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 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 and using a ram pump to pull water from Lick Creek*. In the meantime, we are embracing our bog/wildlife habitat/marsh and waiting for rain. ​

Berries, fruit, and other produce

We grow blueberries (seven varieties), brown turkey figs, Asian pears, muscadine grapes, shiitake and oyster mushrooms, and soft- and hardneck garlic, all for sale at the Eno River Farmer's Market in Hillsborough, NC.​  Other fruit, including sweet cherries, paw paws, mulberries, and elderberries, are still maturing. We planted ever-bearing (Heritage Red and Fall Gold) raspberries in the spring of 2015. Look for raspberries at the market starting in the spring of 2017. Also in the spring of 2017, we'll have Purple Passion and Jersey Supreme asparagus.  Other future plans include ginger, rhubarb, and horseradish.

Goat milk soap

Jane has been raising dairy goats for 35 years and has used the milk for delicious homemade cheese and yogurt as well as in these bars of soap. With only nourishing and planet friendly oils, goat milk, lye and natural scents from essential oils, this simple and natural soap is great for skin​ and for the environment (it's biodegradable)!
​
​Our customers have found a multitude of uses for this rich soap.  Lather up and wash your face, body, and baby; shave and shampoo; keep pets squeaky clean and smelling sweet; and wash your dishes and your woolies. It is mild and gentle enough to help with severely dry or sensitive skin and eczema flare ups. Clean your skin and leave it feeling nourished and moisturized too.

Try this soap and you won't regret it. It's amazing!  In addition to selling bars at the Eno River Farmers' Market, we also sell at Dual Supply Co. in downtown Hillsborough

Want to learn the fine arts of cheese- or soap-making? Contact us and let us know.  We'll gather around the stove and enjoy homemade treats and coffee while sharing what we know.  Go home with a new skill and a bar of soap or sampling of cheese!

Raw honey

We love our honey bees at Windy Hill Farm! We get to experience first-hand the important role that bees play in the production of our food, and we also get to enjoy the golden honey they produce.

Our honeybees are integral to the success of the farm. In order for most fruits and vegetables to grow, the flowers of these plants need to be pollinated. In the simple act of foraging for nectar to feed their colonies, they pollinate the flowers of the plants that sustain us.  Thank you bees!

Their favorite nectar and pollen gathering places on our farm are a large Tulip Poplar stand in spring, our blueberries and orchard in spring and early summer, and wildflower meadows spring through fall.

Look for​ our delicious raw honey at the market and on the farm tour.

Grass-fed beef

We tend a small herd of Angus Simmental cross cattle using natural approaches. Calves remain with their mothers and receive all the health benefits of nursing along with being pasture raised and finished. Geof manages an intensive grazing method and moves the herd to new small areas of lush pasture daily.

Over the last few years, we have been increasing the diversity of plant species by adding to our fescue and clover pastures with summer and winter annual grasses, legumes and brassicas. This plant diversity better feeds our ruminants - beef cows and dairy goats - and improves the soil ecology of our pastures. The macrobial and microbial life in our soils is improving every year. Dung Beetles are a favorite topic of discussion in the role they play in soil health!

​Our beef is always hormone and antibiotic free.​ Our cattle are processed by Chaudhry Halal Meats in Siler City. 
The majority of our beef is sold to First Hand Foods in Durham, North Carolina.
​Please visit firsthandfoods.com to read more about this important business and how they are positively impacting our farming community.  Some shares of beef are available for purchase (contact us to learn more), or you can find our meat at local restaurants and markets. ​​​

Farm-fresh chicken eggs

 In 2015, Chiara and Russell brought heritage breed chickens and ducks to the farm.  We started bringing dozens of golden-yolked chicken eggs to market in March of 2016.​  We started bringing duck eggs to market in the spring of 2017, and my my, are they delicious! We have other big dreams for our duck eggs, so be on the lookout for value-added duck egg goodness in the future!  All of our birds are free-range and, in addition to the tasty bugs they find, enjoy locally milled, certified GMO-free feed.

