11 July 2017 – by Jasmyn Druge
Open Farm Week 2017: Participating Farms and Farmers Markets
Plan your schedule for this year’s Vermont Open Farm Week – get to know the places where your food comes from and the people that make it all happen. Enjoy a range of events from on-farm dinners to workshops and tours that will be uniquely crafted at every farm. Whether you stay close to home or travel to unknown corners of Vermont, you’re sure to have a fantastic experience!
Monday, August 14th
North
Devaney Farm, West CharlestonTasting of Preserves | All Day | A tasting of their hot pepper jelly, pickles, and sheep feta cheese
Jed’s Maple Products, Derby
Maple Speciality Food Tasting | All Day | Taste maple specialty foods made right on the farm
Central
Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company, South WoodstockSampling & Tour | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm | Free samples of cheese and crackers Sugarbush Maple & Cheese Farm, Woodstock
Junior Sugarmaking Learning & Quiz | 10:30 am – 3:30 pm | Children and adults can sample maple syrup, walk the maple trail, visit the sugar house and learn how maple syrup is made in the spring. Earn a Sugarmaker Certificate after finding the answers to a 10 question quiz
South
Meadow’s Bee Farm, WindhamMorning Chores and Garden Work | 8:00 am – 11:00 am | Milk cows, put sheep on pasture, feed chickens and weed the garden
Merck Forest and Farmland Center, Rupert
Children’s Garden Party | 10:00 am | Planting, Weeding, Harvesting, Storytime, and Games
Rebop Farm, Brattleboro
Evening Chores and Farm Tour | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Milking cows, bottle feeding calves, feeding pigs/turkeys/ducks/rabbits, moving sheep, collecting eggs
Felting Slippers (part 1) | 9:30 am – 1:30 pm | Make yourself a pair of 100% wool slippers using wool from our sheep. Wool is an amazing material that absorbs all odors, perfect for slippers!
Tuesday, August 15th
North
Devaney Farm, West Charleston
Tasting of Preserves | All Day | A tasting of their hot pepper jelly, pickles, and sheep feta cheese
Paint and Sip at the Sugarhouse | 6:30 pm | Paint sap buckets with one of our local art teachers North Williston Cattle Co., Williston
Farm Tours | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm | Visit the nursery and see how they raise their newborn Holstein calves and tour the robotic milkers to see how technology helps manage the farm. The cows are able to choose to be milked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Philo Ridge Farm, Charlotte Grazing Research and Field Day & Pasture Walk with Jim Gerrish | 10:00 am – 3:30 pm | Join staff from the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture’s Pasture and Farming & Climate Change programs to spend a day on a diversified, grass-based farm in Charlotte Valley Dream Farm, CambridgeFarmers Table Dinner and Tour | 5:00 pm – 8:30 pm | Family style Chef dinner and farm hayride tour
Central
Crossmolina Farm, Corinth
Poetry Themed Farm Tour | 6:00 pm | Join Crossmolia Farm for a group poetry reading as you tour the gardens and pastures of the farm
Sugarbush Maple & Cheese Farm, Woodstock
Junior Sugarmaking Learning & Quiz | 10:30 am – 3:30 pm | Children and adults can sample maple syrup, walk the maple trail, visit the sugar house and learn how maple syrup is made in the spring. Earn a Sugarmaker Certificate after finding the answers to a 10 question quiz
Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company, South Woodstock
Sampling & Tour | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm | Free samples of cheese and crackers
South
Merck Forest and Farmland Center, Rupert
Children’s Garden Party | 10:00 am | Planting, Weeding, Harvesting, Storytime, and Games
Draft Horse Clinic for Teens | 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm | Visitors from 12 – 15 years old will learn how to care for horses, and may have an opportunity to harness & drive our draft horse team
Rebop Farm, Brattleboro
Evening Chores and Farm Tour | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Milking cows, bottle feeding calves, feeding pigs/turkeys/ducks/rabbits, moving sheep, collecting eggs
Trollhaugen Farm, Newfane Felting Slippers (part 2) | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm | Finish making your slippers begun Monday
Wednesday, August 16th
North
Boston Post Dairy, LLC, Enosburg FallsFamily Fun Day | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm | Go and visit their farm and animals! There will be face-painting, and a chance to sample their award-winning cheeses while you learn how cheese is made. Visitors can pet the goats and calves, feed the ducks, goats and chickens, and participate in their Boston Post Dairy Quest Devaney Farm, West Charleston
Tasting of Preserves | All Day | A tasting of their hot pepper jelly, pickles, and sheep feta cheese
Jed’s Maple Products, Derby
Tours with Sugarmaker Steve | 10:00 am, noon, 2:00 pm | Tour our woods, museum and sugarhouse
Last Resort Farm, Bristol
Learn To Make Garlic Braids | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Their expert braiders will share their skills and show you how to make a beautiful braid to enjoy all winter or give as a unique gift
Farm Tours | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm | Visit the nursery and see how they raise their newborn Holstein calves and tour the robotic milkers to see how technology helps manage the farm. The cows are able to choose to be milked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Sandiwood Farm, WolcottSandiwood Farm to Fork Dinner with Movie and Optional Workshops | 3:00 pm | A unique, tasty dinner with local sides featuring farm-grown produce and of course dessert. Complimentary bar beverage for advanced reservations.
