Horse Drawn

Honest work at Essex Farm I think of the day the horses arrived as the day the farm came back to life. It was seven years ago, midwinter, and Mark and I had moved here that fall. We weren’t married yet. We were still in that hazy phase of new love—with each other, and...
Seeds of Revival

Seeds of Revival

For 169 years the Essex County Fair has celebrated the region’s agricultural heritage. But lately attendance for the five-day extravaganza of fried food, livestock exhibitions, carnival rides and demolition derbies in Westport has wobbled. One explanation—“Farming is...

Origin Story

From farm to plate at Farmhouse Pantry When Sarah and Josh Vaillancourt talk about farming, they aren’t just talking about producing food. Sure, that’s part of it—they do raise animals for meat—but that doesn’t occur in a vacuum. For them, farming is about community,...