Last week, we had the privilege of visiting Hameau Farm in Belleville. The owner, Gay Rodgers, hosted a pasture walk as well as a training on how to create a rotational grazing plan that was brought to everyone by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, the PAGLC, as well as the NRCS.

From the minute you arrive at the end of the driveway, your intrigue is sparked.

 

And you have a feeling you’re in for a little bit of whimsy.

Home to the Plum Bottom herd of Ayrshires, the farm is a grass based dairy operation. In the near future they hope to offer more value added products such as cheese, but for now have recently started selling raw milk to the community.

Gay drew quite a crowd for her pasture walk! And her love for her herd and the soil was evident throughout the day.

Gay and her Dairy Grazing Apprentice, Jessica Matthews move the herd to a new pasture each day after the evening milking. And dedicate a portion of the land to hay making to supplement during winter months.

 

Thank you for inviting us to your neck of the woods for the day Gay!

Be on the lookout on our podcast, Graziers Grapevine, in the near future. We had the honor of sitting down with both Gay and Jessica to talk more about Hameau Farm as well as the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program offered by PASA.