

Several considerations needed to be addressed in order to consider this small business venture. Marketing, insurance, home furnishings, housekeeping and grounds maintenance, accounting and legal issues.

There are several online marketing tools available to list your property. Good writing and photography skills help. Business cards, promotional handouts and social networking sites also help with Marketing.

An additional insurance policy was added to existing homeowners policy, our agent was easy to work with. It is important to tell the agent exactly what you are doing and how often you will be at the home yourself.

The home needed to be thoughtfully decorated and furnished with practicality, comfort and a little whimsy. What would we want in a rental home if we were the guests. Quality furniture and fully equipped kitchen and bath with modern appliances will bring the best rental rates. All towels and other linens should also be provided.

The home and grounds need to be kept impeccably groomed and cleaned. Spider webs, dust and dirty floors will not make happy, return customers.

From an accounting standpoint the whole operation, expense and income has to be treated as a business with itʼs own schedule C at year end. Applicable income taxes need to be paid to the city county and state as well as federal authorities.

All of the above considerations are nothing that should intimidate anyone from starting this sort of business. There are professionals in these areas that are happy to help. This business model requires a lot of hard work, but not as much work as a bed and breakfast. We recommend it to anyone!

Dan Morgan wrote the text and provided photographs for this post. For more of Dan's photography, see http://www.aboutdanmorgan.com/.

The Ponderosa Lodge Farm

The Ponderosa Lodge Farm is scenically situated in the mountains above West Virginia’s New River Gorge, a great spot for hiking, rock climbing, and river rafting. In July, I drove the winding road up to the farm to meet with owner Ken Toney and take a tour of the farm. When I arrive, Ken generously takes a break from his work in the lodge’s kitchen to show me around.

A whole bin of apples sits on the counter along with two fresh-from-the-oven pies and the dough for a loaf of olive bread. The apples are too sour and tough for eating out of hand, says Ken, but just fine for cooking. Ken tells me, “I’ve always loved cooking ... that might be the downside of farming; I can’t just spend all day in the kitchen.” Ken grows most of the food his family eats, and he tells me they will be trying out the ‘100-foot diet challenge’ next year, to see if they can raise, grow, hunt, or gather nearly everything they eat. Ken also offers bread baking, pickling, and canning classes for interested guests.

The Lodge

The three-story Ponderosa Lodge sleeps up to 32 guests in 10 bedrooms, each with a private bath. Ken and his wife Jorene have set up the lodge as a private destination for family reunions, weddings, and church or business retreats. Ken points out that the New River Gorge is a fairly central point for folks who live east of the Mississippi, so it works well as a meeting point for even far-flung families.

The lodge was originally built in 1969 as a zoo; it later became a roadside motor lodge and restaurant. Wall mounts of bear, deer, and cougar that once lived at the zoo still decorate the walls of the Great Room, which is just inside of the lodge’s front entrance. The Great Room also features a big stone fireplace, lots of comfortable seating, and a huge wagon wheel chandelier.

Ken and Jorene bought the property in 2005, and they quickly jumped into renovating the lodge and clearing land where they could raise vegetables and animals. They’ve had to clear lots of pine trees, which they’ve put to good use, either milling the lumber to use for building or using the wood for heating the lodge come winter. Opening up the forest has also allowed Ken to install solar hot water and electric panels, and he plans to install more.

Most of the renovations required for the lodge were fortunately cosmetic. Ken and Jorene replaced the lodge’s flooring, for instance, using recycled hardwood flooring from a local roller skating rink. They also renovated the kitchen completely, updating appliances and making it open and bright. Guests who would like to cook during their stay may rent the kitchen as a separate rental from the lodge. Ken also offers catered lunches or dinners, featuring a seasonal menu of food that’s raised right on the farm or bought locally.

Ken and Jorene were looking only to buy a cabin for themselves when they found the listing for Ponderosa Lodge. Even though it was much bigger than what they had envisioned, they fell in love with the property and decided to buy it. As Ken tells me, “I’m really not a city person... I’ve always wanted to farm,” so it suited him to leave his job at the Naval Research Lab to move full-time to West Virginia. Jorene still works as an attorney, spending week days working in Falls Church, a suburb of DC. Since Ken and Jorene’s son Liam was born in 2008, he has become an integral part of the welcome crew at the lodge. Liam loves to help with the animals, and Ken has modified some of the animal feeders so that Liam can help out more. Says Ken, “Liam learned what animals say before we started teaching him that. He doesn’t say ‘baah’ for goat, he says ‘waaah,’ since that’s what our goats really sound like.” Guest kids (as well as adults) love touring the farm and feeding the animals, too.

