Sugar Mountain Farm
Encyclopedia
Sugar Mountain Farm is a farm
located in the mountains of rural West Topsham, Vermont
, United States
, run by Walter Jeffries and his family. Sugar Mountain Farm is the largest pastured pork farm in New England selling through stores and restaurants as well as direct to consumers. Jeffries has innovated a number of techniques in pasture raising of pigs with sustainable inputs, contrasting the high input corn/soy diet that has become popular in modern farming.
Some of the farm goals are sustainable, humane, family friendly agriculture
on a human scale. Jeffries developed and put into practice many of his most innovative and significant agricultural methods for raising livestock year round in the northern climate without the high petroleum or grain inputs normally associated with pigs and chickens. Some of his novel techniques and approaches cover feeding pasture
and hay
to pigs
, working on a small family accessible scale, direct-marketing of meats to consumers, local stores and chefs, simple chain and bucket hay baler
handling for round bales, Managed intensive grazing
adaptations and utilizing the labor of the animals for planting, harvest and manure
distribution, making the farm a sustainable agricultural
system rather than typical modern conventional confinement factory farming
.
round bales. Jeffries has written many articles online and in print detailing the simple methods, ways and stories from their family farm. A major focus of Sugar Mountain Farms is educating other farmers and small livestock producers to help them work with low input methods of agriculture. Many of these articles are available for free on Jeffries blog. Sugar Mountain Farm has been featured in a number of articles in international, national, regional, state and local newspapers, TV and magazines as exemplary sustainable agriculture and was recently chosen as a finalist in the Gallo
Family Gold Medel Awards contest.
Many techniques for raising pigs on pasture without the need for commercial grain supplements have been developed at the farm. In today's high input industrial farming, this is an important issue as it allows people to raise pigs lower petroleum dependence and graze pigs much like sheep and cattle are grazed. Sugar Mountain Farm has also done a great deal of research through successive generations of pigs into raising boars without castration and demystifying boar taint
. By raising pigs without the need for interventions like boar castration, no tail clipping, no teeth clipping and no farrowing or gestation crating
. Sugar Mountain Farm has demonstrated that the welfare of the animals can be improved over the industry practices and better than traditional practices even on small farms.
pick through while also eating the more tender grass. In the winter the animals shelter in open dens and sheds using deep bedding of hay to replace the pasture providing protection from the cold and winds. Sheep do major brush clearing, pigs do the work of tilling, chickens weed and remove insect pests, dogs do guardian and herding duty.
The majority of pork sold in stores is raised in factory farms
. There is an alternative to both intensive and outdoor piggeries: pastured pig farms where pigs are truly raised on pasture getting most or all of their diet from grazing and foraging as innovated at Sugar Mountain Farm in [Vermont]. When provided with appropriate field settings, brush and forage the pigs do not have problems with heat stress, sunburn, manure is naturally spread over larger areas returning the nutrients to the soil and morbidity levels are far lower providing for a higher survival rate as well as better profits for small farms.
Techniques of managed rotational grazing are used just like with sheep, cattle and horses to prevent overgrazing and erosion. Parasites and worms are controlled through the use of co-grazing species such as poultry as well as natural anthelmintics like garlic, whey, pepper, pine and pumpkin. In addition to being more sustainable and profitable, the pastured pig operation is more humane for both the pigs and the farmer.
Jeffries was listed by Backwoods Home Magazine as one of the "Ten Real Inspriations" for 2009 for his work to protect traditional rights to farm fighting against the USDA's proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) led through his web site NoNAIS.org.
Jeffries writes a regular column "A Day In The Life" for Livin' The Vermont Way magazine about stories from Sugar Mountain Farm.
Sugar Mountain Farm appears in the new book "Primal Cuts: Cooking with America's Best Butchers" by Marissa Guggiana from Welcome Books.
The book The Complete Guide to Raising Pigs by Carlotta Cooper published by Atlantic Publishing featured a case study of Sugar Mountain Farm.
The Open Source Ecology is including the Sugar Mountain Farm on-farm USDA/State inspected slaughterhouse and butcher shop in its OpenFarmTech.org project..
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
located in the mountains of rural West Topsham, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, run by Walter Jeffries and his family. Sugar Mountain Farm is the largest pastured pork farm in New England selling through stores and restaurants as well as direct to consumers. Jeffries has innovated a number of techniques in pasture raising of pigs with sustainable inputs, contrasting the high input corn/soy diet that has become popular in modern farming.
Some of the farm goals are sustainable, humane, family friendly agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
on a human scale. Jeffries developed and put into practice many of his most innovative and significant agricultural methods for raising livestock year round in the northern climate without the high petroleum or grain inputs normally associated with pigs and chickens. Some of his novel techniques and approaches cover feeding pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
and hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
to pigs
PIGS
PIGS is a four letter acronym that can stand for:* PIGS , Phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis, class S, a human gene* PIGS , the economies of Portugal, Italy , Greece and Spain...
