When I drove to Hill Farm, I turned into a driveway where a small path cuts through the forest. Surrounded by vegetation, a small clearing opens up where there are tall native trees are on the right, and there are blueberry bushes to the left. Over to the left, were two little boys and Louis, the owner of Hill Farm, picking blueberries. It was a bit difficult to park because two guinea hens who were very interested in my tires and not very intimidated by my car. The hens roam free at Hill Farm. Once out of the car, there is no evidence that this is actually a farm. The pigs and cows are not in clear view, and there is no scent that gives away their location either. After orienting myself, I started walking back to the blueberries. The two boys came running towards me. They were very excited to show be their newly acquired treasure, tons of blueberries. Welcome to Hill Farm, a beautiful, highly sustainable family farm in Foster, RI.
Louis and Maria Vinagro founded Hill Farm in 2003. Louis grew up on a pig farm and wanted the same experience for his children. So, they bought 14 acres of land and now raise pigs, cows, guinea hens, and chickens in a natural environment. The guinea hens walk around the farm un-caged, and the pigs and cows have rotating pens in the forest. The pigs are not fed anything outside of their natural diet, and since the land is so healthy, the pigs can obtain most of their food through the grass, roots, and vegetation on the forest floor! Louis moves the pens frequently, and he plants seeds in the old pens to make sure that the land remains healthy and fertile. In addition, as the purebred Bershire pigs grow, the size of their pen increases in order to make sure that they always have more then enough room to move around and play.
I was surprised by how happy these pigs were. They ran around playing in the dirt, drinking water, and they would come up to Lou to be pet. In one pen, Louis got inside the pen to wake-up the two- hundred seventy-five pound hogs! Next to the pen for the larger pigs was a fenced off grassy area. Louis explained that that area was where the pigs were during the winter. If he hadn’t told me, I would not have known that this grassy area was muddy a few months ago. He had living proof that when pens were moved frequently, the natural vegetation was able to grow back quickly and healthily.
The Vinagro’s have a similar set up for their fours cows. The cows graze leisurely on a vast fenced-in pasture. These animals are never fed grain, and they happily live off of the grass. Louis smiled saying, “I never mow the lawn!” When the grass gets high, he moves the cows there, and they do the job for him!
The Vinagro family has an admirable relationship with their farm. There is a mutual respect between the family, the animals, and the land. They respect the land, and as a result, the soil remains fertile, and the grass grows back quickly and nutrient rich. They treat their pigs and cows with care, and the animals are genuinely happy, healthy, excited, and curious to interact with people. In addition, Hill Farm is also a member of the Rhode Island Raised Livestock Association, which is a USDA meat- processing facility for local RI farmers; from beginning to end, Hill Farm’s products remains local, small-scale, and sustainable. Hill Farm’s treatment of their animals and the environment pays off too- the farm sustains 50% of the families agrarian needs, and Louis proudly, and accurately, states that the best meal he’s ever had was right here at Hill Farm.
When I was getting ready to leave Hill Farm, Louis and I started discussing the price of land, as well as everyone’s favorite subject, taxes. I had already been so impressed by Hill Farm’s dedication to sustainability; I thought there must be some sort of government reward. No, taxes on land are extremely expensive, and one of the main forces driving out small family farms. Louis explained to be that it would be impossible for his farm to be their sole source of income. Farms are expensive to start and maintain, and land is limited and expensive in Rhode Island. Even though Hill Farm is treating its land incredibly well, there is not reward for such admirable dedication to the environment. This is important because it has now been brought to my attention that farms like these should be rewarded for their local and sustainable agrarian products and should be treated differently/ taxed differently than their larger competitors.
Lou continues with his dedication towards the environment by also running Full Circle Recycling in Rhode Island. Lou also provides free recycling to the Farm Fresh farmers’ markets. You can find Hill Farm products at these summer farmers' markets in Rhode Island: Fisherman's Memorial State Park, Goddard State Park, Armory Park, and Scituate.
Even though I was a stranger visiting Hill Farm, Lou treated me with great hospitality. As I left, he gave me a huge bag of freshly picked blueberries; “Here, they’re about, an hour old.” Lou said with a slight hint of irony. As I drove home eating, mind you the best blueberries in my life, I began to think that eating locally is the good life- freshly picked food, the ability to shake the hand that feeds me, living fewer than thirty minutes away from my food, and knowing that this little slice of heaven wasn’t hurting the environment either.
