Who We are
Inspiring health and awareness by nourishing our community, stewarding our land, and restoring heritage breeds.
The Story of
Red Shirt Farm
Inspiring health and awareness by nourishing our community, stewarding our land and restoring heritage breeds
These are the intentions of Red Shirt Farm, a small diversified family-owned farm in Lanesborough, Massachusetts in the heart of the Berkshires.
We raise vegetables without the use of any pesticides, chemical fertilizer or GMO’s using methods that enhance the soil and nutrient density.
Pasture-raised animals are integral to the vitality of our farm. Our heritage chickens, turkeys and pigs produce eggs and meat of unparalleled flavor and superior nutrition. The farm is a beautiful, relaxing place that offers an idyllic experience for all who visit.
We believe that real food is essential to health and that how food is produced truly matters.
Jim, Farmer
Jim has wanted to farm since he graduated high school but life kept getting in the way. He started out as a Pre-Med student at Williams College but left for a year to study small-scale sustainable agriculture at Sterling Institute in Vermont learning to work with draft horses and raise sheep. Jim returned to Williams with a new focus on environmental studies but the lure of farming was too strong and he left for good to apprentice on small farms around New England. He worked on an apple orchard in New Hampshire, a maple sugaring operation in Vermont, and a horse-powered farm in Maine before enrolling in the New Alchemy Institute in Falmouth, Massachusetts to study alternative renewable energy systems, sustainable agriculture and bioshelter technologies with some of the preeminent scientists in those fields.
Jim and Annie then headed west to Olympia, Washington to complete their undergraduate degrees at The Evergreen State College. Jim helped run the student organic farm and double-majored in Ecological Agriculture and Education. The latter led him back to the East Coast to complete a Masters in Education at UMass Amherst and then into the public school classroom. With two young children, the steady income of a teacher’s salary won out over the more precarious prospects of starting a farm enterprise. 26 years of teaching, coaching and administration passed quickly. All the while Jim was reading, attending workshops and planning. With the kids out of college and on their own and the mortgage on a 10-acre property paid off, Jim decided to finally start his own farm. Red Shirt Farm.
Healthy soil for Healthy life
Sarah, Farmer
Meet Sarah, our esteemed Farm Manager. A driving force behind our daily operations, she expertly handles both our dedicated team and the myriad tasks that keep our farm thriving. Though her journey with us began merely three years ago as an apprentice, her innate farming instincts were evident from day one, a testament to her roots in family farming.
Yet, her expertise doesn’t stop at livestock. After an intense year of apprenticeship, Sarah swiftly mastered the intricacies of our veggie farming operations, making such an indelible impact that by her second year, she seamlessly transitioned into a managerial role. Today, we farm side by side, a true testament to her exceptional skills and dedication. Join us in celebrating the heart and soul of our farm, Sarah.
Jansen, Super Farm Dog
Jansen is an English Shepherd who came to us from a breeder in Ancram, NY. He’s named for the Roeliff Jansen Kill, a tributary of the Hudson which flows right near his birthplace. The name was unique and fit him, so we kept it. English Shepherds were among the most common farm dogs in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Prized for their versatility, they are highly intelligent and serve as herding dogs, livestock guardians, farm watch dogs, hunting dogs, and pest eradicators. Now three years old, Jansen is showing aptitudes for all of these tasks while also being a real lover of people and animals. We think we’ll keep him.
Why The Name?
RED SHIRT FARM
We worked our little plot for years before giving it a name. When we finally started our CSA experiment, we figured we needed a name for our fledgling operation so we chose “Full Circle Farm. Some 30 years after our start in farming as young apprentices we had raised two children, had non-farm careers, paid off a mortgage and come full circle back to farming.
However, little did we know that there were dozens of Full Circle Farms scattered across the country and some national brands with the same name. We decided to change our name to avoid a trademark suit, but what to change it to?
Our name musings went from the simple (Jim & Annie’s Farm) to the topographical (Cinnamon Hill Farm) to the hippy dippy (New Wisdom Farm). Finally, at our wit’s end, my sister-in-law, a farmer herself, suggested “Red Shirt Farm”. It was perfect.
In college sports “redshirt” is when an athlete delays officially competing in order to get bigger and stronger, to learn the system and to gain an extra year of eligibility. When redshirt athletes ultimately take the field, they are more prepared to make a significant contribution to the team. Our son, Dylan, had been a redshirt as a football standout at Williams College, so the name has even more resonance. Our own redshirt years had spanned three decades but we had used them to prepare for the time when we took to the fields at Red Shirt Farm.