, working on a small family accessible scale, direct-marketing of meats to consumers, local stores and chefs, simple chain and bucket hay baler
Baler
A baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport and store...
handling for round bales, Managed intensive grazing
Managed intensive grazing
Management Intensive Rotational Grazing is a system of grazing in which ruminant and non-ruminant herds are regularly and systematically moved to fresh pasture with the intent to maximize the quality and quantity of forage growth. MIRG can be used with cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks...
adaptations and utilizing the labor of the animals for planting, harvest and manure
Manure
Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...
distribution, making the farm a sustainable agricultural
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
system rather than typical modern conventional confinement factory farming
Factory farming
Factory farming is a term referring to the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption...
.
Farming techniques
Many simple but effective low cost, low input tools and techniques have been invented by Jeffries at Sugar Mountain Farm which he shares through his writings in articles both in print and on the web. One example is the chain grabber for balerBaler
A baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport and store...
round bales. Jeffries has written many articles online and in print detailing the simple methods, ways and stories from their family farm. A major focus of Sugar Mountain Farms is educating other farmers and small livestock producers to help them work with low input methods of agriculture. Many of these articles are available for free on Jeffries blog. Sugar Mountain Farm has been featured in a number of articles in international, national, regional, state and local newspapers, TV and magazines as exemplary sustainable agriculture and was recently chosen as a finalist in the Gallo
E & J Gallo Winery
E & J Gallo Winery was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo in Modesto, California. E & J Gallo Winery is the largest exporter of California wines and is a large promoter of wines from Sonoma County.-History:...
Family Gold Medel Awards contest.
Many techniques for raising pigs on pasture without the need for commercial grain supplements have been developed at the farm. In today's high input industrial farming, this is an important issue as it allows people to raise pigs lower petroleum dependence and graze pigs much like sheep and cattle are grazed. Sugar Mountain Farm has also done a great deal of research through successive generations of pigs into raising boars without castration and demystifying boar taint
Boar taint
Boar taint is the offensive odour or taste that can be evident during the cooking or eating of pork or pork products derived from non-castrated male pigs once they reach puberty...
. By raising pigs without the need for interventions like boar castration, no tail clipping, no teeth clipping and no farrowing or gestation crating
Gestation crate
A gestation crate, also known as a sow stall, is a 7 ft by 2 ft metal enclosure used in intensive pig farming, in which a female breeding pig may be confined during pregnancy, and in effect for most of her adult life....
. Sugar Mountain Farm has demonstrated that the welfare of the animals can be improved over the industry practices and better than traditional practices even on small farms.
Principles
Jeffries bases his farm principles of observations on animals' activities, traditional farming methods from past centuries and applying scientific process. Animals are moved frequently among paddocks to maximize the growth and harvest of pasture during the short warm period of the northern climate. Rotation and chickens are put in the original pasture to manage insects. The sheep and pigs graze the grass and leave enriching manure that poultryPoultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
pick through while also eating the more tender grass. In the winter the animals shelter in open dens and sheds using deep bedding of hay to replace the pasture providing protection from the cold and winds. Sheep do major brush clearing, pigs do the work of tilling, chickens weed and remove insect pests, dogs do guardian and herding duty.
The majority of pork sold in stores is raised in factory farms
Intensive pig farming
Intensive piggeries are a type of factory farm ' specialized in the raising of domestic pigs up to slaughter weight...
. There is an alternative to both intensive and outdoor piggeries: pastured pig farms where pigs are truly raised on pasture getting most or all of their diet from grazing and foraging as innovated at Sugar Mountain Farm in [Vermont]. When provided with appropriate field settings, brush and forage the pigs do not have problems with heat stress, sunburn, manure is naturally spread over larger areas returning the nutrients to the soil and morbidity levels are far lower providing for a higher survival rate as well as better profits for small farms.
Techniques of managed rotational grazing are used just like with sheep, cattle and horses to prevent overgrazing and erosion. Parasites and worms are controlled through the use of co-grazing species such as poultry as well as natural anthelmintics like garlic, whey, pepper, pine and pumpkin. In addition to being more sustainable and profitable, the pastured pig operation is more humane for both the pigs and the farmer.
Certification and publications
Sugar Mountain Farm is a Naturally Raised and NoWeirdStuff farm which provides certification similar to and beyond the USDA Organic standards for both humane animal treatment and production.Jeffries was listed by Backwoods Home Magazine as one of the "Ten Real Inspriations" for 2009 for his work to protect traditional rights to farm fighting against the USDA's proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) led through his web site NoNAIS.org.
Jeffries writes a regular column "A Day In The Life" for Livin' The Vermont Way magazine about stories from Sugar Mountain Farm.
Sugar Mountain Farm appears in the new book "Primal Cuts: Cooking with America's Best Butchers" by Marissa Guggiana from Welcome Books.
The book The Complete Guide to Raising Pigs by Carlotta Cooper published by Atlantic Publishing featured a case study of Sugar Mountain Farm.
The Open Source Ecology is including the Sugar Mountain Farm on-farm USDA/State inspected slaughterhouse and butcher shop in its OpenFarmTech.org project..