The Farm

Ken and Jorene have been farming at Ponderosa Lodge for three years now, and Ken tells me that it just keeps getting better. The shallow topsoil and steep topography are challenging for growing vegetables, which is one of the major reasons they decided to get animals. Raising poultry and livestock provides not only meat but also manure, allowing Ken to improve the soil fertility and grow lush vegetables on even his marginal land.

Ken shows me his chard, with its ruby red stem and vibrant green leaves, and he says, “This is my favorite vegetable of the year. It’s just a powerhouse of nutrients. I can put it on a pizza, chop it up and put it in an omelet, and Liam eats it ... he loves it.” The vegetables Ken grows are heirloom varieties, and he enjoys picking out unusual seeds when he plans his garden in the winter. Ken also experiments with companion planting and intercropping -- he plants a Three Sisters Garden of corn, beans, and squash, a traditional planting combination used by American Indians. Jorene has also planted beautiful perennial gardens around the lodge.

The Animals

Says Ken, “We have 16 acres here, which seems like a lot, but I’m already starting to feel the crunch.” There are nine acres with permanent fence, where six goats, a steer, and seven pigs live. Ken also keeps around six ducks, a handful of rabbits, 16 turkeys, and 80 layer and broiler chickens inside of portable electric fencing that he can easily move around as the poultry need new grass to graze.

Ken says he follows the model of farming practiced by Joel Salatin at his Polyface Farm, which is pasture based, “beyond organic,” and diverse.

Ken talks cheerfully to the animals as we walk around feeding everyone. When one of the goats nudges Ken’s hand eagerly to get to the grain he’s holding, he calls out, “Hello, Gus! You’re gettin’ strong! Hey! That was my finger, you!” Ken tells me that the goats are wonderful with Liam. He says, “I can give this bucket to Liam, and they’ll just follow him, or they’ll be right in front leading the way. We might actually have trouble butchering them. We’re in here with them every day, and that tames them up some.” Like the Salatins at Polyface Farm, Ken also butchers his own meats. Every year, he buys animals in the spring and butchers them in the fall. He keep only the hens and breeder rabbits through the winter, since keeping the others wouldn’t make economic sense. Ken is also planning to build a smokehouse this fall.

Ken chooses varieties of animals that are adapted to being on pasture. His broiler chickens are Freedom Rangers, an old French breed. Ken tells me, “Chickens are so much healthier on pasture. And the Freedom Rangers are more suited for foraging than the most commonly raised broilers, Cornish Cross. Freedom Rangers are ready to be butchered after 11 weeks, as opposed to 8 weeks for the standard Cornish Cross. I’ve just been so pleased with them. The common breeds have been manipulated so much for the big industrial farms that they’re not good at surviving; they are not very healthy.”

In addition to feeding their family and guests with the food they raise on the farm, Ken and Jorene also have a small CSA program that feeds 15-20 people, mostly Jorene’s co-workers and their friends. The CSA basket includes eggs, vegetables, turkeys, and pork, plus strawberries and juneberries in season.

If you go:

The Ponderosa Lodge is open year round, and is available for group retreats, weddings, and special events. Rates for the whole lodge (sleeps 32) are $795, Jan 1-April 30. From May 1 to Dec 31, rates are $845 for up to 22 guests, and $895 for 23-32 guests. All 10 rooms have private baths. The kitchen is available as an additional rental; catered meals and cooking classes are also available.

www.theponderosalodge.com

Ken Toney and Jorene Soto
Phone: (304) 438-7113
Toll Free: (877) 246-9972
Email: ponderosalodge@gmail.com
P.O. Box 186, Lookout, WV 25868

*Ken and Jorene also write a neat blog for anyone interested in gardening, cooking, or raising animals: http://ourmountainfarm.blogspot.com/. Ken’s food pics will make your mouth water.

**Piglet photo courtesy Ken Toney

Lots of news!

Farm stays have been in the news a lot lately. Whoop! Here's a rundown:

The Oregonian's Terry Richard profiles Leaping Lamb Farm and Farm Stay U.S., calling the farm stay "just what the doctor ordered."

Photo: Joan Fleischer Tamen with her son, David, feeding a goat at Apple Pond Farm. FRANK TAMEN

Joan Fleischer Tamen visits Apple Pond Farm in upstate NY and writes about it for the Miami Herald. She also quotes me and Scottie Jones (creator of Farm Stay U.S. and owner of Leaping Lamb Farm).

