AUGUST 2026 BROADSHEET

ODE TO AUGUST

August has settled into the Northeast Kingdom with a different kind of intensity — not the bright surge of July, but rather a thick, sun-drenched feeling that clings to your skin by mid-morning. This is the farm at its stickiest and sweatiest, but also the most alive.

If you've ever experienced a New England farm in August, you know the mix I’m talking about: feeling bone tired from long days and fully alive all at once, running on the hum of daily harvests, the electrifying joy of watching six months of careful planning and hard work coming to fruition, and the growing foot traffic of visitors drawn out to the farm by it all.

If you walk the farm right now, you'll be sharing it with a whole lot of company beyond our livestock. Sweat bees dot bare arms in the heat, hummingbirds dart between the pollinator beds, monarchs drifting in on their long journey south, crickets hopping and chirping, barn swallows, goldfinches, bluebirds, and chickadees flitting here and there. The whole place hums — literally — with wings. Down in the pastures, calving season is still moving along; our Highland mums are doting on their precious arrivals, tucked into the shade while all the other calves romp around. And in the gardens, the long-awaited, beloved crops of late summer are coming in.

Here's to August — sticky, relentless, and worth every bit of it.

THE FARMSTAND

FULL SHELVES, FULL HEARTS

There is a bounty pouring through the farmstand doors this month. Our sourdough menu has taken on the sweetness of the season, with bakes woven through with local blueberries at their peak. The flower buckets are having their own moment too — sunflowers, cosmos, snapdragons, and zinnias, gathered into bouquets that seem to hold the whole of August's color in a single armful.

This has been our busiest month at the stand to date, and we don't take that lightly. Every time an item sells out, every "see you next week," every familiar face stopping by — it's a reminder that this small stand has become part of something bigger: your routine, your table, your week. We are endlessly grateful to be that for you.

As August begins its slow turn toward September, our Sourdough menu will start to shift with it. Look for our classic Sourdough Boules, seasonal Apple Butter Muffins, Mini Boule Flights featuring Asiago rosemary inclusions, and our special, beloved Saturday Cinnamon Roll tradition featuring Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls — early hints of fall, baked with the same care as everything that came before.

Whether you are stopping by to build your dinner for the night, stock your pantry for the weekend, grab a vibrant bouquet for the table, or pick up your Saturday cinnamon rolls, our doors are open and ready to welcome you on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9AM-6PM *or until sold out. If the flag is out, swing on through!

PASTURE RAISED MEAT

SECOND HARVEST, EVEN MORE TO SAVOR

Our second round of pasture-raised, non-GMO chicken and pasture-raised pork has arrived, and this batch is bringing something new to the table. Alongside the cuts you've already come to love, we're introducing a lineup of new sausage flavors — breakfast sausage, hot Italian, and chorizo — each one crafted with the same slow, intentional care that goes into everything we raise.

And for those of you stocking your freezers, get excited: your favorite cuts are back!

As always, this meat is raised the old-fashioned way — happy animals given complete freedom and space, foraging on fresh green pastures, and treated with unwavering respect every step of the way. That care shows up in the flavor, the quality, and the story behind every package.

We're also celebrating our second month partnering with KILOS gym in Lyndonville, bringing this same high-quality, pasture-raised protein into the Lyndon/Burke area in yet another way. It's been a joy to fuel our local athletes and neighbors with food we're proud to stand behind.

With growing awareness of just how fragile and ill-managed our larger, mass food systems have become and how concentrated the power is in the hands of the very (corrupt) few, connecting with your local, regenerative farmer is more than a nice idea — it's a way to secure nourishing, nutrient-dense, delicious food for your family, and to vote with your dollars for a values based food system rooted right here in your own community.

The feedback we've been getting from you has been so heartwarming, and honestly, it fills us with pride. We've heard that this is the best chicken people have ever had, that the bacon is divine, the wings are unreal. The words “Moist, tender, flavorful” reported again and again. One customer said “it's so good to have found a farmer who grows with such intention and produces such high quality meat.”

Moments like these are exactly why we do what we do.

We love being a place you can turn to feel good about feeding yourself and your family.

Whether you're stocking up on staples, trying something new, or securing your Thanksgiving turkey (yes, I said it. It’s time to think about this!), we can't wait for you to taste the difference.

If you are not in our Field Share or a member at Kilos, you can place a direct, customized order for pick up at the Farmstand or in Lyndonville below or feel free to stop by the stand on your NEK travels to see what's in stock.

ROOTS

THE ENTRANCE OF THE GOLDEN SEASON

There is a glorious, full-hearted energy in the garden right now — the kind that only August can bring, when everything the season promised finally arrives all at once. Everywhere you look, the rows are heavy with harvest, overflowing with color, texture, and the heady scent of peak production.

