The Millers are our only Vermont-based farmers. Their farm is located just 25 miles from our home farm, across the Connecticut River. John used to work for us on the home farm before deciding he wanted to build his own barn. John and Marie were both born in northern Vermont, but their families moved out of state when they were kids. John’s parents moved to a dairy farm in upstate New York. Marie’s parents moved to central Massachusetts. John and Marie met at John’s best friend’s wedding in Massachusetts. “She asked me to dance. I was never much for dancing, but we sure danced a lot that day,” John quips. They were married in 1994 and moved to their Vermont farm in 2002. Marie works as an oncology nurse at a nearby medical facility.
John has tried a number of professions. He has raised beef cattle, worked for a local electric utility, and for a construction company. But he missed farming. “I was looking for a farm job when Marie saw an ad for a barn operator at Pete and Gerry’s. I applied and got the job. I learned that they were looking for farmers, so I talked to our bank about financing. I originally wanted a dairy farm; but after working for Pete and Gerry’s, I decided on hens instead. If I hadn’t worked there, I would never have had the idea to build my own barn.”
John and Marie have three children – Jennifer, Jacob and Malcolm. They all help out with the hens, but Malcolm plans to stick with it. When he retires, John hopes to sell the farm to Malcolm.
“I love farming,” John continues. “ I like working with animals, raising crops, and I love working outside. John raised and trained a team of Belgian horses and began using them for low-impact logging on the 90-acre farm. Most of all, I like being with my family.” When they can get away, they like to go over to Lake Champlain or to the beach in Maine.
Bacon and eggs (fried in bacon fat)
A Beagle named Tusty and a Golden Retriever named Elliot.
Snowshoeing & Ice fishing
We take pride in our small family farms. We offer farm tours to let our customers get a first-hand experince of our small family farms.
