October 2020 | Page 117

The Future of Farming | | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 over the past several months,” says Ken Ayars. “That’s an area we have to work on.” But demand for locally raised meat, rather than factory farmed, is a good problem to have. It validated the Bishops’ decision to start their farm, even though getting it off the ground involved many struggles. After being married for ten years, Ester and Joel left suburban sprawl for farm life. It was time to start a family and follow a simpler way of life. They put their Woburn, Massachusetts, home on the market and quickly found the beautiful sixteen-acre farm with a five-bedroom house and two large greenhouses in Tiverton for about the same cost as their former home. Ester was raised in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with parents who had grown up on a farm, and her husband, Joel, grew up on a New Hampshire farm, so they wanted the rural experience for their own children. “We got married, had a lot of fun as DINKs (double-income, no kids), and then ten years into our marriage, we decided to start a family,” Ester Bishop says. “We began paying more attention to what we eat.” They learned about pesticide use and GMOs that are in some foods, and decided to start their own homestead farm to grow and raise their own food. It was hard for them to get an affordable mortgage on the Tiverton property because there is a huge commercial greenhouse on the grounds, and it was a non-conforming property. “No one wanted to give us the mortgage unless we took down the greenhouse,” Ester says. “We didn’t want to do that, so after many phone calls and weeks of researching, we finally found the bank that would give us the loan.” When they bought the farm, Joel was commuting to Boston for a job in IT, while Ester decided to leave her job as a medical interpreter. At that point, they needed to figure out how to make the greenhouse viable so they could afford the rising mortgage payments. At first, they thought they would grow hops and start a brewery. But the town of Tiverton would not allow it due to zoning, so they had to come up with an alternative plan. They started a garden to grow their own food, then bought laying chickens and meat birds, and goats for milk. Joel continued to drive to Boston for work while Ester stayed home with the kids. They put all of their money into growing the farm, while working with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to clear the invasive “gnarly vines” on the property to make it more productive. They also received a LASA grant from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Once they started to grow the farm and get more animals for meat, they realized they needed more land for the animals to roam. Fortunately, they were able to team up with the Coggeshall Farm Museum in Bristol to give their livestock access to more land. “They had forty-eight acres of land with no farm activity and we had all this farm activity and we needed more land,” says Ester. “We brought our chickens and turkeys there as we wanted them pastureraised, and it was a success. Now, we’ve loaned them six pigs that are actively clearing the grounds by eating roots and plants.” The Bishops used their LASA grant to purchase a mobile processing unit and they hope to install a well on their Tiverton property so they can slaughter the chickens there instead of outsourcing it. “We had some roadblocks, but it looks like it’s going forward,” Ester says. They have a small storefront at the Tiverton farmstead for selling the meat and eggs, and they are thrilled that the partnership with the Coggeshall Farm Museum has helped them take their business to the next level. Gnarly Vines Farm is planning to host some workshops at Coggeshall Farm so people can learn about the benefits of locally raised meat and how to use whole animals in cooking to reduce waste. “That initial desire to feed our family healthy foods in a healthy environment is going very well,” Ester says. “Our kids now know how to choose healthy foods. They know about life, they know about death and where their food comes from.” The Bishops hope the desire for locally raised meat and eggs continues to soar, although the increased demand came out of a crisis. They’ve also added local seafood purveyors including dry scallops from Captain’s Finest Scallops and Sakonnet Lobsters to their online ordering system for pickup and delivery, so customers can access seafood at the same time that they order meat and eggs. They’ve started a food security CSA so families can pre-order how much meat, eggs and seafood they might need throughout the year and the farm can then raise it to order and provide it at a Hours: Wed.-Fri. 12-5, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 11-4 HANDMADE. VINTAGE. GIFT. HOME. 30 Child St., Warren [email protected] ~ ceruleanri.com Voted “Best Vintage Store” MARKETPLACE 26 Child St., Warren Because Your Home Matters To You! 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