Windy Hill Farm is owned and operated by Jane Gledhill, Chiara Gledhill and Russell Paugh in Cedar Grove, NC. This approximately 70-acre farm has been continuously farmed since the early 1800s and, we think, based on land records and other research, was part of a larger farm since the 1700s, the time of the original land grant from the King of England.
A few years ago, we increased our efforts to farm sustainably by adding a 6.48kW photovoltaic system that produces approximately 70% of the power needs of our farm. We hope to install wind turbines and more solar panels in the future to completely offset our energy usage.
We sell our tasty food (look for raw, golden honey by the jar, brown turkey figs by the half-pint, blueberries by the pint, tasty garlic, and dozens of orange-yolked, pastured eggs, all fresh and in season), fragrant herbs, flowers, and luxurious goats milk soap at the Eno River Farmer's Market in historic downtown Hillsborough, NC. In addition to selling through the Eno Market, we sell our pasture-raised and -finished beef through First Hand Foods, which buys direct from farmers and sells to local restaurants and food markets. They are our middle man, allowing us to focus on raising happy cows and healthy pastures. All of our products are grown and produced using organic and sustainable methods. Visit our Farm Fresh Products page to learn more.
In 1996, we built a dam, dug a pond, and waited for rain. A few months later, Hurricane Fran left us with 11 inches of rain, a full pond, and no power for a week, forcing us to use our new pond to cool ourselves and to water our animals while we waited for our pumps to kick back on. For that week, when we needed her, our pond was a rockstar. Sadly though, within a few weeks, our beautiful pond had very little water left. What we discovered, besides that the watershed was insufficient, is that the soil in the pond is mixed with layers of pulverized rock that drains more water than it holds. Over the years, we have thought about ways to fill the pond for good, including adding super-expansive bentonite clay, using a ram pump to pull water from Lick Creek, and putting pigs to work rooting and trampling. In the meantime, Russell lovingly calls us Pond Bottom Farm, and we are embracing our bog/wildlife habitat/marsh and waiting for rain.
Lick Creek Annex is our newly acquired land on the south side of the road where Lick Creek, one of the branches of the headwaters of the Eno River, traverses. This land has a beautiful stand of mature Tulip Poplar trees on either side of the lovely babbling creek. This is a conservation area, and we have begun the process of placing it in a conservation easement.
Want to know more? Just ask.
A few years ago, we increased our efforts to farm sustainably by adding a 6.48kW photovoltaic system that produces approximately 70% of the power needs of our farm. We hope to install wind turbines and more solar panels in the future to completely offset our energy usage.
We sell our tasty food (look for raw, golden honey by the jar, brown turkey figs by the half-pint, blueberries by the pint, tasty garlic, and dozens of orange-yolked, pastured eggs, all fresh and in season), fragrant herbs, flowers, and luxurious goats milk soap at the Eno River Farmer's Market in historic downtown Hillsborough, NC. In addition to selling through the Eno Market, we sell our pasture-raised and -finished beef through First Hand Foods, which buys direct from farmers and sells to local restaurants and food markets. They are our middle man, allowing us to focus on raising happy cows and healthy pastures. All of our products are grown and produced using organic and sustainable methods. Visit our Farm Fresh Products page to learn more.
In 1996, we built a dam, dug a pond, and waited for rain. A few months later, Hurricane Fran left us with 11 inches of rain, a full pond, and no power for a week, forcing us to use our new pond to cool ourselves and to water our animals while we waited for our pumps to kick back on. For that week, when we needed her, our pond was a rockstar. Sadly though, within a few weeks, our beautiful pond had very little water left. What we discovered, besides that the watershed was insufficient, is that the soil in the pond is mixed with layers of pulverized rock that drains more water than it holds. Over the years, we have thought about ways to fill the pond for good, including adding super-expansive bentonite clay, using a ram pump to pull water from Lick Creek, and putting pigs to work rooting and trampling. In the meantime, Russell lovingly calls us Pond Bottom Farm, and we are embracing our bog/wildlife habitat/marsh and waiting for rain.
Lick Creek Annex is our newly acquired land on the south side of the road where Lick Creek, one of the branches of the headwaters of the Eno River, traverses. This land has a beautiful stand of mature Tulip Poplar trees on either side of the lovely babbling creek. This is a conservation area, and we have begun the process of placing it in a conservation easement.
Want to know more? Just ask.
“Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement in the cure of the environment than that of gardening. A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world. He is producing something to eat, which makes him somewhat independent of the grocery business, but he is also enlarging, for himself, the meaning of food and the pleasure of eating."
(“Think Little” pg. 88) (The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry)
"Eating is an agricultural act"
Wendell Berry
(“Think Little” pg. 88) (The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry)
"Eating is an agricultural act"
Wendell Berry
