Great Brook Farm

12/18/2021

Helping hands...or hooves

Helping hands...or hooves

11/27/2021

Did you know you can visit the animals year-round? Parsley and Sage love visitors! Both are Alpine goats, known as a good milking breed. These two will not have babies or give milk. They live with Tom (Alpine/Saanen cross) and Saffron (a Boer goat, known for meat but she will not be eaten).

11/17/2021

10/24/2021

Today was our last day of the 2021 scooping season at Great Brook Farm Ice Cream. Thank you to all who supported our family business this season. See you in April 2022.

10/13/2021

To the women and men picking our produce, caring for animals, tending to the crops- Happy National Farmer's Day.

10/09/2021

Farm member spotlight: Sophia the alpaca. Sophia and her friend Maggie the other alpaca have lived at Great Brook Farm for the past 9 years. Sophia enjoys eating, napping and watching people as if they are the odd looking ones.

Farm member spotlight: Sophia the alpaca. Sophia and her friend Maggie the other alpaca have lived at Great Brook Farm for the past 9 years. Sophia enjoys eating, napping and watching people as if they are the odd looking ones.

10/03/2021

Strutting into Sunday like...

Strutting into Sunday like...

09/19/2021

Pumpkin and Pumpkin Oreo ice cream are back!!! 🎃🎃

09/15/2021

Pushing to get harvest done, working long days and nights.

09/11/2021

We have begun corn harvest 2021. The entire stalk of cattle corn is chopped. The kernels are pressed in a kernel processor attached to our son's Claas Chopper. The second picture is our trench silo. All our cow chow is dumped, packed down with equipment, and then covered with a special tarp to limit moisture. This trench silo will be filled with silage in a couple weeks. It will be enough feed for our cows until next year's harvest. The second part of the trench silo has loose hay. We also feed apple pomace, brewer's grain, minerals and grain from the Midwest. Our cows have their own feed nutritionist we work with; each age group gets a different feed mixture. If you want to learn more, give our son a follow on YouTube at 'Farming with Duffy AG.'

09/07/2021

We had to say goodbye to this little lady on the right. Patience was 14. We had her mother Patzee and she came to us just a few months old. She was spicy- she held her own against tall Tom on the left. She enjoyed food (never patient when it came to grain) and feared the brush- avoiding having her coat brushed at all costs; even when she needed her winter coat combed out in the spring. Her favorite scratch spot was behind her ears. She passed peacefully, letting us know it was time. Patience was a very special part of the farm and will be missed.

We had to say goodbye to this little lady on the right. Patience was 14. We had her mother Patzee and she came to us just a few months old. She was spicy- she held her own against tall Tom on the left. She enjoyed food (never patient when it came to grain) and feared the brush- avoiding having her coat brushed at all costs; even when she needed her winter coat combed out in the spring. Her favorite scratch spot was behind her ears. She passed peacefully, letting us know it was time. Patience was a very special part of the farm and will be missed.

09/02/2021

Did you know the best time to fertilize your lawn is in the fall? Our compost is ready for you and all your lawn & garden needs. In case you forgot, here are the details:
*Compost is aged one year, odor free
*Bags are $5.50 each or 4 bags for $20
*Cash or check accepted
*Pickup at the farm, all daylight hours- 247 North Rd Carlisle, MA
*It is self-serve pickup and bags weigh appropriately 60 lbs
*Call the farm for bulk delivery 978-371-7083
*This is our 34th year in business

Did you know the best time to fertilize your lawn is in the fall? Our compost is ready for you and all your lawn & garden needs. In case you forgot, here are the details:
*Compost is aged one year, odor free
*Bags are $5.50 each or 4 bags for $20
*Cash or check accepted
*Pickup at the farm, all daylight hours- 247 North Rd Carlisle, MA
*It is self-serve pickup and bags weigh appropriately 60 lbs
*Call the farm for bulk delivery 978-371-7083
*This is our 34th year in business

08/30/2021

Farm member spotlight:
This is Big Red. She is a Rhode Island Red. She's one of our heaviest chickens (she says it's the weight of her feathers) and lays large light brown eggs. Her hobbies include making lots of noise in the hen house when other hens are laying eggs and eating cow chow out of the cow's feed bunk next door.

08/28/2021

This is the weather we have waited for all summer!! Ice cream stand open 11am until dark. Free Smartbarn tours at 1, 3 and 5pm. Park is open dawn to dusk. Come enjoy the park and farm