The Rapid City Journal's Barbara Soderlin visits Sunrise Ranch in South Dakota, which serves up organic grass-fed meats and hosts visitors in a six-bedroom lodge.

Lili DeBarbieri of Tucson Green Times talks Arizona farm stays.

Redbook's Marisa Cohen and her plugged-in family visit Stony Creek Farm (a Feather Downs farm stay) in upstate New York.

Brightwood Vineyard and Farm

Sitting on the wraparound deck of the Brightwood Farm cottage makes you feel like you’re up in the trees. The Robinson River winds through in the valley below, and the loudest sound you hear is the cicadas’ buzz. Inside of the cottage, large windows still let you enjoy the view and the vibrant green of the summer canopy. The cottage is a very cleverly planned 600 square feet, with every nook and cranny serving some purpose. Susan and Dean Vidal designed their guest cottage around an A-frame that the farm’s previous owners built in 1974. One of the Vidals’ ideas for the farm, from the time they moved there 10 years ago, was to share the beautiful farm they had found. 

Because of their relationship with the previous owners, the Vidals didn’t want to tear down the A-frame, so they added on a kitchen and eating nook, a bedroom, two sleeping lofts, and the wraparound deck. Dean and Susan’s daughter, who is now a full-time green carpenter in Colorado, worked on the cottage addition and restoration with her boyfriend. They reclaimed American chestnut and maple from a barn to build the hardwood floors, and added green features like double-glazed windows, energy-efficient walls, and a clean-burning Jotul wood stove.

When I visit Brightwood Farm, a London couple is staying at the cottage. They tell me, “This is paradise for us. Right now our flat in London is so noisy, there’s always construction and drilling going on. Nobody can afford to move right now, so everyone is doing construction work.” They say their son, Oscar, at 17, “is usually on Facebook at home, but he loves it here.” When Susan and I walk up to the cottage, Oscar is running back from feeding the goats. He looks really happy. Susan tells me, “It’s not just the kids who love feeding the animals. The adults love it too. And collecting eggs!” Susan invites guests to help as much or as little as they like.

For breakfast, Susan gives guests a choice of a cook-your-own meal where she provides the ingredients, or a prepared continental breakfast. The ingredients, Susan says, are “really local things” -- Brightwood Farm’s own eggs and fresh berries in season, sausage and breakfast meats from the Vidals’ neighbors, muffin or pancake mix, and farm-made jam.

The farm

As Susan Vidal tells it, she and her husband Dean used to be “regular suburban people.” But after their children left home and they became inspired by a trip to French wine country, the Vidals agreed they didn’t want to stay around the congested DC Beltway forever (they used to live in Arlington, VA). The Vidals decided to buy a farm where they could grow wine grapes. A search around Virginia’s best wine-growing counties led Dean and Susan to Brightwood Farm in scenic Central Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The farm sits on 100 hilly acres, with 35 acres of pasture where the previous owners raised beef cattle. Susan tells me: “Before, I worked as a cartographer. It was a great job. But farming is a much better fit for me than working in a cubicle. I always had trouble with that.” Dean, an engineer, still commutes to his job. 

The Vidals also enjoy the help of a few interns who come to them through ATTRA (National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) and WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). The interns live on the farm -- either in a three-year-old insulated, four-season yurt with a woodstove, or on a tent platform.

Although the Vidals originally set out to make Brightwood Farm into a winery, they quickly realized that they wanted to do much more than just grow wine grapes. From the beginning, the Vidals have grown their farm through diversification -- their primary enterprises are now laying hens and berries. They also raise goats, sheep, vegetables, ducks, and donkeys. When I ask Susan how they learned to farm, she says, “We just kind of launched ourselves into it. We started everything small, and learned by doing.”

In the Vidals’ first few years of farming, they grew an acre of pumpkins following Virginia Cooperative Extension’s recommendations for pumpkin cultivation. Brightwood Farm was not organic then, and Extension’s guidelines involved regular spraying of synthetic fungicides and pesticides. As Susan explains, “The sprays kept the pumpkin leaves nice and green, but the fungicides dripped down into the soil and killed the soil microorganisms. Our yields decreased each year as soil fertility declined. You can kind of prop up the production if you keep adding more fertilizers, but we didn’t want to do that.” The Vidals transitioned Brightwood Farm to a certified organic farm in 2007.

