Pleasant Vale Farm is Long on Legacy

Pleasant Vale Farm in Delaplane is 500 acres with 180 acres for farming. There is a small graveyard on the property and Sarah likes to believe they are being watched over with kind spirits.

Pleasant Vale Farm is Long on Legacy

I’ve always loved animals,” said Sarah McDonough, who grew up on a hobby farm in Vermont.

Three generations keep it all in the family at the Marshall Farmer’s Market: Luke McDonough, Sarah McDonough and Carol Terwilliger of Pleasant Vale Farm in Delaplane. drink, space to roam. Their feed, when not munching on bright green grasses, is not supplemented with growth hormones or preventative antibiotics.

Photo by Vicky Moon

Twelve-year-old Luke McDonough enjoys feeding the farm’s two goats – Happy and Sad. They like graham crackers.

Photo by Anita L. Sherman

By Anita L. Sherman

There’s a stone wall still standing on the property at Pleasant Vale Farm in Delaplane. It speaks to another century, to another era in 1768 where a horse and carriage would pull up for a visit.

Sturdy and stately, it stands as a guardian, a protector of a place whose many acres continue to do what they do best – nurture and raise livestock, food for our tables.

Sitting on the front porch of a renovated farmhouse, Sarah McDonough literally glows, perhaps from the sweat from a morning of work or perhaps humidity. Her radiance bespeaks her essence – a woman dedicated to farming and doing it with heart.

McDonough is a mother, teacher, gentlewoman farmer, animal lover, nurturer and keeper of history and legacy.

At Pleasant Vale Farm, the animals are part of their family, raised humanely and in their natural habitats. Herds are small so that the highest quality of product can be maintained. They currently have 50 cows and 20 calves. They aren’t stressed, they have plenty of water to drink, space to roam. Their feed, when not munching on bright green grasses, is not supplemented with growth hormones or preventative antibiotics.

“I don’t want to stray from our core mission and values,” said McDonough, who believes in raising the happiest and healthiest animals who will, in turn, provide top quality taste, nutrients and nourishment for families.

Growing the business at Pleasant Vale Farm is measured. McDonough, who teaches 8th grade science at Marshall Middle School, is keen on knowing the right numbers of animals, their ability to care for them and continue to keep

Turkeys and chickens have free reign of a large, twostory aviary where they can fly, roam and interact. But they are also protected. She also has a movable chicken house where they can be observed when re-located from pasture to pasture.

“I work the cattle on my own,” she said, crediting the surrounding farmers for all of their help and advice. “And our vet is amazing.”

Meat from Pleasant Vale Farm has found its way to restaurants like Field and Main and the Inn at Little Washington. You can also find it at the Marshall Farmers Market, the Pop-Up Market at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Delaplane and by visiting the farm.

Teaching and farming go hand in hand for McDonough. “I love it when people come to the farm…I think it’s necessary for young people to know where their food is coming from.”

One young person in her life plays a critical role – her 12-year-old son Luke. “He’s really a good sport… there are times I can’t always get to a football practice or help him with homework because I’m out in the fields,” said McDonough, “but I believe he’s proud of what we are doing here.

“For me, it’s all about building community relationships, school community, farm community… living in this beautiful rural area…what an awesome life, ” Luke concludes.

Details: Pleasant Vale Farm, 11032 Pleasant Vale Road, Delaplane, VA 20144, www.pleasantvalefarm.com, 540905-2580, pleasantvalefarm@gmail.com