At some point, you figured out that Parmesan cheese doesn't have to come in a metallic green canister. Now that you're feeding the next generation, you want to provide your children with the freshest, healthiest food available and teach them where things come from. This spring, when the orchards are blooming and the barnyards are full of four-legged newborns, plan a trip to a working farm. What other kind of getaway allows kids to experience the thrill of bottle-feeding a baby goat or pulling a perfectly imperfect carrot straight out of the ground? They'll learn without even realizing it how things should really taste. And most important, they'll have a ball. Cookie has combed the country for the 50 best farms (yup, one per state) to let them tap into their natural instinct for the outdoors and indulge their love of animals. The options range from places you can spend an afternoon picking blueberries or learning to milk a grass-fed cow, to farms that double as modest bed-and-breakfasts or luxurious rural retreats, such as Vermont's historic Shelburne Farms, where back-to-the-land and high-thread-count sheets do, in fact, peacefully coexist.
Shelburne Farms
In the late 19th century, Lila Vanderbilt Webb and her husband, William Seward Webb, dreamed of creating the finest farm in America. With Lila's Vanderbilt inheritance of $10 million, they set out to do just that, enlisting Frederick Law Olmsted, the famed landscaper and designer of New York City's Central Park, to develop the 3,800-acre country estate. Together with Gifford Pinchot, a forest-conservation visionary, and architect Robert Robertson, they created a monument to American agriculture.
Today Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit educational center, a working farm, and a national historic landmark. The Children's Farmyard, the main educational center, is located in the Farm Barn, which also houses a bakery, a private school, and Shelburne's famous cheesemaking operation. Children learn how to milk cows, make cheese, and work with wool, and (perhaps most interesting to them) get to see what kind of poop comes from which kind of animal. Shelburne is committed to educating kids in the hopes of creating a healthier future for them and for the planet. Offerings range from visits (no reservation needed) to scheduled workshops and programs for local schools.
Guests can stay at the Inn. Humble in name, this 72-room mansion is the former main residence of the Vanderbilt Webbs. Every space, from Lila's grand bedroom to smaller rooms first used by bachelor guests, is charming and true to the original turn-of-the-century decor. Breakfast and dinner are served in the elegant yet warm Marble Dining Room, where returning guests welcome one another, and the menu reflects the changing seasons, with local purveyors and the farm's own garden providing a good deal of the ingredients.
When you want to take a break from watching the cheesemakers separate curds from whey or learning about the life cycle of a farm, beautiful trails around the property will take you by Lake Champlain. With a heavy-duty stroller and a picnic prepared by the Inn, it's an easy day of hiking. Prices in spring range from $135 a night for a small room with a shared bath to $350 a night for Overlook, Lila Webb's former bedroom. Open from mid-May through mid-October; 1611 Harbor Road, Shelburne, Vermont (about seven miles south of Burlington), (802) 985-8686.
Small And Sustainable Farms Near You
Organic farming means growing crops and raising livestock without using off-farm products like chemical fertilizers, hormones, pesticides, and genetically modified seeds. Organic produce tends to be more flavorful but less manicured than its big-farm counterparts (think of those lumpy heirloom tomatoes) and is considered richer in nutrients. But although the USDA issued guidelines for organic farming in 2002, certification can be a costly, drawn-out process, so many farmers embrace organic principles without receiving the official label. The lesson: Buy from local family farmers whenever possible. Cookie was pleased to discover that small growers, most of them practicing sustainable and organic methods, abound across the U.S. We recommend calling ahead to confirm harvest times and crop availability.
