Eat Local at Home
You can have farm-to-table meals — on your very own table at home. One of the benefits of living in an agricultural town like Berthoud is access to the small, local farms.
The annual farmers’ market is a reliable place to shop for fresh, local ingredients. But in addition to the Berthoud Farmers’ Market, many of Berthoud’s farmers open their fields and farms to the community, so we can all have access to farm-fresh food. Some offer farm stands, pick-and-pay produce and CSA memberships. Others sell online.
Here are seven farms to check out the next time you want to shop local for your next meal.
Note: Some of these products may be offered on a seasonal basis; only at the farmers’ market (which runs from mid-June through late September); or in limited quantities due to Covid-19 changes. Reach out to the farm directly for details on how to buy from them.
Lake Hollow Homestead
2901 Lake Hollow Road
facebook.com/lakehollowhomestead
What do they sell: This is a small, family-run, organic garlic farm. Lake Hollow Homestead specializes in culinary, gourmet garlic, garlic products and garlic seed for your home garden or farm. They sell things like garlic salts, garlic powders and infused vinegars.
Lake Hollow offers a small variety of hardneck and softneck garlics. This year, it is offering two softneck varieties (Inchelium Red and Nootka Rose) four hardnecks (Bogatyr, Leningrad, Music and Romanian Red).
Through a partnership with Root Shoot Malting (a Loveland-based malt house), Lake Hollow also sells locally grown whole grain, artisanal flours and homebrew malts. The whole-wheat flours include one made with Olandsvete wheat, a rare, heritage wheat with a distinct flavor, and Sunshine Red, a fresh-milled, hard red wheat with a nutty flavor grown right here in Berthoud.
About the farm: Lake Hollow is a husband-and-wife team, Mike Costanzo and LeeAnne Sanders, who say they are living the simple life (hence the “homestead” term). They moved to their current location in 2014 and opened the business the next year. They began offering a CSA, where local people could buy into a share of fresh produce, but that changed when Costanzo was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. They shifted their focus on the garlic niche.
Costanzo and Sanders grow most of their own food and store it so they can eat it throughout the winter, and buy as much as possible from other local farmers.
“Longtime hobby gardeners, we both spent years growing vegetables in backyard gardens, always dreaming of one day having a little more space where we could grow enough not just for ourselves but others as well,” they write on their website.
They continue: “We’re an unlikely story: two suburban-raised, average Joes trying to run a garlic farm and live off the land while also battling chronic disease.”
WiMo Farms
2515 Parrish Road
What do they sell? Humanely raised beef, pork, raw milk, lamb and seasonal eggs. Meat is grass-fed and organic.
About the farm: WiMo Farms, in the Berthoud foothills, has Jersey cows, sheep, pigs and chickens. It has been focused on fresh, raw milk for five years. They claim to have the “healthiest herd [of dairy cows] in the West.”
“We test for things you’ve probably never heard of and, well, we think that we’ve earned our self-proclaimed title,” they write on their website.
The couple-run farm began as a way to feed themselves healthily and treat animals humanely. They got into raw milk after their daughter was born in 2012; the baby experienced some neurological challenges, and with it, the need to find healthier food for her to eat. The effort grew until they began sharing “the cleanest raw milk you will find in Colorado.”
More info: Due to Covid-19 reducing the operation of local butcher shops, WiMo Farms may be selling whole animals (not cut-wrapped) and “primal cut” meat (only the neck, shoulder, rack, loin and leg). Farm visits are by appointment on Saturdays.
The Farmer and Adele
19417 County Road 3
What do they sell? Organic produce, eggs, flowers, herbs and herb salts. You can usually find the products at the Berthoud Farmers’ Market, Rise Artisan Bread and The Rancher’s Wife. Produce may include spaghetti squash, pumpkins, gourds, peppers and in-season veggies. Also, look for jams, jellies and soap.
The best-selling product is the herb salts, made with fresh herbs, garlic and salt. There is a Tuscan Herb Blend (sage, rosemary, garlic and kosher salt), Scarborough Fair salt (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme inn garlic-infused salt) and a Mediterraneann blend (basil, parsley, sage, oregano, fennel, garlic and salt).
