March 21, 2025
The Jack Lazor Memorial Soil Stewards program is a cohort-based program that promotes farmer-to-farmer education and relationship building in an effort to address both short-term soil health improvement strategies and long-term systems change. These cohorts allow farmers to learn together through soil testing and analysis, peer-to-peer discussion, on-farm visits, and more.
The Jack Lazor Memorial Soil Stewards brings together a new cohort of farmers each year who are engaged with the principles of soil health and eager to learn more in community with other farmers. Depending on the year, we may convene a new cohort of vegetable farmers, livestock farmers, or both. Over time, participants will become a network of soil stewards in Vermont who can continue to mentor and educate farmers to continue honoring the legacy and wisdom of Jack Lazor, an organic farming leader and the co-founder of Butterworks Farm, who passed away in November 2020.
This year's cohort brings together a hardworking crew of vegetable farmers including:
Kagen Dewey and Elise Magnant of Blackbird Organics
Kagen and Elise have owned and operated Blackbird Organics in Plainfield, VT since 2018. They grow a full spread of certified organic vegetables, strawberries, and bedding plants for a mix of wholesale, CSA shares, and their local farmers market. They strive to mindfully balance the "triple bottom line" of profits, people, and planet to ensure all three aspects of the farm are sustainable.
Hannah & John Doyle of Boneyard Farm
Hannah Doyle owns and operates Boneyard Farm in Fletcher, VT, along with her husband John, and two young kids. They grow organic produce in a small market garden and raise pastured lamb, beef, and pork, while also stewarding a conserved 180-acre piece of land (mixed woods, pasture, hay, and crops). Boneyard Farm has been in its current location and iteration since 2021, so the farm owners are in a phase of building infrastructure, dialing in systems, and prioritizing conservation and resilience.
Rayna Joyce of Bread & Butter Farm
Bread & Butter Farm is a diversified/multi-enterprise farm that includes vegetables, cattle, and pigs, education programs, and an on-site farm store. They have plans to expand agroforestry practices on the farm. Rayna works collaboratively with the team at Bread and Butter to manage their 1.5-acre no/low-till market garden and run their year-round CSA and annual membership programs.
Andrew Knafel of Clear Brook Farm
Clear Brook Farm, started by Andrew Knafel in 1995, is a diversified nursery, organic vegetable, and small fruit farm that markets 95% of its production through its farm stand and CSAs. The farm is dedicated to caring for the land and the people who work to grow and sell the food. They also value being an important community resource for healthy food and robust garden starts. If Andrew is not at the farm, there is a good chance you can find him birding at one of his favorite hot spots trying to add species to his Bennington County year list.
Phil Mason of Crossroad Farm
Phil Mason grew up in Thetford, VT, joined the Crossroad Farm crew when he was 14, and has continued to work there every summer since. After graduating from Colby College, Phil made the decision to pursue agriculture full-time. He managed the farm crew for many seasons before becoming the sole owner of the business in 2022. He loves working outside and is passionate about growing the most delicious vegetables possible.
Jennica Stetler of Dig Dig Farm
Jennica Stetler runs Dig Dig Farm in her hometown of Hinesburg, VT, where she grows vegetables for her community. She has been a farm worker in Vermont for more than 2 decades and is honored to continue to learn with and from this cohort of farmers and apply what she learns to the soil she is currently caring for.
Gus Griffin and Mollie Podmore of Glinnis Hill Farm
Mollie and Gus run Glinnis Hill Farm, a certified organic no-spray vegetable farm in central VT. They lean heavily on soil health for fertility and their generous community for just about everything else.
Eli Hersh of Honey Field Farm
Eli and his partner Valerie run Honey Field Farm, growing 15 acres and 11 greenhouses of crops each season with their team of local farm workers. In addition to growing flowers, veggies, and herbs as live plants for local markets, they also send their organic produce to retail and wholesale markets throughout New England. Healthy fertile soil, clean water, and abundant pollinator insects have contributed to the farm's success and continue to be the focus of their land stewardship goals.
Annie and Andrew Paradee of Long Winter Farm
Long Winter Farm is a diversified operation including organic vegetables and pasture-raised meats grown by Annie and Andrew Paradee on conserved land in Stowe's Nebraska Valley. The farm focuses on direct sales through an on-site farm store, CSA, and meat shares.
Danielle Allen and Ben Dana of Root 5 Farm
Ben and Danielle, owners of Root 5 Farm, have been farming organic vegetables since 2001. They were lucky to find and purchase Your Farm in March of 2013, and moved to Fairlee just in time to begin seeding in the greenhouse and working the land for the 2013 season. In 2015, they renamed the farm to Root 5 Farm. Root 5 Farm is a certified organic vegetable farm located on 38 acres in Fairlee, VT. The fertile Connecticut river bottom soils provide a rich environment for growing over 100 varieties of vegetables. They build their soil through crop rotation, cover cropping, and minimal tillage.
Amanda Andrews of Tamarack Hollow Farm
Amanda Andrews worked on farms for 3 years before starting her own vegetable operation in 2010. Tamarack Hollow Farm currently grows 7 acres of certified organic vegetables for local and regional wholesale markets with a concentration on specialty radicchio production.
Jack Manix of Walker Farm
Jack Manix has been farming since 1973. At Walker Farm, twenty-five greenhouses shelter over 1,200 annual and perennial flowers started from seed, hundreds of varieties of propagated plants, and a wide range of tasty, organic vegetables. Spring bloomers are sold in the farm’s garden center. Thirty acres of carefully nurtured land supply the seasonal farmstand with flavorful, certified organic vegetables and fruit from June until Thanksgiving. The Elysian Hills Tree Farm grows organically grown Canaan and Balsam fir holiday trees. The daily harvesting, the dedication of the wonderful staff, and the background clucking hens, all combine to help keep the community in touch with the peacefulness of sustainable agriculture.
We hope you'll join team NOFA-VT in welcoming these Soil Stewards to the cohort! We look forward to seeing their farms grow and evolve as they continue doing the vital work of tending land and feeding their communities!