Shelburne Farms, Shelburne
Garden Party at the Children’s Farmyard | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | The garden in the Children’s Farmyard at Shelburne Farms is full of possibilities. Join farmyard educators for a harvesting adventure, then concoct tasty kitchen creations! Thompson Family Farm, Craftsbury
Maple Syrup Tasting | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Try different grades of maple syrup, learn how to use maple syrup and maple sugar in your recipes. Leave with some recipe cards Trillium Hill Farm, Hinesburg
Pizza Supper | 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Join farmers Sara, James, and Ruby from Trillium Hill Farm for an evening of wood-fired pizza, music, drinks, and farm tours. This casual dinner is rain or shine
Central
Sugarbush Maple & Cheese Farm, WoodstockJunior Sugarmaking Learning & Quiz | 10:30 am – 3:30 pm | Children and adults can sample maple syrup, walk the maple trail, visit the sugarhouse and learn how maple syrup is made in the spring. Earn a Sugarmaker Certificate after finding the answers to a 10 question quiz
Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company, South Woodstock
Sampling & Tour | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm | Free samples of cheese and crackers
South
Meadow’s Bee Farm, Windham
Morning Chores and Garden Work | 8:00 am – 11:00 am | Milk cows, put sheep on pasture, feed chickens and weed the garden
Merck Forest and Farmland Center, Rupert
Children’s Garden Party | 10:00 am | Planting, Weeding, Harvesting, Storytime, and Games
Cheesemaking in the Farm Kitchen | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Hands-on cheesemaking class using their own raw cow milk. Designed to be useful for adventurous home cooks and folks that want to play with milk science! You will likely make butter, ricotta, mozzarella, creme fraiche, and/or sour cream. You’ll also have a tour of the milking facilities. Smokey House Center, Danby Community Farm Field Tour | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Their Community Farm Educator will tour the 2017 Community Farm Project engaging participants in an in-depth discussion about the crops they choose to grow, and how they grow on a limited budget in order to be able to give the food away for free
Trollhaugen Farm, Newfane
Making The Perfect Crêpe and Galette | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm | We will practice mixing up and cooking crepes
Thursday, August 17th
North
Devaney Farm, West Charleston
Tasting of Preserves | All Day | A tasting of their hot pepper jelly, pickles, and sheep feta cheese
Jed’s Maple Products, Derby
Maple Speciality Food Tasting | All Day | Taste maple specialty foods made right on the farm
Fried Chicken Dinner | 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm | Maple Wind Farm has the best chicken in town, and on August 17, you can enjoy it battered and fried with all the fixins’ right on the farm. Gather your family and friends, bring a picnic blanket and your favorite lawn games, and indulge in an unforgettable meal. (Bibs included!) Desserts and drinks provided by Richmond Community Kitchen
North Williston Cattle Co., WillistonFarm Tours | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm | Visit the nursery and see how they raise their newborn Holstein calves and tour the robotic milkers to see how technology helps manage the farm. The cows are able to choose to be milked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Central
Champlain Orchards, ShorehamCider Tasting and Sunset Walk | 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Join head cidermaker Jeren Stoneman at their brand new tasting room for a guided cider tasting. You’ll head on up to the Pinnacle at sunset for early apples, fresh peaches, and a killer sunset Green Mountain Girls, Northfield
Scarecrow Making, Pick-Your-Own Herbs and Farm Tours | 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm | Tour will include pigs and poultry on pasture, sampling your way through the gardens and the herbs and edible flowers of the orchard understory and getting up close to the 3 Sisters — their field of corn, beans, and squash grown using traditional Native American companion planting. Farmers will help you sample edible flowers and herbs in our pick-your-own herb garden. And there will be a scarecrow workshop, (bring your own shirt and pants, hat optional!) *Please bring worn out clothes no longer useful to people to lessen ecological waste. Stick skeleton will be provided to those who rsvp
