It's a peaceful time of year here at Burnt Hill Farm. And a great time to reflect. The vineyards through our kitchen window are covered in a heavy blanket of snow marking a visual reset from one season to the next. 2020 was a wild year to say the least and yet we have so much to be thankful for.
Early on in the pandemic we all witnessed the stress placed on our food systems. I remember going to the grocery store – shelves stripped, no fresh milk, no fruit, and no meat in the butcher’s case. It was scary. It was a potent reminder that the way we farm is important – not only for keeping food on our table, but also for making payroll each week and providing a safe place for our community to connect.
We choose to think of our farm as a living, breathing organism. Like a human body with a system of organs, our farm is a complex system of interacting substances and processes. While the vineyard is at the center of what we do, we invest in the workings of our farm as a whole.
Here are a few highlights from the past year at Burnt Hill Farm:
We Started a Mushroom Farm
Our farm manager CJ Parra and I started growing a dozen strains of shiitake & oyster mushrooms on 300 logs and totems. We scouted the woods for the ideal environment and found a hollow between two hills by the stream. We selected and cut the perfect logs (white oak, sugar maple, poplar, beach) 4” x 40” at the peak of color change. We let the logs rest for a few weeks, sourced spawn, and built a bench for drilling, inoculating, and waxing the logs. We built beautiful log formations along the forest floor – there’s something special about arranging logs in an orderly fashion within the wildness of the woods. Now we wait and hope it all works!
We talk a lot about sustainability in farming, but rarely in the human context. As you might imagine, tending a commercial vineyard is a lot of work, so keeping things fresh and interesting is a great way to build morale. This is why we love to try new things, raise animals, and grow different crops. It's good for the environment and fulfilling for us. And of course we benefit from all the other known benefits of biodiversity. Just as important, thoughtful mushroom farming promotes good forestry practices. We cultivate mushrooms in a way that is compatible with the overall renewability of our farm.
We Established an Apiary
While our vineyard is the centerpiece of our operations, we invest in our farm as a whole. We're raising honeybees to improve the overall vitality of our farm. Honeybees are the world's most important pollinator. Bees play a part in every aspect of the ecosystem. They support the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants, which serve as food and shelter for creatures large and small. Bees contribute to complex, interconnected ecosystems that allow a diverse number of different species to coexist. Without bees, our gardens would be bare and our plates empty!
In exchange for our effort in caring for the bees, we receive delicious raw honey that offers unique flavors – flavors that reflect our farm’s natural flora; flavors that are completely lost in industrialized honey.
We Planted 20 Acres of Small Grains
Turkey Red is an heirloom wheat variety that was once the premier variety of hard red winter wheat planted throughout the U.S. Like many traditional crop varieties, this one had all but vanished. Fortunately, a few thoughtful farmers kept the old seed stock in production, enabling us to play a tiny role in its revival!
For readers who may not know, Old Westminster Winery launched a new wood-fired pizza concept this year called Eat Pizza Together. All of our ingredients are sourced from the Mid-Atlantic’s finest farms, including stoneground flour from local grain. We're on a mission to support farmers, provide good jobs, and nourish our community. Pizza is an incredible medium for sharing local ingredients – from the meat to the cheese to the veggies and sauce, right down to the dough – in a way that's approachable, delicious, and affordable. As a result, I've become obsessed with pizza, and subsequently obsessed with local grain. That’s why we planted wheat – to harvest our own grain & mill it on site to produce our own local flour for pizza dough!
We Raised Pigs and Chickens
We sourced chicks from Reich's Farm and raised them in the old corn crib on a diet of non-GMO local grain and flora and fauna as they free ranged around the farm. A few of the chickens were enjoyed by a local fox and the rest we butchered ourselves! We also sourced four heritage piglets from our friends at New Roots Farm to try our hand at animal husbandry. Our goal is to raise happy, healthy, and delicious animals to feed our family and community.
This Year We’re Expanding to Raise 40 Pigs!
They’ll be raised in the woods where they can feast on acorns and fruit from the trees, root up invasive plants, devour flora and fauna, and rejuvenate the woodland ecosystem. Their time spent outdoors feasting on varied foraged items add to the flavor and texture of the meat, making woodland pork a whole new dining experience. Supplemental feeding will consist of GMO-free grain that is locally grown and milled. Happy animals just taste better!
We Shepherded 30,000 Grapevines through their Second Season
From a weather standpoint the year started fine – some touch-and-go frost during the first week of May but otherwise things were “normal.” The vines were healthy and our soil was full of life.
Then the pandemic hit, and our world was turned upside-down. While most human activity screeched to a halt, nature's rhythms didn't miss a beat. The vineyard is brimming with new life and serves as a grounding rod in the midst of uncertainty. Our team rallied and took incredible care for the vines, working in tandem with nature to train the vines to establish healthy trunks and root systems deep to mine nutrients. Now the table is set and we eagerly await what we hope to be our first crop of grapes in 2021!
So yes, 2020 was a busy year! And we made the most of it. We give so much of our time and energy to our farm and know that it will yield a generous return. Burnt Hill Farm is a reminder of the generations who have come before us and our responsibility to preserve its legacy for generations to come.
The Brutal Podcast
To help document this journey, I started a podcast called The BRUTAL Podcast. On this show I interview progressive winemakers, chefs, farmers, scientists and other interesting guests at my kitchen table. We tell stories and talk about our lives and interests. I interview folks who inspire the way we care for our land – who are changing the way we think about farming regeneratively, and who encourage us to steward our land well and nourish our community.
If these topics interest you, I encourage you to check it out HERE!
2021 is already shaping up to be another busy year on the farm. We’re planting thousands of grapevines, raising 40 woodland hogs, increasing our apiary by 20 hives, harvesting our first mushrooms, heritage grains, honey, and most importantly... grapes!
I plan to share stories and observations from the field along the way.
Many blessings!
Drew Baker