Heirloom tomatoes are coming in with their full, sun-warmed sweetness, while zucchini, cucumbers, eggplants, and green beans are filling our baskets daily, alongside a colorful mix of summer beans.

Just beyond them, the winter squash are having their moment too — butternut, spaghetti, delicata, and blue hubbard are all climbing high up their trellises, heavy with ripening fruit and quietly promising the cozy meals of fall and winter still to come.

Even as we soak in this peak summer bounty, the quiet rhythm of planning ahead continues right alongside it. Our fall crop seedlings — cauliflower, brussels sprouts, bok choy, broccoli, spinach, chard, and lettuces, all started back in July — have been tucked into the soil this month, nestled beneath the cool, shady leaves of the bush beans, eggplants, tomatoes, and our first round of broccoli. There, sheltered from the worst of the summer heat, they'll grow steady and strong until it's their turn to take center stage before frost settles In.

Walking through the garden during these late-summer days is a reminder of just how much this land can hold at once — endings and beginnings, abundance and preparation, all growing side by side.

SCOTTISH HIGHLAND CATTLE

THE PASTURE CHRONICLES

The rhythm across the road continues its steady, beautiful motion, and this month the herd has grown sweeter still with two new arrivals: Hamish and Máiri.

Hamish came into the world exactly as you'd hope for a Highland — sturdy, curious, and already finding his footing among the herd within hours. Máiri, though, is a little different, and not just in personality. She arrived tiny, delicate, and all-white from head to hoof. She is our very first all-white Highland calf, a rare and striking coloring we've never had born on this land before. Watching her wobble across the pasture, small and fair against the green grasses, she reminded Madison and I so much of a little lamb that the name Máiri (Scottish spelling of Mary) felt like the only one that fit.

What Máiri lacks in size, though, she more than makes up for in resilience. She's proven herself steady on her feet and quick to keep pace with the rest of the herd, a tiny white spot moving determinedly through a sea of shaggy Reds, Yellows, and Blacks. There's something especially moving about watching the smallest ones find their strength — a quiet reminder that resilience doesn't always come in the expected size or shape.

Speaking of surprises, we owe our little calf Sully an apology and a correction. For several weeks now, we've been referring to Sully as one of our "strong, fluffy little lads" — turns out, upon closer inspection, Sully is in fact, a lassie! In our defense, Highland calves keep their business well hidden under all that fuzzy coat and spirited bolts away from a human after about a week of sleepy newborn-hood, and Sully certainly never said otherwise to us. She's taking the mix-up in stride, as any good Highland would, and we're delighted to officially welcome her to the little-lass side of the tally.

With Hamish and Máiri's arrival (and Sully's correction!), the herd continues to grow to now 30 head, and the pastures feel fuller and livelier with every passing week. Watching these calves find their legs on fresh grass, framed by the green hills of the Northeast Kingdom, is a daily reminder of why we do this work — and why every single one of them, big or small, red or white, lad or lass, earns a place in this unfolding farm story.

NEW NOTE-WORTHIES

THE DOWNHILL SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN

There's a particular feeling that settles over the farm this time of year, one that's hard to name but impossible to miss. We've crested the peak of the growing season, and now we find ourselves on its downhill side — not slowing exactly, but shifting, the way a mountain trail changes character once you're just past the summit.

The mornings are the first to tell us. What was once bright and warm at sunrise now arrives wrapped in a soft blanket of fog, cool and quiet, hanging low over the pastures until the sticky late August sun burns it off. The days themselves have begun their slow contraction too, shortening so gradually you'd almost miss it if you weren't paying attention — a few minutes here, a few minutes there, until one day you notice the evening chores are happening in a different kind of light.

There's something bittersweet in it, if we're honest. The height of summer's abundance is a wild, exhilarating thing to live inside of, and some part of us is never quite ready to let it go especially knowing the dark, frigid days that mark winter. And yet, there's a quiet comfort in this turning too — the sense of a season doing exactly what it's meant to do, easing us gently toward what comes next.

Because even as we're still deep in harvest, we have already started looking ahead. We're planning to carve out a rest, a reset, and travel in October before launching our off-season sourdough and protein offerings for the colder months ahead. Behind the scenes, we've also begun dreaming, scheming, and exploring grants to expand a few ideas that have been living in our heads for a while now — including a proper micro-bakery build-out and an expanded kitchen license that would let us prepare more foods for you (cozy homemade soup and bread, anyone?!). We've also applied to be part of the Caledonia Winter Market, hoping to bring a little piece of Root to Rise into the colder months in a whole new way.

For now, though, we're savoring these last full glimmers of the high season turning golden season, foggy mornings and all, grateful for every one of them — and quietly, happily dreaming about all that's still to come.

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

LIZZIE,TOM, AND OUR WEE LASSIES