Located in the heart of the Northeast Kingdom, and embracing the values of that region, lies MKVT Farm. The Glover farming operation, run by Mark and Karen Rodgers, was recently selected as the 2024 Vermont ‘Fantastic Farmer’. The farm selected for this recognition receives a $5000 grant from the A. Pizzagalli Family Farm Fund.
A Vermont ‘Fantastic Farmer’ recipient is recognized for the way in which they impact our lives, often going unnoticed. Hidden away in remote parts of Vermont and the depths of the local grocery or farm stand; maybe in our lunch, on top of our pancakes or in a slice of cheese on our sandwich, a Vermont farmer has touched our life today. A Vermont ‘Fantastic Farmer’ must also embrace stewardship of the land, management of resources, education and promotion of Vermont agriculture and farming to the public and fellow farmers.
Mark and Karen Rodgers are continuing the tradition of family farming on their Glover property. MKVT Farm is a Farm to Table business with a focus on pasture raised sheep, pigs, chickens (broilers and layers), and turkeys. MKVT’s animals are treated with care and given plenty of room to roam. They enjoy grazing on open pasture and soaking up the fresh air. MKVT Farm has recently garnered national attention with the introduction of Dutch Spotted Sheep into the US. The first Dutch Spotted sheep in the Western Hemisphere was born at MKVT Farm from embryos imported from the United Kingdom.
“It is very fulfilling to be recognized as a Vermont ‘Fantastic Farmer’ for doing what comes naturally to me,” said Mark Rodgers of MKVT Farm. “My job as a farmer is to convert photosynthesis into food for the population, to educate the public about the value of knowing their farmer and where their food and fiber comes from, as well as educating farmers and the public about our responsibility to treat and nurture our animals and our environment with respect. Ultimately my goal is to leave the world a better place when we have completed our journey as temporary stewards of our small part of the world. The generosity of the A. Pizzagalli Family Farm Fund to support this program provides a unique incentive for farmers to apply for this award.”
Q: Please describe your role on the farm (worker, manager, owner, co-owner, etc.), your key responsibilities, and how many years you have been involved.
A: MKVT Farm originated in 2014 when Karen and I met and the name comes from M for Mark, K for Karen and obviously VT for Vermont. I was transitioning out of the dairy business and sold Andersonville Dairy which I had owned or been partner in since 1993.
MKVT Farm is a husband and wife owned Farm to Table business with a focus on pasture raised sheep, pigs, chickens (broilers and layers), and turkeys. I am responsible for land, grazing, fencing, haying, equipment and facilities, animal breeding and genetics, scheduling, processing and customer interactions. Karen's priorities are the website and newsletters, Bed and Breakfast, the flower and vegetable gardens, laying chickens and she does most of the work raising 100s of broilers each year in our mobile chicken tractors. She also helps me with everything as needed.
MKVT Farm has recently garnered national attention with the introduction of Dutch Spotted Sheep into the US. The first Dutch Spotted sheep in the Western Hemisphere we born here at MKVT from embryos imported from the UK.
Q: Please provide a brief description of the farming operation including its main products, markets and resources (acreage, facilities, labor force, partnerships with others).
A: MKVT Farm owns 73 acres, 13 acres are pasture, 4 acres for gardens, house, barn and shop, the rest is woodland with a Forest Management Plan. We rent 12 acres for sheep grazing across the road and 30 acres for hay production 3 miles away. We have a 30x48 greenhouse bedded pack barn for the sheep as well as several other outbuildings for them. Pigs have shelters when they chose to use them, the layers have an insulated chicken house while the broiler chickens and turkeys have 10x16 mobile chicken tractors.
We grow and market pasture raised lamb, pork, chicken, eggs, and turkey. We sell our lambskins and soap made from our lamb fat. We purchase started rabbits from Amish families near us, finish them and offer rabbit to our customers. The beef we sell is all locally grown. We trade with/buy from/sell to and cooperate with Bonnie View Farm, Black Hills Angus, Breezy Acres, Allstead Farm, and NALA Family Farm which are all small family farms.