True to their diversification strategy, the Vidals currently grow five kinds of raspberry and four varieties of blackberry. The Vidals grow diverse plant varieties to improve their chances of getting good yields despite attacks from insect and disease -- certain varieties might be more resistant to one pest, while another variety is resistant to a different pest. The Vidals also look for plant varieties that thrive without chemical inputs. In addition to the berries, the Vidals raise a diverse collection of vegetables. They grow some vegetables at Brightwood Farm, where they have a shade house that holds salad greens much of the year, and a hoop house for growing warm weather crops. They grow the bulk of their vegetables (which mostly go to restaurants) on 10 acres of a neighboring property. 

Brightwood Farm is also a small winery, just as the Vidals originally planned, but the wines they make are different than what you might expect. Susan tell me, “We’re still working on the grape part. It’s a challenge doing grapes organically. In the meantime we started making blackberry, elderberry, and elder flower wine ... We do dry wines, so they’re not the run-of-the-mill fruit wines, either.” After Susan offers me samples of their wines, I can vouch that Brightwood Farm’s fruit wines are not only unusual, they’re also really delicious.

Dean Vidal makes all of the wine for the farm in 15-gallon batches in the state-certified commercial kitchen in the basement of their house. In the kitchen, the Vidals and their workers also make jam and process dried herbs for tea. 

With their livestock, the Vidals choose specific breeds for their vitality and versatility -- heritage chickens for eggs and meat, easy-keeping Spanish meat goats, and they’ve recently started raising dual-purpose Tunis sheep. They look for animals that do well on average pasture, without needing much supplementary grain.

Brightwood Farm’s 120 laying hens live in a movable house that allows Susan to easily shift the hens to fresh pasture as soon as they’ve clipped short the grass in their current spot. Susan says, “We generally go for the older, dual-purpose breeds, because after they stop laying they become stew hens.” The Brightwood chickens’ breeds have wonderful old names like Speckled Sussex and Buff Orpington, some of which are rare breeds that farmers like Susan are trying to bring back from endangered status. Susan also enjoys raising her own chicks. She tells me, “We have to buy in purebreds some years because we have no way of selecting the best layers. But this year, I’m looking for broody hens that want to sit -- I’m looking for volunteers!”

The Vidals’ Spanish meat goats also have a remarkable lineage. Spanish meat goats, now rare, are descendants of the goats brought to America by early settlers, mainly the conquistadors and missionaries of the Southwest. These Spanish goats were abandoned or escaped their farms, and lived in the wild for many generations before being re-domesticated. As a result, they are easy keepers, and great moms - they have very little trouble kidding and nursing. Spanish goats’ mixed heritage also means the goats come in different colors. As Susan says, “It’s fun when they’re born ‘cause you never know what color they’re going to be.” The goats have a furry, friendly guardian dog, named Athena, to protect them from predators like coyotes. Each group of animals on the farm enjoys the protection their own guardian dog. Susan says fondly, “We couldn’t do it without the dogs!”

The Vidals originally brought donkeys to the farm to protect the livestock from predators. “But,” says Susan, “They were hard on the little goats.” The Vidals now rely on the three donkeys for fertility. “Since we’re organic,” says Susan, “We rely on non-commercial fertilizers. And, the donkeys like the guests and the guests like the donkeys.”

 The Vidals sell their produce, wine, meat, and eggs at two very different farmers’ markets, Charlottesville (where there are around 100 vendors and Brightwood Farm sells wine, jam, and meat), and the more local Madison farmers’ markets (where there are only 8-10 vendors, and the customers mostly ask for vegetables.) The Vidals also sell to restaurants through a Virginia-based company called The Fresh Link, whose tagline is “Family Farms to City Plates.” Twice a week, the Vidals post information about what produce they’re offering to The Fresh Link, where the information is made available to restaurant chefs, who order the exact kind and number of heirloom tomatoes and free-range eggs they need.

If you go:

The Brightwood cottage sleeps up to four on one queen bed and two twin loft beds. Rates are $110/night weekdays and $155/night on weekends, double occupancy. Additional guests are $20/person, per night. The farm is two hours from Washington DC and 45 minutes from Shenandoah National Park. Farm activities (for guests who are interested) include feeding goats, sheep, and donkeys and collecting eggs. Guests are also welcome to swim in the Robinson River and walk on trails that wind through the farm’s “back 40.”

(540) 948-6845
svidal@hughes.net
www.brightwoodvineyardandfarm.com

Dean and Susan Vidal
1202 Lillard's Ford Rd.
Brightwood, VA 22715