Sugarbush Maple & Cheese Farm, Woodstock
Junior Sugarmaking Learning & Quiz | 10:30 am – 3:30 pm | Children and adults can sample maple syrup, walk the maple trail, visit the sugarhouse and learn how maple syrup is made in the spring. Earn a Sugarmaker Certificate after finding the answers to a 10 question quiz
Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company, South Woodstock
Sampling & Tour | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm | Free samples of cheese and crackers
South
Merck Forest and Farmland Center, Rupert
Children’s Garden Party | 10:00 am | Planting, Weeding, Harvesting, Storytime, and Games
Farm Chores for Children | 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm | Join the farm staff for daily chores. Ages 3 years old and up. This “workshop” is designed to introduce children to simple farm routines & products and to meet the animals under expert supervision
Rebop Farm, Brattleboro
Evening Chores and Farm Tour | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Milking cows, bottle feeding calves, feeding pigs/turkeys/ducks/rabbits, moving sheep, collecting eggs
Community Farm Public Volunteer Hours | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm | Every Friday they host open farm hours where the Farm Educator leads volunteers in a community farm project. This could be harvesting and preparing a CSA share for the Community Members, cultivating or transplanting into the fields, making compost tea for young seedlings or repairing garden carts. Join them during their open farm hours and they will give you a tour of the Community Farm project and engage you in a short day-in-the-life of a farmer Trollhaugen Farm, Newfane
Making The Perfect Crêpe and Galette | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm | You will practice mixing up and cooking crepes and gluten-free galettes
Friday, August 18th
North
Devaney Farm, West Charleston
Tasting of Preserves | All Day | A tasting of their hot pepper jelly, pickles, and sheep feta cheese
Edible Landscaping Soils and Sites: Farm Tour | 10:30 am – 12:00 pm | Come tour East Hill Tree Farm with owner Nicko Rubin and learn how to work with challenging sites and improve soil to ensure your plantings thrive Jed’s Maple Products, Derby
Maple Speciality Food Tasting | All Day | Taste maple specialty foods made right on the farm
Quarry Hill Farm, Jeffersonville
Quarry Hill Farmival | 11:00 am – 8:00 pm | A family friendly farm themed carnival with food, games, music, market, farm tours, & demos! Thompson Family Farm, Craftsbury Beef Tasting Trials | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Get a jump on lunch! See if you can tell the difference between their American-Style Kobe beef and their Hereford breed meat. Both are exceptional. Come develop your taste!
Central
Brookfield Bees, Brookfield
Honey Tasting and Open House | 11:00 am – 3:00 pm | Choose honey to taste from their worldwide collection and compare to their wildflower honey. There will also be a brief tour of the maple sugar set-up and honey extraction process (not actively doing these). A woods walk to bee hive location option as well
Champlain Orchards, Shoreham
Cider Tasting and Sunset Walk | 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Join head cidermaker Jeren Stoneman at their brand new tasting room for a guided cider tasting. You’ll head on up to the Pinnacle at sunset for early apples, fresh peaches, and a killer sunset
Farm Tour and Herbal Tea Party | 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Enjoy a tour of their beautiful hillside herb farm, which boasts stunning views, wildflower meadows, grazing livestock, and a great sensory experience! Once the tour ends, you’ll be treated to a tea party, where you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of their farm-grown herbal tea blends, plus delicious locally-sourced snacks. Visitors will also have the opportunity to peruse their full line of herbal products for sale
Silloway Maple, Randolph Center
Pancake Supper | 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm | It’s breakfast for dinner! Join Silloway Maple sugarmakers for a pancake supper in their Randolph, Vermont sugarhouse. Enjoy watermelon, pancakes, sausage, and their award-winning maple syrup from their wood-fired evaporator. Serving dinner from 5-7 pm. Come early for a maple candy making demonstration at 4:30!
