About Knoll Farm
“The day is coming when a carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.”
Knoll Farm is a working family farm of hardwood forests and hillside meadows overlooking the Green Mountains in the Mad River Valley of Vermont. Our land and buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, and conserved by the Vermont Land Trust. We are the base for Center for Whole Communities, a learning and retreat center for activists that was founded by the owners of the farm, Peter Forbes and Helen Whybrow.
On the farm our main crops are organic blueberries and vegetables, and purebred Icelandic sheep which we raise for breedstock, wool and grass-fed lamb.
Farm Products
Knoll Farm grass-fed, all natural lamb is available every fall and winter, beginning in November. Icelandic meat is said to be one of the mildest, “gourmet-tasting” types of lamb on the market. Our sheep do well on a grass only diet. We feed them some hay in the early fall before they go to market at about 6 months of age. The only other supplement they have in addition to the grass is kelp and mineral salts. We do not use antibiotics or hormones, and our fields are organically managed.
Our reasons for producing grass-fed lamb are many. Ruminants have the unique ability to harvest plants and turn them into protein. Feeding themselves out in the sunshine makes for happier, healthier animals and also means that we take better care of our land. It forces us to be more observant of what grows in the pastures and how we are taking care of those pastures through good rotational grazing. It means that the animals can improve the health of the soils by distributing their own manure, exposing the plants to more light, and trampling plants to increase moisture pockets. And we save fossil fuels by not mowing.
What’s more, meat raised on chlorophyll in sunshine and open air is much healthier for humans to eat. There’s now plenty of evidence that meat produced using only grass contains higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) than conventional grain fed meat. Omega-3s and CLAs have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease, some cancers and adult onset diabetes.
For more about grass-fed meat, go to www.eatwild.com.
Our organic blueberries are open for pick-your-own during peak harvest time in July and August.
Our vegetables are offered for sale to the public through a small CSA, and by pick-up at the farm.
If you are interested in joining the mailing list for announcements and details about farm products for sale, please email . Our meat and berries tend to sell out quickly and email is often the quickest way to get our offerings.