426 Danby Mountain Rd
Danby, VT 05739
Tue, Aug. 6, 2024 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Join Ryan and Rachel Yoder for a full tour of their 90 acre diversified farm operation. Learn about their approach to low-till vegetable production, raising meat chickens, perennial crop systems, cider vinegar production, and much more!
You'll meet at the Smokey House Center headquarters and then head to our partner farmers farms from there.
Please RSVP for this event.
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Come hear about what Smokey House Center's partner farmers, Yoder Farm and Dorset Peak Sheep & Cattle Co. are up to in Danby! Ryan and Rachel Yoder have been farming nearly 100 acres in the valley since 2010. In addition to serving as a community cornerstone, they grow a wide abundance of produce and farm products including grains like popcorn, as well as fruit, chickens, and a variety of vegetables on their farm. They also turn their unsprayed apples into specialty products such as live cider vinegar. Yoder Farm will serve as a foundational resource for future Living Lab research projects that explore key topics like soil health, temperate agroforestry, and much more! Caleb Smith rotationally grazes his sheep flock across over 350 acres of open fields within the valley. Caleb began leasing land from Smokey House in 2009 and operated Dorset Peak Jerseys until 2022. In 2022 Caleb sold his dairy herd, no-till seeded the entire farm to perennial grasses and legumes and brought over 400 sheep to his farm from Colorado. Operating Dorset Peak Sheep & Cattle Co., he has continuously fine-tuned an intensive grazing system that has put animals back on the land; in some fields, for the first time in over 50 years. Moving forward, Caleb’s operation will serve as a foundational resource for future Living Lab research projects that explore key topics like transitioning from dairy and pasture health.
