by Ashley See, CFSA Communications Coordinator | Friday, Apr. 5, 2019 –
With three weeks until the 2019 Piedmont Farm Tour kicks off, we want to highlight as many of our 40+ sustainable farms as possible.
As an annual event – 24 years and running! – our number of participating farms ebbs and flows with the seasons. With life changes, attending market, or crop shifting, farmers are constantly balancing many factors in order to open their barn doors to the public each April.
This year, we’re thrilled to welcome six new farms–two are dairies, four are certified organic, one is an incubator/training farm, and one has a cidery!
As folks buy passes and plan their tour stops, we want to introduce these new farms to help you know all the options.
Cedar Grove Blueberry Farm
Lyndon Smith, Kether Smith, Amie Fields, Deric McGuffey
Will Have: Cider, wine, and jam
Address: 105 Persimmon Hill Lane, Cedar Grove 27231
Kick-off Farm? Yes! This farm will be open 12-6 p.m. (some farms are 2-6 p.m.) both tour days.
Above: Unripe blueberries. Credit: John Paul Henry. Below: Pouring cider at the cidery. Credit: The Botanist & Barrel
What Visitors Can Expect: Walk through the blueberry orchard while learning about organic berry farming followed up with a winery tour, live pressing demonstration and a cider and wine tasting. The Botanist & Barrel Cidery & Winery is located on beautiful Cedar Grove Blueberry Farm.
Snacks or meal options will be available.
Family Farmstead
Clay and Sarah Shipley
Will Have: Pasture-grazed beef, pastured chicken, duck eggs, bunnies, and goats
Address: 776 Flat Woods Rd, Timberlake, NC 27583
Kick-off Farm? Nope! This farm will be open regular tour hours (2-6 p.m.) both days.
Credit: The Family Farmstead
What Visitors Can Expect: Come by and see cows and poultry in the pasture and the bunnies in the rabbitry. Folks will also be able to visit our goats, who should have a few babies, and there may also be some baby chickens! There will also be a walking tour covering the history of the land and the methods and practices they use to regenerate life in and on the soil!
Good Hope Farm
Thomas Saile
Will Have: Produce, cut flowers, and incubator/training farm
Address: 1580 Morrisville Carpenter Rd, Cary 27519
Kick-off Farm? Nope! This farm will be open regular tour hours (2-6 p.m.) both days.
Above: Volunteers working at the farm. Below: Good Hope Farm Manager, Thomas Saille. Credit: Lindsey Carver, Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC
What Visitors Can Expect: See seven farms in one visit! Now in its third year, Good Hope Farm supports land access for new and expanding farmers, preserves farmland, and connects the community to healthy, local food. Tour their historic farmstead, visit farmer plots, and learn more about their educational opportunities. Produce will be available for purchase.
Incubator Farm Businesses at Good Hope Farm: Barking Dog Farms, Garden-Fresh Farm, KoKyu Farm, Old North Farm, One Soil Farm, Orange Sky Organics, Tsara Farm
Snacks or meal options will be available.
Honey Bee Hills Farm
Liz and Rich Mason
Will Have: Organic produce, eggs, high tunnels, and hiking trails
Address: 531 Henry Warren Rd, Prospect Hill 27314
Kick-off Farm? Nope! This farm will be open regular tour hours (2-6 p.m.) both days.
Spinach and garlic beds. Photo: Honey Bee Hills Farm
What Visitors Can Expect: Honey Bee Hills Farm grows organic produce, eggs, honey, and canned goodies for farmers’ markets, wholesale, and restaurants. Visitors can tour nine acres of produce fields (five in use, four in cover crops), four high tunnels, and their renovated tobacco barn/greenhouse. They also welcome visitors to enjoy their 2+ miles of hiking trails around the 130-acre farm. Español.
Lindale Organic Dairy
Neill and Cori Lindley, and Neill Lindley II
Will Have: Cows, calves, goats, and kids
Address: 1156 Moon Lindley Road, Snow Camp 27349
Kick-off Farm? Nope! This farm will be open regular tour hours (2-6 p.m.) both days.
Neill Lindley II poses with a goat that supplies milk for his family’s organic dairy farm. Photo credit: Triangle Land Conservancy
What Visitors Can Expect: Lindale Organic Dairy is a 5th-generation dairy farm in Chatham County that strives to produce nutrient dense food using a living soil food web. Practices include holistic management through rotational grazing, diversity of animals, and an in-depth look at microorganisms in the soil. Visitors will be able to see their milking facilities for the cows and goats, as well as view calves and kids. Experience a pasture walk as Neill explains sustainable farming practices and soil health. Walk with the cows as they graze and turn grass into a complete whole food. There is an Organic Valley sign beside the gravel driveway.
Reedy Fork Organic Farm
George & Cherry Teague
Will Have: Organic beef, eggs, livestock, poultry, and feed mill
Address: 7092 Sockwell Road, Elon 27244
Kick-off Farm? Yes! This farm will be open 12-6 p.m. (some farms are 2-6 p.m.) both tour days.
Photos of Reedy Fork Organic Farm by Organic Valley
What Visitors Can Expect: This 500-acre, certified organic farm is located in Elon NC. Visit the farm and receive a sample of our beef, pick up a dozen eggs, and see how a 100% organic working feed mill and dairy farm operates daily. See you soon and don’t forget your cooler!
Snacks or meal options will be available.
And that’s a wrap on the six new farms joining us for this year’s farm tour.
If you’d like to see any of the above farms, or 35 other sustainable farms around the Piedmont, now is the time review our 2019 map and buy your pass for the 2019 Piedmont Farm Tour!
