Playing the tourist: farming, Vermont style

Growing up on farm my whole life, it’s hard to resist the temptation to visit outstanding farms when the opportunity presents. But perhaps that’s just me…always keen to know more. So, when looking at tourist attractions in north-west Vermont I was surprised that everyone raved about one farm in particular: Shelburne Farms. 

A rare patch of sunshine shows off the Farm Barn...

So it was only fitting that this was one of the main things on our itinerary...

 

 On an otherwise cold, overcast day we turned up at their front gate ready to be impressed - and so we were. As their website explains:

“Shelburne Farms is a membership-supported, non-profit environmental education centre, 1,400-acre working farm, and National Historic Landmark on the shores of Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont.”

So no ordinary farm. It was first created as a model agricultural estate in 1886 by William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb – who with the help of landscape architect Olmsted (the guy who created Central Park, NYC) had dreams of creating a stunning farm and family estate.  However, a few generations later and facing financial troubles (thanks to cheaper less sustainable competition) the Shelburne Estate was turned into a non-profit education organisation. That was 1972; these days the farm turns over revenue via tourism and amazing cheeses (amongst other dairy products) as well as providing children of all ages’ education in sustainability and stewardship of the land. Of its existing 1,400 acres, nearly 400 acres are dedicated to sustainably managed forests. The buildings originally built to house dairy cows, sheep, pigs, fowls and breeding horses remain on the property today. Visitors can not only get a history lesson on the last 150 years of agriculture, but stroll through the grounds witnessing a fully operational farm and even stay in the original mansion (should they have a significantly thicker wallet than mine!!).

What really struck me was the astounding thought that went into designed and creating the farm all those years ago – over 1000 trees each year were planted to enhance the outlook, as well as reforest the degraded dairy farms that the Webb's bought. As you wind up the driveway around each corner a new delight awaits…and no better place to start than having lunch at the Farm Barn.

Approaching the restored Farm Barn...striking

 The name is a little generic, but nothing is generic or boring inside – from bakery to offices, to the “school” (where you can learn with the 6 year old kids how milk is made from rocks). There is even a mini petting area where you can watch a cow milked, chase a bantam hen or pat a calf. And after all that “hands on” farm experience, if you feel the need to learn more then there’s always the cheese factory where every day they turn 700 gallons of fresh milk from their Brown Swiss mamas into about 15 big blocks of cheddar, ready for aging.

And the view from inside...a perfect perch for lunch!

Bonnie, or Daisy - the beautiful friendly Swiss Brown jersey cow

and her daughter....

After I had eaten – fresh bread, cheese (of course) with some yummy local jam and salad – I quickly scurried to the viewing window just in time to see the final few steps in the cheese making process.

Draining the whey and salting the cheese "fingers"

 

 Boxing up the "salted fingers" of cheddar - this is done to shape them into blocks, but also the pressure gets rid of excess moisture (whey, water) that if left inside the cheese would send it mouldy in the aging process...and finally:

The cheese blocks are placed in the press and left to drain overnight

 All of this process eventually produces the glorious gold that is award winning cheddar; I had a hard task deciding exactly which was my favourite (to take home for dinner) but eventually I settled on:

Smoked on hickory....mmmm! Source: Shelburne Farms

By that stage the sun was low in the sky, and dusk was quickly going to arrive. So, we managed to squeeze onto the last farm tour (atop an old farm trailer!) that gave a fantastic insight into the history of the farm and its fabulous buildings. Just enough of a taster to know that we would return the next day for more….

Autumn welcome at the entrance to the property

The Inn - what remains today of the original house for the Webb family

The view from the entrance to the house...

Restored area of The Inn...originally the staff quarters

 Fortunately for us, the next day was glorious - sunny but not too hot. And the nice weather afforded to us meant some exploring the property further (including the forests) before moving on to another adventure...

The Coach house - beautiful! Now houses art exhibitions from local artists

 The property is very well set up to handle the visitors without too much inconvenience - this means that you can still feel like you experience first hand what living on a farm like this is about without losing any authenticity. You walk straight past the sugaring sheds used in late winter for storing syrup from the maple trees.

Regenerated forests are now managed sustainably on the property - for firewood, timber and sugaring

 

 

The stunningly quiet end of the farm that not many people see...showing off Autumn

in all her glory!!

After a pleasant stroll through the woods, you can visit the market garden, and see evidence of sustainable agriculture at work - pigs working hard, and composting mulch piles to incorporate the animal manure as fertilizer. Then you stroll a little further and the wood piles up to 50 feet long remind you that it gets cold here!!

 

Pigs and chickens hard at work

Those beautiful Swiss Brown cows busy making milk...

The property prides itself on producing enough from the farm to feed its guests that stay...

And eventually if you hang in there and get lost in the right part of the farm, the views over the property all the way to Lake Champlain and NY state will take your breath away....

View from Lone Tree Hill across the farm and Lake Champlain: stunning!

After all of this, should you find yourself near Shelburne Farms (which is about 10 miles out of the capital Burlington) think yourself very lucky. Here's my tips:

• Make sure you leave yourself a good proportion of the day to explore.
• Pay the little bit extra to do the farm tour. It's worth it.
• You can pack your own picnic, there are plenty of tables around the farm to set up a picnic and enjoy. Alternatively the bakery sells yummy stuff, as does the little cafe at the Farm Barn. Or you can just do what I did and eat cheese.
• If you have some spare room in your luggage/car, spend 20min at the welcome centre (entrance to farm) - all local produce, books etc. You never know what you might unveil, and the staff there can give you some pretty awesome tips on what else to see and do in Vermont.
• If you have 2 days in the area, buy the multi-pass for Shelburne Farm and Shelburne Museum (a mere 3 miles away) - equally as fascinating....I'll write more on this next post!
• Go here to learn more about Shelburne Farm and the museum.

Stay tuned for more touristy fun in and around Burlington....