Our customers are individual families in VT, NH, MA and NY and the occasional summer vacationer who stops by. We do ship our sheepskins nation wide. We sell some produce from our garden and plan to increase this part of our sales offerings. Giant pumpkins, winter squash and gourds are most popular.
Our labor force consists just of Karen and I. We do hire on farm slaughter - Mary Lake for lambs, Bruce Norcross for chickens and pigs, then the lambs go to John Bent in Randolph, pigs to Phil Brown in Glover for cut and wrap for custom sales. Our daughter and grandkids come to help on chicken processing days as we do that on farm. We did host an intern from Sterling College last spring as well.
Q: Briefly describe the farm’s land stewardship goals and how you assess progress toward them.
A: This property has been in conservation since 1976, even before VT Land Trust, but it wasn't managed very well. We bought the property in 2019 as an abandoned farm with a condemned house and no usable structures. The land was worn out, burdock, thistle and wild rose were the primary crop, hedgerows overgrown, parts of fields unusable due to blocked/broken drainage systems, and debris from 40 years of being a rental property.
We needed to reclaim/repair the land from years of neglect to improve soil heath, to control water runoff, and make a suitable situation for our animals. We also built a house, a retail shop with walk in freezer, a barn and several portable outbuildings for animals.
We have dug out and retiled a spring, captured the overflow, repaired the drainage tile, removed all debris, let our pigs work the ground for 2 years, picked stones and finally seeded the ground for grazing that was previously unusable. We have cut hedgerows back and seeded ground that had been lost to production, declared war on burdock, thistles and wild rose by mowing, pulling and spraying with 30% vinegar (all which create havoc when raising sheep) and No-Till seeded pasture mixes into former run down hayfields. The process is ongoing.
Q: What are the key soil conservation/soil health practices used on the farm?
A: We use pigs to till the soil, remove vegetation, and provide nutrients back to the soil. Chicken tractors are moved daily to allow chickens to forage new seedings and provide abundant manure for improved fertility. Sheep are rotationally grazed providing benefit to the grassland from their manure and the beneficial effects of grazing . All of our bedded pack manure, slaughter waste, non salable wool, and household waste is composted and spread on the hayfields. Organic fish hydrolysate has been applied to the pastures as well. Our microbiometer readings indicates soil health improves every year with an increase in biological activity, increased carbon sequestering, increased water retention and permeability and the grass is just growing better. We have reseeded and over seeded fields with a no-till seeder, so the only tilling is done by pigs.
Our garden is also not tilled. We have weed fabric down, weed by hand where needed and add compost.
Q: What steps are taken on the farm to manage water quality, nutrients and/or prevent soil loss?
A: With a pasture/grass based farm, soil loss is usually easily managed and doesn't happen. The past 2 years however, with the July flooding did create some field damage and erosion damage in some steeper areas. Fortunately, the erosion was mitigated by the "lost" soil being held on the farm with established grasses on level ground where the rush of water slowed and dispersed the soil.
We use No-Till seeding and over seeding to reduce soil loss. Grazing provides the best distribution of nutrients back into the soil from the animals. All winter manure and bedding is composted for a year (along with slaughter waste, household waste, wood chips and anything that will decompose in a year) and applied to hayfields. VAAFM is currently designing a compost pad for us so we can improve our compost management.
Q: Are there other sustainable or innovative practices you would like us to know about? (These could include practices related to climate change; supporting diverse animals, plants, fungi, or insects; or managing pests and diseases.)