Sugarbush Maple & Cheese Farm, Woodstock
Junior Sugarmaking Learning & Quiz | 10:30 am – 3:30 pm | Children and adults can sample maple syrup, walk the maple trail, visit the sugarhouse and learn how maple syrup is made in the spring. Earn a Sugarmaker Certificate after finding the answers to a 10 question quiz
Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company, South Woodstock
Sampling & Tour | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm | Free samples of cheese and crackers
South
Meadow’s Bee Farm, Windham
Morning Chores and Garden Work | 8:00 am – 11:00 am | Milk cows, put sheep on pasture, feed chickens and weed the garden
Merck Forest and Farmland Center, Rupert
Children’s Garden Party | 10:00 am | Planting, Weeding, Harvesting, Storytime, and Games
Wagon Tour of the Farm | Afternoon (call for time) | Fern & Arch provide 2-horsepower transportation for an extended tour. As you ride, a member of the farm staff will describe their farming operations and will discuss larger issues & current trends in sustainable agriculture
Rebop Farm, Brattleboro
Dinner on the Farm | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm | Enjoy the views from their hill-top and a multi-course dinner showcasing the abundance of the own farm raised meats, veggies, fruits, and dairy Trollhaugen Farm, Newfane Crêpe and Galette Dinner, then local fresh fruit and ice cream dessert | 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm | Savory gluten free galette dinner and crêpe dessert, served in the middle of the garden
Saturday, August 19th
North
Berry Creek Farm, WestfieldCelebrating 25 years of Growing | 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Farm tour followed by NOFA-VT Pizza Oven fresh pizza Capital City Farmers Market, Montpelier 9:00 am – 1:00 pm | Market, workshops, and demonstrations. Enjoy food and music, learn something new at one of their workshops and demonstrations and pick up your produce and unique handcrafted products Clyde River Farm, East Charleston On-Farm Community Lunch | 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Enjoy a free lunch served by the Green Mountain Farm-to-School Lunchbox food truck Devaney Farm, West Charleston
Tasting of Preserves | All Day | A tasting of their hot pepper jelly, pickles, and sheep feta cheese
East Hill Tree Farm, Plainfield 100 Varieties of Fruit: Farm Tour | 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Enjoy a walk through the super diverse plantings of East Hill Tree Farm. Discussion will focus on the wide range of fruits and companion plants from currants to kiwi growing at the farm Jed’s Maple Products, Derby
Maple Speciality Food Tasting | All Day | Taste maple specialty foods made right on the farm Philo Ridge Farm, Charlotte Morning Music for Little Farmers | 9:30 am – 11:30 am | Explore farm animals, vegetables, soil, and more through song and play. Bring your little farmers to the Livestock Barn at Philo Ridge Farm for a fun morning of exploration, featuring music with Julia Wayne of Mayfly
Pitchfork Farm, Burlington
Crop Mob | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm | Join Pitchfork Farm for a volunteer work party on the farm! City Market members can get member worker hours for this event. Please come prepared for the weather with appropriate layers, sturdy shoes, work gloves, and water.
Quarry Hill Farm, Jeffersonville
Quarry Hill Farmival | 11:00 am – 8:00 pm | A family friendly farm themed carnival with food, games, music, market, farm tours, & demos!
