Stoneham Meadows is a small farm located on 78 acres in Brookfield, New Hampshire. It is owned and operated by the Collins family. We run a farm stand at the farm on Stoneham Road where we sell fresh free-range eggs. We also sell through local retailers such as Butternuts in Wolfeboro. Seasonal products include jam and pumpkins.
You can find Catherine's tongue-in-cheek take on the farm (among other things) at her blog, The Angry Knitter.
Livestock
Our livestock currently consist of:
- Bluefaced Leicester Sheep
- The Bluefaced Leicester (aka BFL) is a large British breed that has undergone a significant revival in the past 20 years here in the U.S. through the dedication of a small group of breeders and the introduction of U.K. bloodlines via artificial insemination. The BFL is a large sheep with long, fine, lusterous fleece that is coveted by the hand spinners. The traditional use for the BFL is in the three-tier breeding system in which specific breeds are crossed to ultimately produce large numbers of fast-growing market lambs that can be finished on pasture.
- We currently have two rams, seven breeding ewes and a lamb ewe. All are purebred and registered Bluefaced Leicesters. In the future, we will be selling fleeces (and fiber products), breeding stock and lambs for meat.
- You can find more information about our sheep operation here. You might also want to check out the BFL breeder's association site.
- Chickens (layers)
- We currently have about 50 layers. We have a combination of Pearl While Leghorns, Black Stars (aka Black Sex-Linked), Araucana and New Hampshire Reds and Rhode Island Reds. The Leghorns are great layers of white eggs. The Araucana lay colored eggs - generally a blueish green color. The Black Stars lay brown eggs. The New Hampshire Reds and Rhode Island Redsare also brown layers. We have a dozen Araucana and a dozen Buff Orpingtons that are just beginning to lay now (January). You can find more information about our chicken operation here.
- Cattle (dual-purpose)
- In Fall 2009, Catherine acquired a small pregnant three year old Dexter X Jersey. The cow and her heifer are doing well and Catherine is selling the excess raw milk to a select group of locals.
Contact Us
| Rob and Catherine Collins |
| Stoneham Meadows |
| 260 Stoneham Rd. |
| Brookfield, NH 03872 |
| info@stonehammeadows.com |