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Mala Cline interacts with Chelsea (the cow) at Stonewall Farm. The farm aims to be transparent in their business practices and has a 24/7 "open door" policy. Photo courtesy/Stonewall Farm |
According to the company's online program "Who's Your Farmer," one of the sources for Boston's milk products is Stonewall Farm in Keene, N.H. The non-profit farm aims to interact in the local community through educational programs and invites consumers to visit its grounds and interact with the animals and farming process.
I spoke with Stonewall's Executive Director, Josh Cline, about the farm's educational programs, it's transparency and how important it is for consumers to understand where their produce comes from.
What is Stonewall's overarching mission?
We're dedicated to connecting people to the land and the role of agriculture in their lives. That's our official mission statement.
What is your role at Stonewall?
The farm is different than your average farm because we're actually a non-profit organization. So, I'm the director; that doesn't mean I'm the farmer. I just take care of the various departments. So we have the (1) dairy [department] with 30 head of cattle and we have a (2) garden that's a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program year-round, which isn't common [in the Northeast]. And we do (3) sugaring, so we produce maple syrup. And then we have an (4) educational department, and that includes summer camps and school programs, weekend events and family programs. And if that's not enough, we also have the learning center and do facility rentals… during the wedding season the place is booked all the time. I'm the director of all of that.
Why does the farm opt to be organic?
The original reason beyond what you would expect—like being environmentally sustainable—is economic. Organic Valley is great in that they have committed to their farmers to provide a pretty stable price for their milk, and a pretty high price.
What products does the farm offer?
We sell milk in bulk to Organic Valley. So if you're drinking Organic Valley milk…you're drinking one one billionth of our milk. We also make our own organic cheddar cheese. It's not made on site, but it's our milk. Then interestingly enough, our third most popular product is compost. We compost our waste and sell it. And we use it on our own farm depending on the application. We also have non-certified organic produce. It takes a lot of money to go through the certification process, and it's just not worth it for us to go through that effort. Then we have flowers and a flowers CSA, and maple sugaring. We produce on the farm about 300 gallons of maple syrup a year. And beef; cows that no longer produce milk are used for hamburgers… And then every single one of our products have educational programs associated with them.
What is the importance of eating locally-sourced food?
First is the importance of keeping dollars in the local economy, as opposed to dollars going elsewhere. Second is connecting people to what what agriculture means. It's important for people to know that milk comes from cows and carrots come from the ground. People are willing to pay more for food at the farm than at the store because they know where the food comes from. They know it's safe to eat.
Why is it important for consumers to know who their farmers are?
To me, it gets back to the same understanding of what agriculture is, where the food comes from. When you go to a grocery store, it's not like you see the person putting the celery on the stand and feel a connection. Whereas, if you go and meet Glenn [Yardley], our farmer, you know who he is. That's human nature… when people become friends and know their farmer, they're more inclined to buy their product from them. It helps the farm and it helps people become more comfortable with the food they eat.
