Producer
Weathertop Farm
Contact: Sarah and Cedric Shannon
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Website: www.weathertopfarm.com
About Us
We had always dreamt of having land out in the country, but in reality had no idea what that might look like. By 2002, after several years of increased frustration with our suburban life in Illinois, we were desperate and ready for change.
On a cold and windy November day, we had the fortuitous experience of being introduced to the land that would later become Weathertop Farm - thanks to a friendly neighbor who was trying connect farmers with the land before a developer chopped it into pieces, an unfortunate theme we are seeing across the country.
We fell in love with the land, and having spent the previous years doing a lot of reading, learning and thinking about small-scale sustainable farming, we decided to take the plunge!
We didn’t jump into this all on our own. Along with having the support of family and friends, Weathertop Farm was formed as a joint effort between two families: Sarah & Cedric Shannon, who remain the farmers-in-residence as well as Marianne & Sami DiPasquale (Sarah and Sami are siblings) who continue to be long-distance partners in our farm.
In March of 2003, just a few months after the first visit, Sarah & Cedric packed up their five children, a few belongings, several rabbits, lots of fledgling ideas and moved to the farm. It was a slow start: just rabbits at first, then a few chickens, and so on. Each year we added a few more chickens, hens, hogs, and down the road started raising turkeys, ducks, sheep, and cattle that make up the diverse offerings our customers know and love today.
Over time, as the farm grew, we were able to slowly step back from off-farm work and Weathertop Farm became our full-time employment. We are now blessed with more work than we can handle on our own, leading to the beginning of apprenticeship positions for interested individuals to live and work on the farm.
A regular week keeps us busy with routine farm chores, caring for animals, poultry processing days, our on-farm store, farmers markets, accounting, marketing, deliveries & sales, and of course our children and community of helpers!
Weathertop Farm wouldn't be possible without our endlessly appreciative and enthusiastic foundation of customers. Your belief in our mission and love of our delicious food keeps us going!
On a cold and windy November day, we had the fortuitous experience of being introduced to the land that would later become Weathertop Farm - thanks to a friendly neighbor who was trying connect farmers with the land before a developer chopped it into pieces, an unfortunate theme we are seeing across the country.
We fell in love with the land, and having spent the previous years doing a lot of reading, learning and thinking about small-scale sustainable farming, we decided to take the plunge!
We didn’t jump into this all on our own. Along with having the support of family and friends, Weathertop Farm was formed as a joint effort between two families: Sarah & Cedric Shannon, who remain the farmers-in-residence as well as Marianne & Sami DiPasquale (Sarah and Sami are siblings) who continue to be long-distance partners in our farm.
In March of 2003, just a few months after the first visit, Sarah & Cedric packed up their five children, a few belongings, several rabbits, lots of fledgling ideas and moved to the farm. It was a slow start: just rabbits at first, then a few chickens, and so on. Each year we added a few more chickens, hens, hogs, and down the road started raising turkeys, ducks, sheep, and cattle that make up the diverse offerings our customers know and love today.
Over time, as the farm grew, we were able to slowly step back from off-farm work and Weathertop Farm became our full-time employment. We are now blessed with more work than we can handle on our own, leading to the beginning of apprenticeship positions for interested individuals to live and work on the farm.
A regular week keeps us busy with routine farm chores, caring for animals, poultry processing days, our on-farm store, farmers markets, accounting, marketing, deliveries & sales, and of course our children and community of helpers!
Weathertop Farm wouldn't be possible without our endlessly appreciative and enthusiastic foundation of customers. Your belief in our mission and love of our delicious food keeps us going!
Practices
We are committed to being an economically, environmentally & socially responsible farm while providing a healthy alternative to industrial meat.
The cornerstone to our farming practices is soil stewardship through daily rotational grazing.
No antibiotics are used, and all livestock eat from pasture that is free of pesticides, herbicides & synthetic fertilizers.
Animals are free to express their natural instincts and receive quality care here on our farm.
The cornerstone to our farming practices is soil stewardship through daily rotational grazing.
No antibiotics are used, and all livestock eat from pasture that is free of pesticides, herbicides & synthetic fertilizers.
Animals are free to express their natural instincts and receive quality care here on our farm.