Wild Winds Farm began its story with humble roots. As a young couple dedicating our careers to agriculture, Zane and I (Brittany) spent much of our early careers supporting other farms throughout the Northeast. Having spent his childhood involved in his family's dairy farm and then completing a degree in farm management from Vermont Tech, Zane worked on several dairy farms helping to manage the health of the those herds and conducting day to day operations. Meanwhile, I was completing a PhD in Animal Science from Cornell University and subsequently spent my first four years in the dairy industry as a nutrition consultant for farms throughout the northeast. All the while, a small herd of beef cows was maintained at what is now Wild Winds Farm.

The farm was previously owned by my parents, and the animals were owned and cared for in collaboration with them. In 2019, Zane and I purchased Wild Winds Farm from my mom after the passing of my dad. Still, the beef herd and a small haying operation remained a side hustle. A way for Zane and I to get our "farming fix" on nights and weekends. The dream started to grow in our minds, but the work week grind of our conventional employment was holding us back.

Zane and I had both spent enough time in agriculture to have developed our own opinions and ideals for how we would ultimately like to manage our land and animals. Time and again, we observed that animals able to meet their natural needs for foraging or grazing, isolation or herd mentality, fresh air and exercise, were the most vibrant and healthy. Land that had been managed with respect for the life within the soil, and not viewed as dirt in need of chemical and mechanical manipulation, showed resiliency to changing weather and seasons. Farmers that diversified their time, effort and investment demonstrated the most sustainable and enjoyable lifestyles.

In 2021, a monumental shift happened in our lives. Just a year prior, the arrival of our son, Orin, brought into focus all that was important to us. Our vision for a diversified, regenerative farm suddenly included opportunities for our little guy to join us as we rotate pastures, check on animals due to have babies, scout out areas for improvement in our pastures and forests, and harvest hay in the summertime heat. Leaving the farm for our Monday through Friday work week jobs was no longer going to cut it. Thus, 2021 became the year that our dreams and visions became goals and missions. Both of us hung up our company hats and put our brains together to begin our path to offering grass fed and pastured meats to our community. With a vision of our methods in mind, and the lifestyle we aimed to create for our family, our farming practices were easily laid out.

Our next hurdle was to determine our strategy for getting our products into the homes of our community. One aspect of raising animals in the way that we do is that we are putting huge amounts of effort into creating humane and healthy lives for those animals. To us, this includes each moment up until their death. With this value in mind, we were led to offering only bulk purchased meats. You might be wondering what the connection is here. Well, in Vermont there is a law in place that allows on-farm slaughter of animals (in contrast to animals being loaded onto a trailer and driven to a slaughterhouse before being killed - a very stressful experience). In order for us to use this on-farm slaughter approach, we can only offer the purchase of bulk meats.

What does it mean for the customer to by bulk meats? Ultimately, by purchasing a live animal (or a half or quarter of a live animal) and then paying for the slaughter and butcher directly (with us facilitating this process for you) you receive the high quality of regeneratively raised meats at a steep discount from buying by the cut. You also receive a variety of cuts, from roasts and steaks, to ground and stew meat (with optional organ meat and bones!). The nutrient density of this whole package is far greater than anything you can buy in the supermarket.

The name for Wild Winds Farm is an homage to the steady breeze that runs through our property any time of the year. On a cold January evening, we may curse that windy howl but we find gratitude for the cyclicity of farm life as we enjoy a relatively slower time of the year. In the peak of August heat, we praise that glorious breeze for providing the humans and animals some much needed relief. We invite you to come appreciate the breeze with us. Come walk our pastures, meet our animals, meet our family. We want to share the connection with our land and food with you. We want to talk about our practices and why they matter. We can't wait to meet you and feed you!