Howling Wolf

When most of us think of New Jersey it's dirty busy cities, or silly reality television shows, but drive an hour or so north or west, and you'll find yourself in lush hilly green farmland.  A little more than an hour west of the Big Apple is Howling Wolf Farm, a refreshing contrast to the bustling eastern seaboard.

Howling Wolf is well on its way to becoming a Full Food Farm - one that provides 100% of a person's nutritional needs year round, including veggies, meat, milk, beans, and grain.  From the first few minutes of conversation with our new host Matt, it was clear that there were very good things happening here.  Matt explained in detail their method of caring for their animals in a way that mimics an animal's natural way of living.  He stressed equally their focus on an animal's quality of life and the quality of milk or meat, understanding how directly they are related.  Rotational grazing maintains healthy land for pasture or planting - the cows, goats, pigs and chickens are systematically moved around as are the veggies (year to year), ensuring that nutrient levels are naturally maintained.

Cows can get stressed out and stress makes bad milk and meat - Matt explained how they keep things stress-free - they keep calves with their mothers much longer than most farms do, and quickly slaughter in the field rather than leading a single steer away from the rest of the herd which would certainly create anxiety and the sour chemicals that go along with that.  He said he's heard a mother's cries after her calf is taken away... not a good sound.  Equally as powerful was his story of the beef herd responding to a slaughter with mournful moos, only heard when one of the herd is killed.  This awareness of and respect for the cattle's tendencies and moods and behaviors results in high quality, grass fed beef that more and more people are seeking out.

We were able to get a good picture of the many different operations on the farm, including soil block preparation, seedling transferring, weeding, harvesting, fence repair and relocating, chicken feeding and butchering, milking... all in less than a week.  Matt was likely not as productive as he normally is, always graciously interrupting the work to answer our many questions at length.

Adam, the apprentice on the farm (who lives in a caboose at the back of the property - awesome!) shared some meals and conversation with us throughout the week, introducing us to some of Rudolf Steiner's ideas, and many of his own.  He seemed to feel much more at home out here under the stars, than under the city lights (he grew up on the shore), and shared an inspiring hope for a farm to be a place that people come to be together - eating, chatting, learning, sharing, playing music (he recently bought a fiddle that he really wanted to put to good use).

Howling Wolf is supported through a partnership system, many "share-holders" or partners come by on Friday or Saturday to pick up their food for the week.  They are free to take what they want out of baskets and freezers, encouraged to simply use their judgement to determine appropriate quantity.  Some of them even volunteer occasionally, truly being a partner and not just a customer.

Howling Wolf Pics HERE