A: We have imported Dutch Spotted Sheep because of their advantages in converting photosynthesis into marketable protein. Their rate of gain on grazing is astonishing and we have seen our small group of Spotties grow to and average of 95 lbs. live weight in 91 days at weaning. This is a more efficient use of resources, reduces the carbon footprint per lb of meat sold versus other breeds of slower growing or smaller sheep. The breed was developed in Holland specifically for grazing and has been improved over the past 200 years to todays productive genetics. We have ordered 100 more embryos from Holland to create a new breeding flock of Dutch Spotted Sheep here in VT. From this flock we hope to provide improved sheep genetics for Vermont and the US. The imported Dutch Spotted Sheep are also selected for genetic resistance to OPP and Scrapies, they are a hearty breed with natural parasite resistance and seem ideally suited to our VT climate and pastures.
We bed our pig houses with low quality wool that isn't suitable to sell. Pigs love it and it is a great soil amendment. We are in contact with folks to make wool pellets for us with some of next years wool.
Our sheepskins are processed by Vermont Natural Tannery, using organic sustainable methods.
We have planted several varieties of plants that support pollinators and manage our property to promote pollinators, beneficial insects and birds.
We feed our pigs Cabot products that are deemed animal feed to keep those products out of landfills. The plastic containers are recycled and hundred of buckets have been upcycled and provided to the community for free.
We take compost from neighbors who don't have a compost site so they can comply with VT law not to send compost in their trash. Neighbors also bring garden excess for our animals.
Q: Have you worked with any conservation programs?
A: We work with NRCS and are enrolled in EQUIP. We have a nutrient management plan. I am enrolled in an upcoming compost management class.
Q: How have you helped others develop their farming skills and/or dreams? Or, how have you supported the success of other farmers?
A: I have always been actively involved in farm and agricultural organizations locally, regionally and nationally. These involvements have helped and continue to help innumerable farms and farmers both directly and indirectly. We mentor young farmers routinely and share new ideas and techniques with farmers of all experience levels.
I served as Board Secretary of the Council of Dairy Cattle Breeders (CDCB is the worlds largest repository of dairy cattle genomic information). I was Chair of the Dairy Records Management Systems Board for 5 years (DRMS is the largest processer of dairy production records in the US). I served on the National Dairy Herd Information Board, Was President of the Lancaster DHIA Board and As president of the Vermont DHIA board, oversaw the merger with LDHIA.
I am serving as VP of the Vermont Sheep and Goat Association. I am a founding member and President of the Dutch Spotted Sheep Society US. I was a committee member of the Dairy Cattle Welfare Council. I have served on the boards of both the VT Holstein and VT Jersey Associations. I was an Agri-Mark Board member, Vermont Farm Bureau Board member, and President of Orleans County Farm Bureau. I have been a delegate to the National Milk Producers Federation, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Dairy Management Inc, and New England Milk Promotion.
I am a contract auditor with A Greener World and Certified Poultry Welfare Officer. I conduct audits in the US and Canada for Regenerative Certifications, Non-Gmo Certification, Animal Welfare Approved Certification, and Grass-Fed.
I traveled to Moldova as a dairy advisor to set up and establish milk cooperatives through Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs. I was a McCloy Fellowship recipient, travelling to Germany as an agricultural ambassador.
I am becoming licensed and inspected as a USDA certified importer and storage facility for Ovine embryos and semen. I will provide import service to sheep breeders in VT and throughout the US. This will allow me to supply world class genetics for MKVT and other farmers without the additional mark up costs that import companies charge.
Q: How does the farm interact with and connect to the community? Are there other ways you and the farm give back to the local or regional community?
A: Recently, with the introduction of our Dutch Spotted Sheep we have generated considerable publicity about our farm and the role of small ruminants in Vermont agriculture. We were carried by CBS, Hearst Communications, the Washington Post, American Sheep Industry Magazine and others nationwide. We continue to have requests, this week from the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.
Locally we host tours for our local nursing home and others. We interact with Sterling College, host tours and interns.
I have always been involved with education, serving over 10 years on the Glover School Board, 6 as Chair, I was Chair of the Orleans Central Supervisory Union Board and Chair of the North Country Career Center Board. I was a member of the UVM College of Agriculture Dean's Student Advisory Committee and was a freshman orientation sponsor.
I was a coach for T-ball, Little League and soccer and was treasurer of our local baseball organization. I was on the Orleans County Fair Board of Directors.