Valley Dream Farm, Cambridge
Farmers Table Dinner and Tour | 5:00 pm – 8:30 pm | Family style Chef dinner and farm hayride tour Central
Brookfield Bees, Brookfield
Honey Tasting and Open House | 11:00 am – 3:00 pm | Choose honey to taste from their worldwide collection and compare to their wildflower honey. There will also be a brief tour of the maple sugar set-up and honey extraction process (not actively doing these). A woods walk to bee hive location option as well
Wagon Rides, Pick-Your-Own Peaches, and Solar Tours | 12:00 am – 2:00 pm | Ride around the orchard in a wagon with a stop at their solar trackers, finishing with pick-your-own organic and eco-certified peaches
Crossmolina Farm, Corinth
Pickle Making Workshop | 1:00 pm | Learn to make and preserve your own pickles from scratch Lester Farm & Market, New Haven
Meet the Animals, Taste the Tomatoes, and Tour the Farm | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm | Petting zoo (dwarf goats, sheep, chickens, geese). Samplings of tomatoes and other produce. Wagon ride around the farm (weather permitting) Sugarbush Maple & Cheese Farm, Woodstock
Junior Sugarmaking Learning & Quiz | 10:30 am – 3:30 pm | Children and adults can sample maple syrup, walk the maple trail, visit the sugarhouse and learn how maple syrup is made in the spring. Earn a Sugarmaker Certificate after finding the answers to a 10 question quiz
South
Meadow’s Bee Farm, Windham
Morning Chores and Garden Work | 8:00 am – 11:00 am | Milk cows, put sheep on pasture, feed chickens and weed the garden
Meet the Parris Hill Farm Alpacas & Shop at the AlpacArt Studio | 11:00 am – 4:00 pm | “Alpaca 101” – Learn all about the Alpaca
Rebop Farm, Brattleboro
Evening Chores and Farm Tour | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Milking cows, bottle feeding calves, feeding pigs/turkeys/ducks/rabbits, moving sheep, collecting eggs
Orchard Stroll | 10:00 am | Join Orchardist Zeke Goodband to learn about the history of their heirloom fruits. You’ll discuss orchard ecology, how grafting was used to create the orchard, scout for pests and discuss how they manage them
Trollhaugen Farm, Newfane
Felting Slippers (part 1) | 9:30 am – 1:30 pm | Make yourself a pair of 100% wool slippers using wool from our sheep. Wool is an amazing material that absorbs all odors, perfect for slippers!
Sunday, August 20th
North
Devaney Farm, West Charleston
Tasting of Preserves | All Day | A tasting of their hot pepper jelly, pickles, and sheep feta cheese
Quarry Hill Farm, Jeffersonville
Quarry Hill Farmival | 11:00 am – 8:00 pm | A family friendly farm themed carnival with food, games, music, market, farm tours, & demos!
Central
Champlain Orchards, Shoreham
Wagon Rides, Pick-Your-Own Peaches, and Solar Tours | 12:00 am – 2:00 pm | Ride around the orchard in a wagon with a stop at their solar trackers, finishing with pick-your-own organic and eco-certified peaches
Farm to Table Dinner at Ariel’s Restaurant | 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Green Mountain Girls Farm meats, fruit, herbs, and veggies together with contributions from others in the Floating Bridge Food and Farms Cooperative will be prepared and served by Chef Lee Duberman and Richard Fink who will host the dinner in their backyard, overlooking Sunset Lake in Brookfield, a quintessential Vermont village Greenfield Highland Beef, Plainfield Picnic by the Pasture at Shat Acres Farm | 10:00 am – 2:00 pm | Enjoy the peace of a Vermont hill farm and the majesty of Highland Cattle when you visit award-winning Shat Acres Farm in Plainfield, Vermont. Open Farm Week guests are invited to enjoy the farm and, depending on good weather, bring a picnic and blanket, a book or crossword puzzle, and of course your camera! Take in the sweeping mountain and valley views while learning how Janet and Ray respectfully provide customers with healthy, locally, and humanely raised meat. Beef will be available to sample and purchase. Rain or shine. No tickets required. Root 5 Farm, Fairlee
Farm Tours | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm | Farm-led tours Sugarbush Maple & Cheese Farm, Woodstock
Junior Sugarmaking Learning & Quiz | 10:30 am – 3:30 pm | Children and adults can sample maple syrup, walk the maple trail, visit the sugarhouse and learn how maple syrup is made in the spring. Earn a Sugarmaker Certificate after finding the answers to a 10 question quiz
South
Deer Ridge Farm, Guilford
Flower Identification and Tour | 10:00 am | Walk the flower gardens and learn about different types of flowers from Jerry Smith, who has been growing flowers for over 30 years Parris Hill Farm Alpacas and the AlpacArt Studio, Brownsville
Meet the Parris Hill Farm Alpacas & Shop at the AlpacArt Studio | 11:00 am – 4:00 pm | “Alpaca 101” – Learn all about the Alpaca
Rebop Farm, Brattleboro
Evening Chores and Farm Tour | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Milking cows, bottle feeding calves, feeding pigs/turkeys/ducks/rabbits, moving sheep, collecting eggs
Scott Farm, Dummerston
Orchard Stroll | 10:00 am | Join Orchardist Zeke Goodband to learn about the history of their heirloom fruits. You’ll discuss orchard ecology, how grafting was used to create the orchard, scout for pests and discuss how they manage them
Source: Dig in VT Trails