Spend a day on Granby’s farms!
Pick up a passport at your first farm and collect a stamp at each farm visit to be entered in a drawing for farm prizes! You are eligible for prizes with just one stamp; those collecting 6 or more stamps could win a $100 gift certificate to use at the Lost Acres Vineyard Thanksgiving Farmers Market. More information is available at www.granbyAG.org
1. Maple View Farm
192 Salmon Brook Street, Granby
On 50 acres in the center of Granby, Maple View Farm is home to horses, cows, goats, pigs and chickens in addition to the farmers who, for three generations, have lived on and farmed the property. Founded in 1950, the farm has been a dairy, provided pony rides and boarded horses, and today grows food for its neighbors and offers horseback riding lessons and weekly summer sessions to kids. The pastured-based operation provides meat, veggies, eggs and other local products to neighbors through the farm store on the property. The Boglis are committed to taking care of their 50 acres of land in the center of town so it can be farmed by their own children and grandchildren for years to come.
This year the Boglis opened The Brewery at Maple View Farm, producing smal-batch craft beer with Connecticut grown ingredients.
On Open Farm Day, Farmer Kate will lead tours where you’ll meet all of the animals and walk through the garden to see how everything works together on the farm. There will be a chance to meet resident ponies Jellybean and Missy, then try your hand at the hay bale throwing contest. Come at lunchtime to grill your own farm-raised sausage. The brewery will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., with live music by Erin and Cass starting at 4 p.m.
2. Lyric Hill Farm
134 Hungary Road, Granby
Lyric Hill is a small family farm dedicated to sustainable growing practices. It uses fresh milk from a herd of Alpine dairy goats and a variety of herbs and wild harvested botanicals (grown and collected on the farm) to make soaps and other eco-friendly, farm-based products. The farm store is open year-round.
On Open Farm Day, Lyric Hill will offer farm tours, where visitors can meet the farmer and her goats. Guests will be able to tour the studio and see the soap making process, in addition to a felting demonstration. The farms store will be open, and visitors are welcome to browse the handcrafted products for sale.
3. Clark Farms at Bushy Hill Orchard
29 Bushy Hill Road, Granby
Clark Farm at Bushy Hill Orchard in Granby is one of three farms run by the Clark family. Bushy Hill is a 75-acre farm/orchard growing apples, blueberries, peaches, plums, pears, nectarines, and vegetables. The farm is open seasonally, offering Farm to Table cafe, ice cream and a full bakery (including the famous apple cider donuts), pick-your-own apples and blueberries.
The farm offers a great location for family outings and small events. There are many things to see and do at the farm and farm store: apple cider pressed fresh from the farm, local products, dairy; both goat and cow from the Clarks Griffin Farmstead dairy in East Granby, and flowers from their Goodyear Farm location in Suffield. The Creamery offers local ice cream from Gran-Val Scoop in Granville, Mass. and homemade goat milk gelato (seasonally).
On Open Farm Day you will have the opportunity to pick-your-own apples from their 17 varieties, take a wagon ride, and sample those famous homemade apple cider and donuts!
4. Granby Grange
212 North Granby Road (Route 189), Granby
The Grange is a venerable rural community organization and has been helping farms since 1875. On Open Farm Day, the Grange will offer face painting (donations welcome), yard games, as well as a traditional bean hole lunch.
5. Sweet Pea Cheese/House of Hayes
151 East Street, North Granby
The dairy cows at House of Hayes have moo-ved into the future with two state-of-the-art robotic milking units. It has now been over a year since the robots were installed and have been well accepted by the cows. Come see the cows being milked from the viewing room open to the public. Sweet Pea Cheese at the House of Hayes milks a herd of dairy goats and processes milk, yogurt and cheese.
Open Farm Day activities at the House of Hayes include self-guided tours of the dairy and cheese-making facilities. Visitors can enjoy free bite-sized goat cheese samples. The corn maze will also be open, with an admission fee of $8 for adults/$6 for children aged 5 to 13; free for children under 5. The retail store sells pasteurized whole goat and cow milk, along with yogurt, feta cheese and chèvre (goat cheese prepared according to the French tradition).