We also provide/donate meat, eggs and produce to our elderly neighbors. We just resurfaced a 1000 foot driveway for a couple in their 80s with our equipment at no charge.
Q: Briefly describe any changes you’ve made to the operation to increase farm efficiency or production (for example, new farm products, new processing methods, new markets) and the outcome of those efforts.
A: We have been farming this property only 5 years and it has been an evolution from run down farm land to improve productivity annually, so every year has been an innovation. As previously mentioned, improving land health and fertility were and continue to be paramount in our operation. Secondly, we needed to replace the old grass crops on the worn out hayfields with nutritious and highly palatable forages suitable for grazing. Third, we needed to improve the production genetics and management of the animals we grow. As farmers, we prioritize converting photosynthesis into protein for human consumption while minimizing environmental impact and our carbon footprint.
We have made tremendous progress on each of these priorities, while maintaining the utmost care for animal welfare and environmental considerations.
The use of Texel breeding over the past 5 years increased our carcass yields by 20%. Our improved pastures have decreased our need for supplemental grain feeding to meet animal nutritional needs by 50% on sheep and pigs. Changing our management and feeding strategy on our broilers has increased our marketable yields by 25% while decreasing our mortality rates to nearly zero. These results also have benefits of reduced carbon footprint for our food production.
The incorporation of Dutch Spotted Sheep genetics will add to the marketable yields of protein from photosynthesis as the growth rates of our first lambs ( 110 lb. heaviest ram lamb and 95 lb. average weight at 3 months) is far ahead of any lambs we have ever grown. DSS carcass quality is also very high yielding with a small bone, and meat to bone ratio that is 3 to 6% higher than other breeds. Selling DSS breeding stock will become a priority next year as the flock grows. We will collect and sell semen this fall and our own embryos next year.
At the same time, we determined it was more appropriate for us to discontinue growing our own beef (primarily due to lack of grazing acres here) and source it through friends and neighbors. We made the same decision on farrowing pigs due to the labor requirements and now purchase feeder piglets from friends (from our old sow we gave to them).
We started making tallow soap from our lamb fat last year as we try to maximize the use of what we produce and minimize waste. We are working with 3 different individuals on ways to market the different grades of wool we produce as yarn, felt, rugs etc. and this year we will send our lowest quality wool to be made into wool pellets as a soil amendment to sell in our retail space.
Q: What other innovations have taken place on the farm in the areas of business structure, energy use, efficiency, labor management and/or farm succession?
A: We cooperate and exchange with other farmers to reduce the amount of equipment we need to operate. As a grazing operation, we use very little energy to harvest crops. We purchase additional hay as needed beyond what we harvest.
Labor management is simply how much work can Karen and I do? We have made some changes such as not farrowing but buying feeder pigs from friends. Our Bed and Breakfast and my contract auditor position are other sources of income but both require consideration to the labor requirements of the farm. We are working to develop a viable business structure here that can be transferred to new owners in the next 10 years.
While not really innovative, we prioritize recycling or composting everything possible and only set out trash (2 or 3 cans) once a month. We have all energy efficient lighting and minimize energy use at every opportunity.
Q: How did the farm responded to the pandemic and related community service issues, and how do these actions exemplify the values of giving back and entrepreneurism?
A: MKVT saw a surge of new customers during the pandemic as food shortages appeared. We struggled to provide and source products to meet the demand. We were pleased to be able to provide food security to our current as well as new customers. We also worked with fellow farmers as we exchanged goods or services for the benefit of all. I have said many times that none of us are capable of survival as small farms or small ag related industry individually, but as a working collective, we all have something to share, give and gain.
Q: Is there anything else we should know?
I have been previously recognized for my contributions and involvement as:
VT Dairy Farmer of the Year
Outstanding Young Holstein Breeder for VT and US
United States Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmer
American Farm Bureau Young Farmer Award
National Dairy Shrine Progressive Producer Award Winner