Hilldale Farm

Location
2444 Carysbrook Road
Palmyra, VA 22960

Owner
Catherine and David Tatman
(434) 589-2762

Products
Eggs, lamb, beef, hay, pigs (late 2009)

Where to find products
Farmers markets - Fluvanna, Nelson, Farmers in the Park
Restaurants - Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.
CSA shares - no

Recap
Raised on a farm in Missouri, Mrs. Tatman thoroughly appreciates what it means to be a farmer; that it is not merely a job but a lifestyle, and she and her family are willing to impart that knowledge to anyone who will listen. Growing up in the New Jersey suburbs, I only had ideas about what being a farmer would be like. I left Hilldale Farm, the first farm I visited for this project, with a much better understanding of how a farmer lives and an idea of what I will encounter on future visits. Rather than standing still and talking, Mrs. Tatman and I walked a loop around her farm and discussed life on Hilldale Farm.

Mrs. Tatman told me that her father and grandfather instilled in her a strong appreciation for the land on which the farm sits and taught her how it can serve as a strong foundation for any of her endeavors; she, her husband David, and her daughters Rachel and Julia all keep this whole-system approach in mind when working around the farm. The soil on the land the Tatmans bought was so poor that it has taken almost three full years of natural enrichment to get it to where it is today. They brought in a bred of sheep that, while not known as the absolute top-shelf producer of meat or wool, significantly improves the quality of the soil on which it lives. The Tatman family also uses Barred Plymouth Rocks for their production of eggs because they create a much calmer atmosphere within the hen house than the more traditional Rhode Island Red; the Tatmans believe that "happy chickens make great eggs," to paraphrase a popular ad campaign. More importantly for the Tatman family, happy chickens make for calmer farmers.

In addition to lamb and eggs, Hilldale Farm produces beef and certified organic hay, and is going to start producing pigs later this year. You can find Hilldale products at a few farmers markets in central Virginia as well as a growing number of restaurants in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.