6. Wilhelm Farm
329 North Granby Road, North Granby
Wilhelm Farm is a 45.6 acre property that is 75 percent forested. The remaining 25 percent of the land is in hay, pasture, gardens, and farm buildings. The owners, Ann Wilhelm and Bill Bentley, are the third generation of the Wilhelm family to own and steward these resources. Ann and Bill are taking a whole-farm perspective as they plan for the future, placing emphasis on integrating farming systems and layering ecosystem functions. They are managing their land to produce environmental services (wildlife habitat, water and air quality, hydrologic control, and carbon sequestration) while sustainably producing food, timber, and non-timber forest products. They are investing in several agroforestry practices, including silvopasture, forest farming, and riparian forest buffers. Their long-term vision is to demonstrate the emergence of new paradigms for agricultural and forestry management in New England, with the goal that Wilhelm Farm will be used by outreach professionals and owners of small landholdings as an educational resource.
On Open Farm Day, Wilhelm Farm welcomes visitors to enjoy self-guided tours of their forest and farm, with maps provided for a one-mile trail. Experts from conservation agencies will be on-site to answer questions and provide information. Farmers Ann and Bill invite guests to attend video presentations developed during implementation of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant focused on Silvopasture and other Agroforestry Systems. They will be available to discuss their experiences and results.
7. Lost Acres Vineyard
80 Lost Acres Road, North Granby
In the 1700s Lost Acres was a political no-man’s land known as “the Wedge.” In the early 1800s, the Wedge’s free-spirited, cider-distilling hill farmers populated the area. At Lost Acres Vineyard, owners Kevin Riggott and Michelle Niedermeyer, continue this tradition with grape wine. A former apple orchard, Lost Acres Vineyard reclaimed this land in 2008, and is now home to five acres of wine grapes, contributing to the agricultural spirit and the natural beauty of Granby.
On Open Farm Day, the vineyard will have free samples of its Wedge White wine and demonstrations with an old-style wine press. Visitors can take a winemaker’s tour of the cellar to learn about the winemaking process. The day will conclude with an equestrian vaulting demo by the Copper Hill Vaulting team.
Granby Pony Club (granby.ponyclub.org) will offer pony rides at the vineyard for a small fee, as well as give demonstrations.
Sepe Farm (sepefarm.com) sheep shearing team—Peter and Carolyn Sepe, Erin Sepe Pirro, and Jonathan Pirro—will be at the vineyard to demonstrate fall sheep shearing. Wool spinning demonstrations and a felting craft for kids will be ongoing throughout the day.
8. Lost Acres Orchard
130 Lost Acres Road, North Granby
Since the 70s, the Wutka family at Lost Acres Orchard has grown peaches, apples, quince and pears. In the fall, you can pick your own apples or buy them already picked. They also sell local winter squash, pumpkins and gourds.
The kitchen at the orchard rightly deserves its reputation for delicious pies and other baked goods and soups. The retail bakery stays open all year round, with longer hours during the fall fruit season. Enjoy hot apple crisp on the front porch (with ice cream from the Gran-Val Scoop), or select something to take home — soup, quiche, pie, cookies, jams, jellies and more.
On Open Farm Day, enjoy complimentary wagon rides through the orchard and ongoing talks about the apple and peach harvest. The bakery will be open all day (9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) with pastries, desserts, coffee, pies, jams, jellies and more.
Farmhouse favorite lunches will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., including hot apple crisp, baked mac and cheese, orchard harvest salads and a baked potato bar.
9. Garlic Farm
76 Simsbury Road, West Granby
The Garlic Farm grows pesticide-free vegetables and flowers and sells them to the public every day in the vintage barn on the farm. Equally well known for its tomatoes and its garlic, the farm also grows peppers, eggplant, squash, and other summer veggies, along with onions, leeks and shallots.
On Open Farm Day, visitors can inspect tractors at close range and perch for a moment on one of them for a photo. Farm owner, Gary Cirullo, will lead several tours and offer tips on growing garlic at home. Samples of roasted garlic and peppers will be available.
10. Holcomb Farm CSA
111 Simsbury Road, West Granby
Holcomb Farm is a town-owned historic property in West Granby. Today, the property continues as a working farm with fields full of fresh produce and is also a resource available to the public for passive recreation.
Holcomb Farm is committed to preserving the expansive green spaces for which the state is known, and dedicated to offering programs that honor community, agriculture and education. The Holcomb Farm CSA brings the farming tradition at Holcomb Farm into the 21st century. All crops are grown without chemicals and with a commitment to sustainable agriculture. As part of its non-profit mission, Holcomb Farm CSA’s Fresh Access program provides a portion of its harvest to social service agencies in Hartford and Granby.
