North STonington Lions Farm Tour

NORTH STONINGTON LIONS ANNUAL FARM TOUR
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Rain or Shine
9am-4pm

Tickets and maps will be available at Holly Green Plaza on Route 2 from 9am-1pm as well as at all farms. Some Farms will offer formal tours of their facilities, some informal, but all will offer a wealth of information and many unique experiences. Lion’s members will offer a variety of lunch options featuring Valley View Farm products at their food trailer located at Valley View Farm.
Adult Ticket-$20.00 Child under 12- $10

For further information contact Co- Chairs:
Jane Morrone (860) 599-4036 morrone@99main.com
Or Lee Paradis (860)535-8298 leeparadis@gmail.com

Featuring:

Pequot Plant Farm 591 Wheeler Road, Stonington, CT

For over 40 years the Jeffrey family offer beautiful mixed hanging baskets, bedding annuals, perennials, vegetables, trees, shrubs, roses, fresh floral arrangements, bonsai, and much more from spring through fall. At Christmas, they have cemetery pots, wreaths, center pieces, hanging evergreen baskets, boxwood trees, poinsettias, roping, fresh cut Christmas trees and other holiday plants. They can assist you to determine proper soil mixes, mulches and fertilizers for your needs, including 100% organic sheep manure. Katie Jeffrey-Lunn, a registered dietitian who holds an M.S. in Nutritional Sciences, is excited to provide personal nutrition counseling, sport specific nutrition counseling, educational group sessions, corporate lunch and learn sessions, supermarket tours, pantry make-overs as well as presentations and cooking/baking demos. On spring and winter weekends, Katie is available at Pequot Plant Farm. Don’t forget to visit the Florist Shop!

Windstone Farm 51 Babcock Road, North Stonington, CT

Nita and Gary Kincaid have created a lovely setting for their gentle (and giant ) Shire and Clydesdale horses (McCord and Doc). The Shires, William and Edward, have been favorites at the North Stonington Lions Memorial Day Parade for years and are often seen pulling carriages around town. The historic 1750 house was disassembled from the grounds of St. Paul’s Prep School in Concord New Hampshire and rebuilt on the property, during which time the owners lived in the tiny milk house while rebuilding and renovating both house and existing barn. A recent addition the Kincaids are very excited about is the new solar installation providing all of the farm's electricity. The extra is sold back to CL&P. Gary has a lovely carriage shop in the upper barn with a number of carts and carriages to appreciate, and Nita has created an historically correct cottage garden fenced in the front yard. Additional residents include one dog, one cat, seven geese, 13 chickens, 2 Muscovey ducks and a lot of wild visitors (some welcome).
They will offer wagon rides and provide a sawmill demo.
Valley View Farm 58 East Clarks Falls Road, North Stonington, CT
Ed and Belinda Learned bought this 115 acre farm in 2007. Sons Ben, Tim, and William operate the pasture-based dairy operation and have been working endless hours to bring the dairy barn up to code, clearing brush, and reclaiming pasture land. In a few short years they have made tremendous progress and have increased their pasture-raised dairy and beef herds. The cattle are purebred and crossbred Holsteins and Jerseys. Members of the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, the farm produces “Naturally Grown” milk, beef and veal, as well as bratwurst, hotdogs, and nitrate-free bacon and ham, as well as most of their own feed. Spring is a particularly busy season, so visitors will have the opportunity to appreciate the natural methodologies used to raise and manage the herd, and the sheer volume of work needed to run, maintain, and develop such an operation. An ongoing project, the boys’ future plans include improvements to the barn, new roof, and pasture areas. The Lions Food trailer will be located here and will offer some of the farm’s product for lunch.
Stony Ledge Farm 107 Kuehn Road, Hopkinton, RI

Although you have to venture into Rhode Island to get here, Stony Ledge Farm actually falls within the confines of North Stonington.
Ed and Belinda Learned produce vegetables, berries, bees, free-range eggs, pastured beef, pork and turkey. Veggies, berries, pasture and hay are certified organic since 2004 by Baystate Organic Certifiers. Ed and Belinda participate in the Community supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, which allows families to participate in the farm operation, enjoy the fruits of their labor, and understand the special needs of farmers while learning the importance of eating healthy, local, sustainably grown food. Some of the farms products will be available for sale on the day of the Tour. Watch out fro free-range chickens and kittens as you drive in!