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Ben and Grace Machin of Tamarack Sheep Farm with a Tunis Lamb
  • Mar 18, 2024
Spring is here! Enjoy the Tunis Breed in Lamb Season!

Tunis sheep are shaded tan to red with the occasional white spot on the tail or head. Their wool turns whiter and creamier in color as they age. Tunis produce a good amount of wool, meat, and milk, they are heat tolerant as well as cold tolerant, and the rams breed vigorously out of season, making them good members of the farm team! Taste notes for Tunis meat which has been celebrated gastronomically for three millennia include earthy, minerally, buttermilk, light, and silky.

Berkshire Pig
  • Feb 23, 2024
The History of the Well-Bred Pig

Something happened to the pig about 300 years ago on farms in the Berkshire region of England near London, something very special. Farmers made magic in those pens and paddocks. The story of the Berkshire is a story of breeding, breed maintenance, and breed improvement over centuries, beginning when the ancestor of today’s Berkshire was reportedly discovered by Oliver Cromwell’s army in winter quarters at Reading, the county seat in the shire of Berks. The Berkshire pig is still by far consistently the most decorated and award-winning pig for taste and flavor (followed by the Duroc). Over centuries, professional taste tests by novices and professionals alike have confirmed that meat quality on the Berkshire is unrivaled.

The Red Wattle — A Gastronomic Polyglot
  • Feb 9, 2024
The Red Wattle — A Gastronomic Polyglot

Across cultures and time, the breed of pig that today goes by the name Red Wattle, but which has existed in some form for centuries by other names, has been taken around the world by foot, boat, train, and truck!  Red Wattles are known for their hardiness, foraging activity, and rapid growth rate, but many pigs boast these traits. What was it about this pig that made it such a celebrity?

Honoring the Old Spot
  • Jan 30, 2024
Honoring the Old Spot

Why do farmers continue to invest the energy, time, and money in these floppy-eared spotted gentle giants when other pig breeds are easier to source, faster to grow, and produce a thinner layer of back fat (and less hair!)?

Meet Our Newest Farmer Partner, Frank Reese Protege, Jed Greenberg
  • Jun 2, 2023
Meet Our Newest Farmer Partner, Frank Reese Protege, Jed Greenberg

We are proud to support many younger farmers including Jed Greenberg who in his 30s is taking on the monumental task of becoming the protégé of famed farmer Frank Reese, the Godfather of American poultry. Jed now raises guineas and chickens from Frank's breeding stock on his New Jersey farm! His heritage chickens are available for delivery FRESH the week of June 5th, 2023.

Rare Occasion Old Spot Pork
  • Apr 24, 2023
Rare Occasion Old Spot Pork

The Old Spot pig originated centuries ago in Gloucestershire in the South West of England that borders Wales, where heritage breed farmers bred a pig to conform to the standards of their traditional cuisine. The Vale and surrounding areas are renowned for Gloucestershire Pie, or squab pie; Double and Single Gloucester cheeses that are rich and buttery with a flaky texture and mellow, and nutty character; Stinking Bishop cheese; and other hearty and fortifying foods. The Old Spot is a fatty breed high on sweet buttery flavor!

The Martins and Machin Family at the Tamarack Sheep Farm
  • Apr 21, 2023
Our Visit to Tamarack Sheep Farm in Corinth, Vermont

On a hilly dirt road in eastern Vermont stands a farm that is one of the last holdouts for two very rare breeds of sheep, the Tunis and the Horned Dorset. Tamarack Farm is a presidium, a fort of sorts, for living animals that in this case have a 100-year history on this very property. Farmers Ben Machin and Grace Bowmer are a crucial resource for professional chefs who require a diverse flavor palate for their work — not all lamb should taste the same. The farm also represents a defense for our food security, a stake in the ground for diversity in our food system as awareness slowly grows regarding the importance of preventing the extinction of livestock breeds.

The Red Wattle and Larry & Madonna Sorell
  • Apr 5, 2023
The Red Wattle and Larry & Madonna Sorell

Thanks to Larry and Madonna’s work, the Red Wattle was upgraded to Threatened status from Critical on The Livestock Conservancy’s watch list, a great achievement for the cause of biodiversity, one of the most important issues of our time.