At the CSA Barn on Open Farm Day, visitors can roll up their sleeves and help with the daily harvest before taking a tour of the farm. Celebrity chef Chris Prosperi will offer a cooking demo using CSA produce to prepare a fresh and delicious dish for guests to sample.
11. O’Brien Nursery
40 Wells Road Granby, CT
Known far and wide for its hosta offerings, O’Brien’s has become a destination nursery for unique shade perennials in addition to a wide selection of conifers, special Japanese maples, and numerous dwarf ginko offerings.
On Open Farm Day, nurseryman John O’Brien puts the spotlight on rare peony species and intersectional peonies— a cross of tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. Their showy seedpods ought to be at their peak in early September. Also expect hosta division demos, a tour of the landscaped trails with John O’Brien for fans of the hostas and a self-guided plant quiz for fun. Discover the Pleasure of Plants, many unique and unusual specimens.
Guests will be able to see an observational beehive and attend beekeeping Q and A’s with Jessica McCue from Mountain Brook Apiary: facebook.com/mountainbrookapiaryct These casual talks will cover topics such as how to start beekeeping, pollinator health and the environment, and why various honeys taste different.
12. Angel Horses Inc.
12 Knollwood Ln., West Granby
The mission of Angel Horses Inc. is to provide a permanent retirement sanctuary for horses that have been teachers and healers in the therapeutic world. These special horses receive nurturing, companionship and love for the rest of their days, all thanks to the hard work of volunteers and generous donations. Angel Horses is a place where beautiful, generous animals that could otherwise have a terrible end at auctions or slaughterhouses have a peaceful place to live out their lives. Angel horses is also a place where humans come to experience the magic of connecting with such sensitive beings.
On Open Farm Day, Angel Horses will offer tours of the farm, giving guests the chance to meet the horses, mini donkeys, goats and sheep that call the farm their home. Visitors will be able to help groom a horse, meet large animal vet Dr. O’Leary, and see Lisa Roddy demonstrate equine massage.
13. Schoolhouse Farm
100 East Street, Granby
facebook.com/Schoolhouse-Farm-Alpacas
Schoolhouse Farm is a family farm named after the one-room schoolhouse built in 1870 that stood on the property. While the schoolhouse was moved to 208 Salmon Brook Street in 1982 under the care of the Salmon Brook Historical Society, some of the original buildings that accompanied the schoolhouse still remain. The farm’s animals include Huacaya alpacas, Berkshire pigs, goats, chickens and exotic koi fish. Other attractions at Schoolhouse Farm include an expansive vegetable garden and a new vineyard built in 2018. The vineyard features five species of grapes indigenous to the area.
On Open Farm Day, there will be free samplings of the farm’s pork (until it runs out) and alpaca-related merchandise for sale including yarn, socks, gloves and scarves. Another attraction at the farm is a wagon tour of the property. There is also a 1946 B John Deere tractor on display for photo opportunities.
Salmon Brook Veterinary Hospital (salmonbrookvets.com) has been caring for farm families and their animals for more than 60 years. Dr. Milkey started the practice in 1953 on his horse farm on Hungary Road. Since that time, the SBVH staff has forged long-lasting client relationships based on progressive medicine and a fundamental concern for the well-being of all animals. Its fully equipped ambulatory trucks allow us to provide both medical and surgical care for animals on the farm. It offers digital x-ray, ultrasound and endoscopy services at the farm as well as in the hospital along with general medical and lameness examinations and a full array of laboratory analysis. The depth of expertise with an eight-doctor practice and compassionate staff allows SBVH to provide the best in veterinary medicine for both farm and companion animals.
At Open Farm Day this year you can come by to meet Salmon Brook’s new large animal veterinarian Dr. Marjorie Bruce. You will also be able to see one of the ambulatory trucks and the equipment used to care for farm animals. In the afternoon Dr. Weber will give a presentation on caring for alpaca. The presentation will cover topics such as common diseases, nutrition, care and handling.
The Granby Horse Council (granbyhorsecouncilct.com) invites everyone to come meet its friendly horses on Open Farm Day, and stay for demos on how to groom, tack, and train a horse. There will be games, prizes and a chance to take a picture sitting in a saddle for the youngsters and information on horse road and trail safety for the adults.