08/27/2021

When people say they will only eat “antibiotic free” meat, I would love to show them this picture. How would you feel if you had a case of pink eye and didn’t go to the doctor to get medicine to make it better? I would assume the burning in the eye would be quite painful. The same is true for animals.
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One of my calves had pink eye, and I (the doctor) gave him a spray in his eye and an antibiotic to help heal his infection. If we can take antibiotics when we are sick, why can’t we expect our animals to do the same?
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This is the first time this animal has ever been given an antibiotic, and hopefully it’s the last. But if I didn’t treat him knowing he had a bacterial infection in his eye, he would suffer in pain for a few weeks, completely loose vision out of that eye, and potentially loose the entire eye if the infection got bad enough. That’s a better end result than giving an antibiotic to heal the eye in a few days? I would beg to differ.
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You see, since he was given a shot, that does not mean that there will be antibiotics in his meat. Every single antibiotic has a withdrawal period on the label. After the minimum withdrawal days have gone by, the medicine will be completely out of his system and his body will be antibiotic free. ALL animals are antibiotic free because of required withdrawal periods, and every animal that enters a processing facility is tested before butcher to make sure there is no antibiotics in their system. If there is, the animal is rejected and will not be butchered.
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Pink eye is a very contagious disease and can cause many issues this time of the year. Luckily, we have only had a few calves who have gotten it, but if we didn’t treat those few animals it could potentially spread like wild fire into the rest of the herd. And that is NOT a good day if that would happen.
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Did you know ALL meat is antibiotic free because of withdrawal periods? Leave your response in the comments below 👇🏻
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#beringerfamilyfarms #bustingmyths #antibioticfree #dontfallformarketingschemes #mislabelingatitsfinest #knowthefacts #trustafarmer

08/21/2021

When the boss calls and asks if you can come in on your day off

08/18/2021

It's important to keep hydrated while exercising. Sage has her own method, climbing the automatic waterer and drinking upside-down.

It's important to keep hydrated while exercising. Sage has her own method, climbing the automatic waterer and drinking upside-down.

08/12/2021

New!!
Caramel Macchiato Frappe
Coffee ice cream blended with expresso powder, whipped cream, caramel drizzle

New!!
Caramel Macchiato Frappe
Coffee ice cream blended with expresso powder, whipped cream, caramel drizzle

08/07/2021

Farnham and Lowell enjoying their morning hose down time

Farnham and Lowell enjoying their morning hose down time

08/07/2021

07/31/2021

Today is a million dollar day! 75, sunny, light breeze and no rain! Come visit the park and farm. Free barn tours at 1, 3 and 5pm. Ice cream is open 11am until dark!

07/30/2021

Chillin' in the pool with my homie

Chillin' in the pool with my homie

07/28/2021

Update- thanks for the support! We had many people message us for eggs and, at this time, have no more available.

Our daughter is looking for a few more regular egg customers. Fresh eggs, unique colors from happy hens. Pickup in Billerica- 10 minutes from the farm. Please message us if interested.

07/25/2021

Ever wonder what the view from a tractor looks like? We're chopping haylage which is loose grass. It gets chopped green, we dump it in our trench silo, we pack it down with the weight of our tractors or bulldozer, then we cover the 'bunk' with a special tarp that minimizes oxygen and moisture. All our 'cow chow' aka feed is tested by our feed nutritionist. We collaborate closely with our nutritionist who works with us to feed each cow the right balanced diet. Just like humans, our cows eat differently based on their age and stage of lactation.

Ever wonder what the view from a tractor looks like? We're chopping haylage which is loose grass. It gets chopped green, we dump it in our trench silo, we pack it down with the weight of our tractors or bulldozer, then we cover the 'bunk' with a special tarp that minimizes oxygen and moisture. All our 'cow chow' aka feed is tested by our feed nutritionist. We collaborate closely with our nutritionist who works with us to feed each cow the right balanced diet. Just like humans, our cows eat differently based on their age and stage of lactation.

07/24/2021

True friendship has no boundaries...and no personal space it seems

True friendship has no boundaries...and no personal space it seems

07/19/2021

Our composted cow manure is back! $5.50 per bag or four bags for $20.

07/18/2021

Despite the weather, the Ice cream stand is open today!

07/18/2021

Goldie and Pumpkin look like twins, but they are 4 years apart.

Lowell and Farnham are one day apart from different mothers and growing fast! We bought a second automatic feeder because Lowell was hogging (pun intended) all the grain.

07/17/2021

We are sold out of composted cow manure. It has been too wet to screen the aged compost we have ready to sell. We are waiting on our screener to arrive which we rent and for the atmosphere to dry up. We apologize for this. We will post here when we have more bags available.

07/10/2021

Ice cream stand is open today 11am until dark! Barn tours are at 1, 2 and 3.

06/23/2021

Baby Saffron relaxing. Many people ask us what breed she is. She is a Boer goat. Boers hail from South Africa and the word 'Boer' translates to 'farmer'. Boers are typically a meat goat, but Saffron will spend her life with us on the farm.

Baby Saffron relaxing. Many people ask us what breed she is. She is a Boer goat. Boers hail from South Africa and the word 'Boer' translates to 'farmer'. Boers are typically a meat goat, but Saffron will spend her life with us on the farm.

06/21/2021

Our friends are looking for few regular egg customers. If interested please private message us. Pickup in Billerica, MA less than 10 minutes from the farm. $4 per dozen. Brown and white eggs available from happy hens.

Our friends are looking for few regular egg customers. If interested please private message us. Pickup in Billerica, MA less than 10 minutes from the farm. $4 per dozen. Brown and white eggs available from happy hens.

06/20/2021

Maggie and her pool, a love story...

Did you know Alpacas love to play in water? Miss Maggie is always putting her feet in the water bowls so we bought her a play pool. Sophia has never been a water gal; she just supervises along with the sheep.

06/19/2021

High eighties and sun this weekend. Perfect ice cream weather!

06/17/2021

New truck driver on the farm. Not sure if he's going to make it...he's easily distracted

New truck driver on the farm. Not sure if he's going to make it...he's easily distracted