About the farm: This small, family farm, run by Jennifer Caldwell and Adele Work, also typically holds classes and hosts movies. It spans 18 acres southeast of Berthoud and is home to goats, chickens, dogs, cats and a rabbit.
Desiderata Ranch
4617 County Road 2
What do they sell? A variety of organically grown produce and preserves. Look for a long list of herbs, edible flowers and all kinds of veggies, from arugula to zucchini.
About the farm: This family-run farm was founded in 1981. In 2013, the farm was almost totally ruined by the flood. You can usually buy directly from the farm, at the farmers’ market and via a membership program. However, Covid-19 has forced some changes, and currently the farm is focused on no-contact, direct sales (instead of markets) on the farm.
Mooney Family Farm
136 N. County Road 23
What do they sell? Organic vegetables, fruits and flowers. They also have peanut clusters and various spices made with products grown on the farm. Common vegetables include the likes of carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, beans, potatoes, beets, squash, broccoli, watermelon — the list goes on.
About the farm: The 20-acre family farm, run by Chris and Ramona Mooney, is focused on sustainable and organic farming principles. Two acres grow produce and flowers, and the rest of the land is for cattle, free-range chickens and other animals.
It normally also holds events and offers community education.
The Mooneys began growing their own food to supplement their food cost; over the years, it expanded to share with the community.
Long Shadow Farm
101 Bothun Road
longshadowfarm.wixsite.com/longshadow
What do they sell? Grass-fed, pastured lamb, pastured pork, free-range, pastured eggs. Animals contain no antibiotics and no hormones.
About the farm: This small, family-owned farm raises sheep, pigs, ducks (for eggs), turkeys and chicken. On occasion, they may have a steer or two for beef and can provide grass-fed beef.
Its roots date back to 2007, when the family bought a farm to learn how to live off the land. Over the years, they began sharing with neighbors and continued growing the farm every year.
Pick up of products is by appointment only. They are currently taking reservations for the next pork, available in May 2021. Tours may be available, again, by appointment.
“We have soft hearts for all animals, dirt under our nails from working the soil, and a genuine interest in making our little piece of the planet better,” they write on their website. “Make no mistake, farming is neither glamorous nor easy, but when you succeed, it is so worth it.”
Star View Farm
622 S. County Road 23
What do they sell? Hundreds of chickens that produce fresh eggs and organic meat; turkeys during the holidays; a herd of Berkshire swine; pasture-raised, grass-fed and grass-finished Australian Lowline Cattle and British white cattle; sheep and lambs; honey bees that produce gallons of honey every year.
It also sells grass hay, alfalfa and other bales; livestock feed; BBQ roaster special orders of sheep, goat, llama, alpaca, buffalo, emu and more; vegan fruit preserves; wax products, such as candles; stew chicken; and various stews and ready-to-go frozen meals (casseroles, meatloaf, pot pies, pizza and quiche).
Its eggs are USDA certified and found in several stores throughout Colorado.
Check the “order availability” to see what is currently available.
Tip: Star View Farm will be offering turkeys and turkey crowns in 2021 and is already taking pre-orders. Get your order in ASAP!
About the farm: For more than 30 years, Star View Farm has been family owned and operated. If you want a tour of the farm or to arrange a custom order, reach out to make an appointment.
Sara’s Pick of the Coop
facebook.com/Saraspickofthecoop
What do they sell? “Thoughtfully grown,” natural chicken eggs from hens free to roam outside (pasture-raised). The chickens are never confined, except when medically necessary.
These eggs are truly local and pasture-raised with an emphasis on sustainability and healthy hens.
About the farm: This farm is run entirely by Sara Mayer. She says her dad gave her her first chicken when she was just six years old, and she fell in love. She started Sara’s Pick of the Coop when she was in high school and continued running it after college.
“I am deeply concerned with the care and treatment of animals and strive to produce the best eggs possible so I can share them with you,” she writes on her website.