Grassland Farm

A few weeks ago we made the switch from milk bought at Hannaford to milk bought at the Farmer's Market from Grassland Farm, which is located in Skowhegan (the Farmer's Market is in Orono).

I called up Sarah Smith, one of the co-owners and scheduled a time for Brenna and I to visit the farm. The best way to know how your food is produced is to go and watch how it is made/grown.

A little after 10 o'clock we arrived at the dirt road, Grassland Lane, and drove up the hill to the farm house. In the excitement of visiting a farm (its been a while) I left the camera in the car so if you'd like to see pictures you'll have to go to their website which I can vouch for. It was a beautiful day for a visit. Sarah showed us the dairy, calves and their bull (a big guy!). These cows (and their bull) actually get to have sex! Its one of those little pleasures of life I like to see offered to all life :)

The cows were out to pasture (as they should be) and Grassland Farm practices rotational grazing which benefits the cows and the grasses. They are also in the process of obtaining some large chicken tractors so that the chickens can follow the cows in the rotation. We walked along and saw many of their vegetable plots (they have about three acres of vegetables). Brenna was super awesome as we walked and talked for almost two hours and she looked nothing but content. We tasted fresh asparagus, peas and beet greens from their garden, played with their dogs and just had a great time.

Its certainly unusual to be able to ask your food source about their practices and philosophies and then have them candidly answer your questions and show you their processes.

There will probably be some more local farm visits, hopefully I'll remember the camera next time :)