6 minute read
Happy Plate
Foxhollow Farm takes a holistic approach to bringing the farm to your table.
Written by Bridget Williams / Photography by Tony Bailey
If farming left us all looking as fresh-faced as Maggie Keith in her Instagram posts, there'd be a mad dash to the countryside to lay claim to our own homesteading haven. A fourth-generation land steward at Foxhollow Farm in Crestwood, Kentucky working alongside her mother Janey Newton, they represent a growing movement of landowners interested in implementing new old ways of sustainably nourishing the soil and ourselves.
Image courtesy of Foxhollow Farm
Janey's mother, Mary Shands, moved her and her siblings to the family's 1,300-acre farm in the early 1970s. In the early 1990s, Mary proved to be ahead of her time in using nature as a nurturer by converting some old farmhouses into the Foxhollow Holistic Clinic and Spa. During this same era, Janey co-founded the Waldorf School of Louisville. The family has long been guided by the writings of Austrian social reformer Rudolf Steiner, credited with devising Anthroposophy, which works on the basis that the human being is a threefold being of spirit, soul, and body. This holistic philosophy is the foundation of principles related to Biodynamic agriculture and Waldorf education.
Image courtesy of Foxhollow Farm
When stewardship of the land passed to Janey in 2005, it was being farmed in a three-crop rotation. At this time, Maggie, who fondly recalls playing in the woods that surround the farm as a child, was in college studying business and entrepreneurship and wrote a business plan for switching the farm to a biodynamic model. While she enjoyed the assignment, Maggie's career aspirations at the time leaned more toward fashion than farming. However, as the plan was implemented, she said she "really began to appreciate all the aspects building this life."
Foxhollow's business model follows the lead of farms such as Hawthorne Valley in New York and Polyface Farms in Virginia, which are diversified, grass-based, organic, and direct-to-consumer. Grassfed cattle is the backbone of Foxhollow's operations; their herd of 500 started with just 30 head in 2006. Beyond this, Maggie said that she and her mother wanted the farm to be able to "fill the whole plate." So, they invited entrepreneurial farmers to lease acreage and become part of a biodynamic community that shares equipment and knowledge to make everyone better at work. Their "partner growers" include Pavel Ovechkin, who uses four acres for his CSA and market garden; neat rows of kaleidoscopic blooms belonging to Christy O'Connell and Mandy Thompson, who operate Pure Pollen Flowers; and Jared Wilkinson, whose Duck Duck Beet uses farm-fresh ingredients in his prepared meal delivery service.
Carrying on Mary Shands' legacy of promoting body and spirit wellness are several community-owned businesses operating out of the farm, including Bluebird Cottage School, a nature and play-based preschool, a life coach, alternative healers, and a biofeedback specialist. Maggie explained that diversity is all part of the plan. "Community building means reaching as many people as possible."
Maggie Barrett Keith
During a recent cool late summer evening, as I walked with Maggie and her daughter Esme along a mowed path through a newly planted orchard and past boxes brimming with busy bees, no doubt reveling in an environment laden with diversity, she said that she and her mother "flow where the farm is going." They used the pandemic to take a step back from their very active agritourism efforts to revisit their mission, which included making enhancements to their home delivery program.
Ninety-five percent of their business is direct-to-consumer, representing an intentional move away from their previous wholesale model. "It's important to me to encourage the 'Sunday meal' culture and cooking at home for friends and family," Maggie said. Additionally, Maggie and her mother reviewed the notes from a "visioning session" a decade earlier to see which goals had been attained. "We were pleased to see that we'd ticked almost all of the boxes, including diversifying our meat menu and continuing to heal the land," Maggie said. A new market is open to the public on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-6 pm, and people are always welcome to walk the trails that traverse fields and woods, from dawn to dusk.
While Maggie can make farm life look idyllic ("we don't all look like Old MacDonald," she said with a laugh), the reality is that it takes a village to keep everything running smoothly, and she's quick to cite the importance of their team. Surprisingly, when I asked what keeps her up at night, it had nothing to do with the farm specifically (a testament to her partners and staff) but more about the overall state of farming and food distribution in our country. She said in those moments when she's feeling overwhelmed about more significant issues, she leans on mentors like Mary Berry, daughter of author Wendell Berry and director of the Berry Center. She also cites the writings of Wendell as a salve for her soul.
Providing a larger platform for Maggie to share her mission is The KET-produced "The Farmer and The Foodie," which just wrapped taping its third season. Borne from a shared passion for cooking and exploring new ingredients (and their husband's joking they talk about food so much they should have a show), Maggie and good friend Lindsey McClave began filming episodes in kitchens of homes Maggie's brother George had listed for sale. A friend of a friend connected them with KET, and the rest is history. In this issue, Lindsey's recipe for short rib tacos is found on page 22. Foxhollow has resumed its agritourism efforts, which encompass everything from "Saturdays with Spirits" to outdoor concerts, "hayride happy hour," pop-up dinners, and a fundraising event with The Lee Initiative on September 22 (leeinitiative.org). For Maggie, reconnecting is part of the mission and the fun. "People, come on out to the farm; we haven't seen you in two years!"
