Frequently Asked Questions

When a butcher custom processes an animal for you, they need to know how you want it broken down. They fill out a cut sheet to record your choices. Different parts can be cut different ways. For instance, the loin can be made into pork chops or loin roasts. You get to choose how much loin you want made into roasts and/or chops. Same with the rest of the pig, you get to choose if you want: smoked and sliced bacon or fresh pork belly... how much of the animal you want ground... if you want any of the ground meat made into sausages... if you would like your hams smoked... It's completely what YOU want. Our butcher is very good about walking customers through the process if they have never done it before.

That depends on how big your actual hog is and how you have it processed, but to be safe you should plan on 3.5 cubic feet for a half hog or 7 cubic feet for a whole hog. In many cases it will take less space.

Yes. You may opt to butcher a whole hog purchase yourself and save the butcher processing fee. Please contact us and we can work out details. Hilary teaches personal home butchery instruction if you want to do it yourself but need some guidance.

Our pigs eat a lot of forage in the summer, hay in the winter, dairy by products, and soy-free grain. See these blog posts:

1. To buy pork on farm, come Monday - Saturday, 9 - 5, to the dairy which is the red building beyond our log cabin. Let yourself in through the left door, and again through the next door. This will put you in the Milk Room. You will find a freezer in the milk room with cuts of meat. Select the cuts of meat you want. As you face the door that you came through, you will notice a black box to the left of that door, this is the payment box. There are receipts and a pen in the box. Write down the cuts of meat you took and their weights x the price per pound, and calculate the cost for that cut of meat. Add up your purchase and put the white copy of the receipt with your payment in the slot of the payment box. Alternately, you may pay by venmo. There is a venmo code to scan above the payment box. If you pay by venmo, please still fill out a receipt and note on it that you paid by venmo. ​ -or- ​ 2. To buy pork at the Morrisville Farmers' Market (Saturdays 9 - 1 in the Hannaford's Plaza, May - October), a) just show up and purchase whatever is available, or... b) if you want to make sure that I bring and reserve for you exactly the cuts that you want, fill out this form by 10:00 a.m. Friday morning, the day before the market. I will calculate your total and send an invoice for you to pay by Friday evening. Pay it online. The next day, all you have to do is show up at the market and claim your order. Easy!

Raw milk is as safe as any food, as long as it is produced under strict sanitary conditions. Not all raw milk is produced under strict sanitary conditions, though! Many farmers don't sanitize udders and equipment sufficiently, or chill the milk rapidly. While some folks might be able to drink milk from those farms without problem, people in high risk groups such as children, elderly, pregnant and nursing women, and people with weakened immune systems should stay away from it. We pride ourselves on producing the best, cleanest milk possible. The state of Vermont has standards for selling raw milk that we meet, which includes testing our cows to make sure they are healthy, rapidly chilling the milk, and keeping our equipment sanitized. We maintain a clean milking parlor and test our milk twice a month. Be an informed buyer. Don't assume that anyone who has a cow is doing the best job possible. Before you buy raw milk from anyone, you should ask the farmer about their practices and ask to see their operation, which they are legally obligated to show you in the state of Vermont. Does it look clean? Is the equipment shiny, or splattered milk milk and manure? How do they chill their milk (putting jars of warm milk in the fridge is NOT good enough)? Ask them if they are selling milk legally. There is no reason that any farmer who is motivated to do the best job possible can't meet state requirements. We invite you to come visit our milking parlor and processing room so you can see for yourself!

That's impossible to answer because we do not standardize milkfat like a dairy plant does. Fat content changes with the season, cow's diet, and stage of lactation, although they don't make as much cream as jerseys. Individual jars of milk will vary widely. Similarly, at times the cream is noticeably yellow, other times it is more snowy white. The cream always rises to the top which makes it easy to collect for making butter or sour cream.

There is a very good chance that the answer is yes. Doctors tell people that they are lactose intolerant when they have trouble digesting super processed factory milk which has been rendered hard to digest. Store bought, factory produced milk is nothing like the perfect super food that is raw milk. I have known many people who were "lactose intolerant" but could drink my raw milk just fine. In most cases of "lactose intolerance", the problem is what was done to the milk, not that the person is truly lactose intolerant. See the blog:

On Farm ​ 1. Purchase the amount of milk that you want that says "on farm [amount]". ​ 2. Contact us and we can figure out a good time for you to come by the farm to get your milk. ​ 3. Come at your appointed time. You don't need to bring jars, but you should bring a chilled cooler to keep your milk cold on the way home. (If you are only going to buy milk once and don't want to have to bring our jars back here, then DO bring your own jars.) ​ 4. If you love the milk and want to keep getting milk from us each week, we will set up a weekly pick up day for you and you will pay by cash or check in future weeks. Bring back your clean jars and lids each week. ​ 5. Feel good because you are making a healthy choice that will have far reaching effects in you and your family's life! ​ At the Morrisville Farmers' Market (Saturdays 9 - 1, may - October at the Hannaford's Plaza): By state law, we cannot sell you milk at the market that has not been prepaid. ​ 1. The raw milk page has options for the farmers' market that include the jar and lid deposit. It doesn't hurt to call us us to check for availability before you purchase. Purchase the option that says "farmers market [amount] & deposit". ​ 2. Show up at the farmers' market on Saturday and take your milk. Bring a chilled cooler to keep it cold on your way home. We will have you sign a jar exchange agreement which has details about the jar deposit. 3. If you will want milk again the following week, prepay for it when you pick up, or here online. Since you have paid the jar deposit already, at this point you may choose the option that says "farmers market [amount] renewal". This cycle can continue as long as you desire to continue buying our raw milk. ​ 4. When you are done getting milk from us, return your clean, undamaged lid and jar and we will refund your jar and lid deposit. ​ 5. At the end of the market season, if you want to continue buying milk, you may transition to being an on-farm milk pick upper. ​

Great question! You are right, in Vermont we have about 3 feet of snow on the ground for half of the year. My cows are not on pasture during that time. The biggest difference between my cows' summer diet and winter diet is that in the winter, their grass has been harvested and baled up as hay. They are still grass fed during the winter. This blog gives more details about grass fed milk and how my cows spend their days during the winter.

We have soap available for purchase in the milk room or at the Morrisville Farmers' Market (Saturdays 9:00 - 1:00, May - October, Hannaford's plaza). We do not ship soap, it must be purchased in person. Hilary used to have a goat milk soap store on Etsy called The Northwoods Goat and she sold soap world wide. She is now selling cow's milk soap here on the farm. Only a few varieties will be available at a time, not the entire selection she used to offer. Soap can be ordered in bulk (batches of 32 or 64 bars) for a discount.