September 17, 2021
Building Viability with Boneyard Farm
Hannah and John Doyle are the owners and operators of Boneyard Farm in Cambridge, Vermont. They specialize in pastured meat, eggs, and produce. Hannah Doyle, the primary farm operator, has a long history of working on New England farms. She grew up on a farmstead in central Vermont and knew she wanted to continue to farm from an early age. John Doyle assists with management while also operating a fencing construction business.
The farm has had steady growth, starting as a small homestead with both Hannah and John working full-time off-farm and expanding to the 180-acre former conventional dairy they moved to in 2020, where they plan to continue growing and stewarding the property into the future.
“It feels great to have the support of agricultural organizations as we expand and settle into our new farm. We are increasing production in almost every endeavor,” said Hannah Doyle. “There is lots to do and a huge amount of infrastructure to build/source/install, so having our chicken processing dialed in and ready to go for this coming growing season feels like one thing checked off the list.”
In the past, they struggled to meet the demand for their locally produced poultry and pork, but with their new property and the funds from AFT’s New England Farmer Microgrants Program, they were able to build a mobile poultry processing unit that will allow them to increase their production by 150%. The processing unit is on a 10’ trailer, allowing them the flexibility to move between fields and process their chickens quickly and humanely.
The New England Farmer Microgrants Program, launched by American Farmland Trust in 2020, provides farmers with cash grants to expand their farm production, address access to land, and create farm succession plans.
Hannah and John plan to continue expanding their poultry operation, providing their local community with fresh and sustainable meat products. They are also raising their two children on the farm with the hopes they will someday follow in their footsteps.
To learn more visit, https://boneyardfarm.com/