The animals

Stillman's

at The Turkey Farm

Kate Stillman & Aidan Davin Stillman's at The Turkey FarmPO BOX 373 Hardwick, MA 01037

413-477-0345

kstilly29@aol.com

The Animals

About our Meats and Poultry: Our Unconventional Approach

Today, the majority of animals destined for the American food chain are raised on large factory farm operations, governed by protocols for efficiency and standardization. As a small family farm, we are proud to be among a growing minority of American farms who have rejected such practices for a more holistic and sustainable approach to animal husbandry: taking into account the health and welfare of our animals, our land and our families. We are committed to conscientiously raising our animals.

Grass Fed Beef and Lamb We believe in feeding our animals what they were naturally meant to eat. In the case of cattle and sheep, which are ruminants, this means a diet of grass. The term “grass-fed” has become significant in recent years due to the rise in the practice of “corn” or “grain-finishing” animals, a practice that has been widely adopted and standardized by large confinement type operations. We do not feed our cattle or lambs grain as we believe such a practice reduces the quality and the flavor of the meat. Our ewes are fed a supplemental diet of grain during the winter and pregnancy to maintain proper health and nutrition. In addition to grass feeding our cattle and lambs, we rotationally graze our animals, a practice which enhances the quality of our meat as well as the health of our land.

Pastured Pork
Travel back in time; the pig was once a prominent character in the story of the American farm, an indispensable component in the farm’s structure and overall health and welfare. Today, the story of the pig has changed significantly. Once set in pastoral scenes- where the pig was allowed to roam free and root, is now set on a just a few very large confinement type farms- where the modern pig has been condemned to a life in a crate. We have turned back a page in porcine history and returned to a tradition of raising pigs more consistent with the way pigs were raised 200 years ago on small New England farms: outdoors, on open pasture where they are free to roam, root and dig! Omnivores like us, our pigs are fed a mixed diet of grain for protein and vegetable excess from the farm. Our pastured pigs are healthy and happy, yielding great tasting pork!

Free Range Poultry
We are proud to include our birds among a minority of poultry in the American food chain that actually see blue skies and green pastures! Our poultry is fed a diet of grain and provided with access to the "good old outdoors", allowing our birds to supplement their diets with grass and insects found in our pastures. This practice, we believe, greatly enhances the flavor and quality of our chickens, turkeys and eggs.

Click here for the meat CSA

Join Our Mailing List

For Email Marketing you can trust

Health Benefits
Grass fed meat contains higher levels of vitamins C, E and beta carotene, as well as higher amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids!!! Grass fed red meats are lower in saturated and total fat as well.

Heritage Breeds
One of the farm's goals is to acquire stock of various heritage breed animals such as our Icalandic sheep and Gloucestershire Old Spot and Tamworth pigs in hopes of preserving these rare breeds as well as creating viable herds for the farm. In addition, our parents' farm raises Belted Galloway Cattle, which are a breed of concern.

baby bull

Free Range Eggs
We raise Arucana chickens which produce a beautiful mixture of blue, brown and green eggs. The chickens are free-range, thus yielding superior tasting eggs with beautiful deep orange yolks, seldom seen in commercially produced eggs. Stop by a farmers' market to purchase a dozen, or call to place an order!