The farm has seen its share of guinea fowl over the years. They were employed as pest control (especially appreciated for tick and Japanese Beetle control) and would occasionally lend us some small but tasty eggs.  Future plans include bringing back the guinea fowl and the possible introduction of quail and geese for eggs as well.  Delicacies come in all sizes!
"The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life."
​The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture
​Wendell Berry
© 2023 Windy Hill Farm & Events, LLC
WINDY HILL FARM, CEDAR GROVE, NC

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 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 and using a ram pump to pull water from Lick Creek*. In the meantime, we are embracing our bog/wildlife habitat/marsh and waiting for rain. ​

Berries, fruit, and other produce

We grow blueberries (seven varieties), brown turkey figs, Asian pears, muscadine grapes, shiitake and oyster mushrooms, and soft- and hardneck garlic, all for sale at the Eno River Farmer's Market in Hillsborough, NC.​  Other fruit, including sweet cherries, paw paws, mulberries, and elderberries, are still maturing. We planted ever-bearing (Heritage Red and Fall Gold) raspberries in the spring of 2015. Look for raspberries at the market starting in the spring of 2017. Also in the spring of 2017, we'll have Purple Passion and Jersey Supreme asparagus.  Other future plans include ginger, rhubarb, and horseradish.

Goat milk soap

Jane has been raising dairy goats for 35 years and has used the milk for delicious homemade cheese and yogurt as well as in these bars of soap. With only nourishing and planet friendly oils, goat milk, lye and natural scents from essential oils, this simple and natural soap is great for skin​ and for the environment (it's biodegradable)!
​
​Our customers have found a multitude of uses for this rich soap.  Lather up and wash your face, body, and baby; shave and shampoo; keep pets squeaky clean and smelling sweet; and wash your dishes and your woolies. It is mild and gentle enough to help with severely dry or sensitive skin and eczema flare ups. Clean your skin and leave it feeling nourished and moisturized too.

Try this soap and you won't regret it. It's amazing!  In addition to selling bars at the Eno River Farmers' Market, we also sell at Dual Supply Co. in downtown Hillsborough

Want to learn the fine arts of cheese- or soap-making? Contact us and let us know.  We'll gather around the stove and enjoy homemade treats and coffee while sharing what we know.  Go home with a new skill and a bar of soap or sampling of cheese!

Raw honey

We love our honey bees at Windy Hill Farm! We get to experience first-hand the important role that bees play in the production of our food, and we also get to enjoy the golden honey they produce.

Our honeybees are integral to the success of the farm. In order for most fruits and vegetables to grow, the flowers of these plants need to be pollinated. In the simple act of foraging for nectar to feed their colonies, they pollinate the flowers of the plants that sustain us.  Thank you bees!

Their favorite nectar and pollen gathering places on our farm are a large Tulip Poplar stand in spring, our blueberries and orchard in spring and early summer, and wildflower meadows spring through fall.

Look for​ our delicious raw honey at the market and on the farm tour.

Grass-fed beef

We tend a small herd of Angus Simmental cross cattle using natural approaches. Calves remain with their mothers and receive all the health benefits of nursing along with being pasture raised and finished. Geof manages an intensive grazing method and moves the herd to new small areas of lush pasture daily.

Over the last few years, we have been increasing the diversity of plant species by adding to our fescue and clover pastures with summer and winter annual grasses, legumes and brassicas. This plant diversity better feeds our ruminants - beef cows and dairy goats - and improves the soil ecology of our pastures. The macrobial and microbial life in our soils is improving every year. Dung Beetles are a favorite topic of discussion in the role they play in soil health!

​Our beef is always hormone and antibiotic free.​ Our cattle are processed by Chaudhry Halal Meats in Siler City. 
The majority of our beef is sold to First Hand Foods in Durham, North Carolina.
​Please visit firsthandfoods.com to read more about this important business and how they are positively impacting our farming community.  Some shares of beef are available for purchase (contact us to learn more), or you can find our meat at local restaurants and markets. ​​​

Farm-fresh chicken eggs

 In 2015, Chiara and Russell brought heritage breed chickens and ducks to the farm.  We started bringing dozens of golden-yolked chicken eggs to market in March of 2016.​  We started bringing duck eggs to market in the spring of 2017, and my my, are they delicious! We have other big dreams for our duck eggs, so be on the lookout for value-added duck egg goodness in the future!  All of our birds are free-range and, in addition to the tasty bugs they find, enjoy locally milled, certified GMO-free feed.

The farm has seen its share of guinea fowl over the years. They were employed as pest control (especially appreciated for tick and Japanese Beetle control) and would occasionally lend us some small but tasty eggs.  Future plans include bringing back the guinea fowl and the possible introduction of quail and geese for eggs as well.  Delicacies come in all sizes!
"The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life."
​The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture
​Wendell Berry