Location
9 Middle Road, Chilmark 02535
Contact
Phone:508-939-0140
Email:mermaidfarm@comcast.net
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Mermaid-Farm-and-Dairy/371138872899
Products include
Meat, seasonal vegetables, raw milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, yarn
Sales locations
Self-serve farmstand, dawn to dusk, year-round
West Tisbury Farmers Market, every Saturday, summer and winter
Description
Mermaid Farm started as a large vegetable garden selling surplus tomatoes and salad greens by the side of the road. There were cows, sheep, chickens, a raspberry patch and a couple of greenhouses full of tomatoes and other interesting plants. The fauna part of the farm now supplies meat, raw milk, yogurt, lassi yogurt drinks and cheese. The flora part of the farm supplies tomatoes, garlic, peppermint and pea shoots, along with other eclectic vegetables. The farm now employs a cheesemaker.
History
Caitlin Jones and Allan Healy established their farm on Middle Road in the mid 1990s. They began simply, with tomatoes their specially. As their family grew so did production on the farm. In 2002, Allan purchased two milk cows to start a raw milk dairy. Produce is still a part of their farm stand offerings, however they are most known for their tasty raw milk, cream-line yogurt, mango lassies, and a variety of cheeses. They also offer lamb, whey-fed pork, beef and eggs. They farm additional leased pastures, hay fields, and a vegetable plot offsite. Caitlin is transitioning the 2 front fields at the farm into experimental perennial crops, so stay tuned. Sometimes quirky and unconventional, both Allan and Caitlin take a low impact, resourceful approach to farm production.
Further Information
Offers occasional educational programs
This article by Bella Bennett originally appeared on mvtimes.com.