MEET THE AGRICOLA FAMILY
Agricola farm is a small diversified farm in the heart of Vermont's Champlain Valley, with a strong Italian footprint, not only because we (Alessandra and Stefano) were born and raised in Italy, but also because our model is founded in the Italian “agriturismo.” We open the doors of our farm and let you discover the world of agriculture with all of its wonder and complexities.
For us, Agricola Farm is our way of conveying to others the beauty of wholesome food. We provide education around how food is produced, and we show the hard work that goes into making it and sharing the fun stories behind it. We believe in a “slow food” approach to food production: it requires a lot of effort and a good amount of time to develop high quality wholesome food. Our farm lunches and dinners are slow too; you will build your best memories with your friends and with strangers between a bite of salame and a forkful of handmade pasta.
For us, Agricola Farm is our way of conveying to others the beauty of wholesome food. We provide education around how food is produced, and we show the hard work that goes into making it and sharing the fun stories behind it. We believe in a “slow food” approach to food production: it requires a lot of effort and a good amount of time to develop high quality wholesome food. Our farm lunches and dinners are slow too; you will build your best memories with your friends and with strangers between a bite of salame and a forkful of handmade pasta.
Our Mission
Our goal is to make a high quality product that reflects our taste and our tradition. This can be achieved only through healthy and well-treated animals that can express their natural instincts, important both for a reason of respect towards the animals and as an essential way to promote their health.
Our second goal is to take care of our environment using a holistic approach that considers every component of our ecosystem, from the land to the water and the air. The use of good farming practices that prevent erosion and minimize land and water pollution can contribute to a better environment for us and for everyone around us and after us. Every decision at the farm is made taking into great account our impact on the environment.
Our third goal is to provide an opportunity for people in our community to try traditional and authentic Italian food, to connect people to farming and to provide opportunities for people to create good memories with family and friends because good food is the one thing that connects us all.
Our second goal is to take care of our environment using a holistic approach that considers every component of our ecosystem, from the land to the water and the air. The use of good farming practices that prevent erosion and minimize land and water pollution can contribute to a better environment for us and for everyone around us and after us. Every decision at the farm is made taking into great account our impact on the environment.
Our third goal is to provide an opportunity for people in our community to try traditional and authentic Italian food, to connect people to farming and to provide opportunities for people to create good memories with family and friends because good food is the one thing that connects us all.
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The Farm
Our farm is a combination of animals (pigs, chickens, sheep, ducks, bees and farmers) and land (mostly pasture, some woods, and a vegetable garden). We truly believe that animals and land cannot be managed separately, like big scale operation farms often are forced to do. Because of this philosophy, we decided to rely on a silvopastural system, a system that allows us to use our woods for heating the farm in the winter and, as the season and the land are ready to support the animals, they provide animal shelter and our pastures are used for feed. We practice an intensive rotational grazing, which requires frequent moves of animals from a paddock to the next to minimize damage to the soil system and provide fresh new grass for our quadrupeds friends.
Because of this approach, our animals live more naturally, following their instincts, and our land is enriched by their “byproducts” (some people may call it manure), which favors the growth of vegetation that keeps our land healthy - and so the cycle goes on. Something important to point out is that the quality of our meat benefits from this system: our rotations favors the consumption of grass and legumes at their sweetest point, and the constant movement of muscles allows for healthier animals and more flavorful and healthy meat.
To learn more about each of our animals and how they contribute to improving the health of the land and of each other, click on the images below.
Because of this approach, our animals live more naturally, following their instincts, and our land is enriched by their “byproducts” (some people may call it manure), which favors the growth of vegetation that keeps our land healthy - and so the cycle goes on. Something important to point out is that the quality of our meat benefits from this system: our rotations favors the consumption of grass and legumes at their sweetest point, and the constant movement of muscles allows for healthier animals and more flavorful and healthy meat.
To learn more about each of our animals and how they contribute to improving the health of the land and of each other, click on the images below.
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The Farmers
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Alessandra
Alessandra is the founder of Agricola Farm. She is originally from Lake Como but her family is from Genova and they all still live there. Her first contact with the world of agriculture was in 2006, when she decided to pursue a lifestyle more focused on self-sufficiency and closer to nature, that when she started her homestead. The real reason, though, is that she missed so much italian salumi – salami, prosciutti, coppe, salsiccie – that she decided to make them herself. Ale went back to Italy several times, first in Tuscany and than in Emilia, where she honed her knowledge on pigs thanks to some very old style butchers (norcini) and to local farmers. Her respect for animal welfare and her motivation for wholesome food brought her to raise a couple of hogs per year. Over the following 10 years her farm kept growing (150 + pigs, 60ish sheep several hundreds poultry) and her control of her life and sanity kept shrinking until she reached... happiness. Stefano Stefano joined Ale in 2015. He’s originally from Torino (Turin), where he completed his studies in Agricultural Science and where he received the title of Agronomist. Stefano had a number of international options open after his degree but decided to come to the US to learn about farming in the United States and perhaps not realizing he was going to get involved in an Italian Farm in the middle of Vermont. His professional training allowed the farm to move more consistently towards the goal of sustainability and regenerative agriculture (whch is a fancy name for just not screwing up what nature is doing on its own). His main driving forces are his desire to improve soil health and his commitment to animal welfare – these two goals along with his Italian stubbornness and bluntness make for the perfect environment for lively exchanges between the two farmers. |
