There’s nothing new about the idea of starting a farm and growing food on it to live. But a mother-daughter team of local residents are among the ranks of the educated professionals who are turning to farming to enrich their lives rather than merely sustain them.
Ann del Campo and her daughter Laura breed horses, grow herbs and wheat and raise chickens, pigs, rabbits and lambs on their 20-acre Stonybrook Meadows in Hunterdon County just over the Hopewell border. Ann has a PhD in pathology from University of Southern California and works with a biotech company that studies genomics.
Laura, who graduated from Hopewell Valley Central High School, has a bachelor’s double degree in philosophy and environmental studies from University of Victoria in Canada, and has worked as a chef at the Noble restaurant in Philadelphia and Elements in Princeton.
Stonybrook Meadows started in 1997, when Ann was looking for a place to move where they could keep a horse. They found the property completely empty. Though Ann was skeptical, Laura convinced her that she was up to the job of building a horse farm out of nothing.
Over the next few years, del Campo built the farm and added to it, and it operated as a normal horse farm.
But last year, Laura again influenced a change of mission for the farm. She had learned a great deal about the environment in college, and was enthusiastic about sustainable agriculture. She started a garden to grow herbs, tea and plants used in alternative medicine.
They added lambs and chickens to the farm to grow even more food, and planted soybeans and two acres of red fife wheat with the goal of creating a connection to the community and provide food to local restaurants with an emphasis on taste and flavor. Now, they are moving to add education to the list of the farm’s purposes and are teaching classes at the farm to promote knowledge of the Sourland mountains.
They also plan to supply food to local restaurants. They are using new farming techniques to grow plants to maximize flavor. The del Campos think the vibrant yellow-yolked eggs laid by their pasture-bred chickens will be a hit. Once in a while, the Chubby Rose restaurant in Hopewell Borough will serve Stonybrook Meadows eggs.
The del Campos are still trying to figure out the right combination of education, horse activities and farming.
“We’re trying to mix this all together,” she said. “We wanted to get people really connected to the land and nature.”
They’re also still breeding horses, and have several on the property, including Rambo the miniature horse. Rambo, who appeals to kids, has become the farm’s mascot.
The farm has several education programs coming up in July, including a class on eggs and another on herbs.
For more information on Stonybrook Meadows’ educational programs, go online to stonybrookmeadows.com or call (609) 577-8344.
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