There once was a man from the South Shore of Boston who wanted no more than a quarter acre of land; and a woman from western Pennsylvania who wanted, at bare minimum, a pony in the back yard…but certainly had no intention of actually being a farmer. But kids (the human kind, that is) change everything.
Cedar Meadow Farm, owned by Julia and Brian Cronin, is now in its third season.
“It all happened in 2000 when our son was diagnosed with severe food allergies,” Julia explains. “My husband and I began reading labels and were shocked by what we were reading.”
The Cronins bought six chickens for eggs, and then picked up a few more for meat. They started giving some away to their friends who commented on the great taste. The couple noted the interest, found that they really enjoyed doing this for the family, knew it was healthier for the children, “and it just kind of snowballed into what we have now,” she said.
But the four-acre piece of land the Cronins had in Ledyard (originally a compromise since he wanted less and she wanted more) wasn’t going to be big enough to grow the farm. So in 2006, they sold their first digs and bought the current site, the 10-acre Cedar Meadow Farm.
“It was overgrown. Part of it was a cow pasture filled with Rosa floribunda, autumn olive, and bittersweet. We cleared it all ourselves, built our house, and started this farm from the ground up…literally.”
What they have now is every farm animal except cows and goats. They raise rabbits for meat and pets, and chickens for eggs and meat. There’s a donkey, sheep, pigs, ducks, geese, turkeys, a horse and, of course, that pony Julia wanted.
“We also have a breeding program for one of our varieties of chickens. We sell what we call a ‘henhouse ready’ bird for people who are interested in getting chickens for their back yard.”
Cedar Meadow Farm has a dual focus, Julia explains.
“We are very into heritage-breed conservancy. As the country has moved to an industrialized agriculture foundation, they have very specialized animals that can live in the conditions put forward by the industrialized agriculture. Sadly, we have lost many species of ducks, chickens, and rabbits. What we’re doing here is using heritage-breed animals and, by using them in the role they were meant to be, we are helping to sustain them.”
While some find it odd that Cedar Meadow raises heritage breeds that are becoming extinct and then turning around and eating them, “the simple fact of the matter is the more dinner tables we can get these animals on, the more demand there will be. Thus, more breeding.”
The second aspect is education. Julia, who has a master’s in education as well as an undergrad degree in chemistry, says, “We’ll never sell an animal without following up. We have a lot of first-time chicken owners here. That’s what we pride ourselves on—trying to teach them the correct way to raise their birds so that they can have the most enjoyment and the most eggs from them.”
Julia says that she would love it if she could put herself out of business by selling so many chickens that everyone had them in their back yard. In fact, she recently sold chickens to a couple who lives in downtown New Britain.
“It’s possible—you can do it anywhere. It’s a big part of what we try to do—educate folks and make it possible for everyone.”
In addition to managing the farm as well as three children, Julia works at Pfizer part time, where her husband works full time. “I’ve been very fortunate to be part time at Pfizer. That’s what allows me to do this,” she said.
The farm is not her business, however.
“This is a family business because farming involves everyone in the family. My oldest son [age 12] is my biggest helper here. He’s the one I can always count on.”
The amount of grain Cedar Meadow goes through in a day is “mind-boggling. Norwich Agway loves us. We get a ton delivered every other week, so we go through 1,000 pounds a week.”
They’re diversified since they have many different species here, which really helps in many ways.
“We don’t have all of our eggs in one basket. If avian influenza descended upon us, or a predator came in and killed all of the turkeys, I wouldn’t be lost because we still have the pigs.”
But because they’re diversified they cannot do bulk grain orders.
“The pigs eat a different grain from the hens, which eat a different type of grain than the broiler chickens. That’s different from what the horses eat, which is different from what the sheep eat.” Thus, they buy all bagged grains. Julia admits that this is their biggest uphill battle at the moment.
“Since we moved to a barren lot, we have no infrastructure. We don’t have an old barn we can use with a grain storage area. We’re building it all from the ground up.” Another challenge is their cost of grain, which has increased by 50 percent from last year.
Fortunately, the demand for their products has been “overwhelming,” Julia says, adding, “What strikes me is that the consumers are willing to pay what we need to pay.”
The customer will pay more for Cedar Meadow products because, unlike supermarkets, there isn’t the huge inventory.
“But the quality we will provide to you is incredible,” she says.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time customers say, ‘We’ll pay whatever we need to pay to keep you doing what you’re doing.’ It’s really been fantastic the support we’ve gotten—not only in Ledyard but throughout all of Connecticut.”
Customers come from Kent, Stamford, New Haven, Hartford, and Killingly, as well as other towns throughout the state.
Customers also come from the Ledyard Farmers Market and through a new business, Connecticut Farm Fresh Express.
“It’s like Peapod only instead of Stop & Shop, it’s many of the farms of southeastern Connecticut,” explains Julia. Connecticut Farm Fresh Express is a delivery service in which orders are taken early in the week for deliveries on Friday and Saturday.
“It’s a great service. The delivery system really makes it happen because it allows the customer to visit a multitude of different farms in one delivery.”
Farming is definitely a family venture, involving everyone. Julia feels fortunate to have not only the support of the family (including three children) but of the extended friends in the neighborhood.
“It certainly is a very different way of life and I am certainly blessed because my children have had the opportunity—the glory of birth, seeing the sows deliver piglets, and then the sadness that comes when a predator kills all of your favorite little ducklings,” she says. The town has also been supportive.
“Farming is alive and well in Ledyard,” she says. “That was tending to not be the case anymore but you are seeing more and more small farms popping up. We have a great network of farms here and are learning how to work with each other and help each other out.”
A special to The Times by Susan Cornell