Grazing enjoyment at Snug Valley Farm
Ben Nottermann of Snug Valley Farm in East Hardwick, VT, raises and sells grass-fed beef, meat from Duroc pigs and lamb, supplying local restaurants, butcher shops, food co-ops and other farmers that need more meat to carry under their own farm’s label. They sell online as well.
After decades of farming, his guiding principle is “You gotta find what works, keep doing what works and if it doesn’t work, phase it out – let it go.”
He has 200 head of cattle right now, mainly Red and Black Angus/Hereford crosses. He also raises British Whites, a white breed with black on the tip of their noses.
Nottermann buys cattle feeder stock at 500 to 600 lbs. and takes them to finish, at 24 to 30 months. The cattle rotationally graze on the 200-acre farm. He leases 275 more acres to provide hay and grazing land. The cattle are fed no grain. He works the farm with four part-time folks.
He has 40 Duroc feeder pigs that weigh about 50 lbs. trucked up from Pennsylvania every month to be able to simultaneously have pigs fattening up plus be able to send 40 to the butcher every month to fill orders.
“Being consistent, that’s the key,” Nottermann noted – being able to supply the product with the same consistent level of quality his customers have come to expect.
His animals go to Northeast Kingdom Processing in Saint Johnsbury, a 35-minute drive away.
“My folks [Nancy and Helm Nottermann] started this place as a dairy in 1979. They transitioned out of the dairy business in the late ‘80s and ‘90s and sold the dairy herd,” he said. However, his parents continued to raise and sell registered Holstein heifers. They also raised Holstein feeder calves to sell as meat at farmers markets from 2000 to 2020.
“In 2018 to 2019, we made the full switch from all Holsteins to Angus and Herefords. We accessed new markets, and they were more efficient. The Holsteins have a giant frame; they have to eat more ‘groceries’ to move through the growth stage to get to the meat stage,” he said.
The beef breeds have a smaller frame, and therefore pack on the pounds quicker. They also have a lot of intramuscular fat marbling that’s high in omega-3s. According to Home, the “online encyclopedia for carnivorous connoisseurs,” cattle raised on fresh pasture like Snug Valley Farm’s herd contain higher concentration of omegas-3s than those that are grain-fed.
The farm added pork in the early 2010s.
Nottermann started transitioning, taking the reins alongside his parents, in 2015. “In 2019, I left my full-time teaching job to farm full-time,” he explained. He taught forestry and land management at Green Mountain Technology & Career Center in Hyde Park, VT.
They also have a small flock of 60 ewes, mostly Coopworth, a breed out of New Zealand. “They produce beautiful wool and beautiful lambs,” said Nottermann.
He opened an online farm store as a result of the distribution challenges brought on by the pandemic. “During COVID, I talked to my farm buddies that had wholesale routes that disappeared overnight. We formed partnerships with other farms,” he said. “We sold maple syrup, chicken, bread from a local bakery and Sweet Rowen Farmstead Dairy Products.”
Most of the products are all still available through the online site, snugvalleyfarm.com. They also sell liver dog treats.
They started a Vermont-based home delivery business in February 2020 to meet the demand. “At COVID’s high point we delivered to 50 to 80 families a week. Now we deliver to 15 or so weekly,” Nottermann said.
In the early 2000s, they had been going to five farmers markets a weekend but phased that out, also due to the pandemic. They have continued home deliveries and delivering to Northeastern butcher shops. 5th Quarter Butcher & Provisions in Waitsfield, VT, receives a weekly pig meat order, and one whole beef every other week in summer.
Besides this, Nottermann sells 5,000 to 7,000 pumpkins each Halloween season.
What does he like best about farming? “No days are the same, it seems like,” he replied. “I really like making my living from the land. Grazing cattle is at the top of my enjoyment list.”
by Laura Rodley
