{"id":96180,"date":"2024-04-25T14:10:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T14:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=96180"},"modified":"2024-04-25T14:10:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T14:10:29","slug":"lilac-hedge-keeps-growing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2024\/04\/25\/lilac-hedge-keeps-growing\/","title":{"rendered":"Lilac Hedge keeps growing"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Danielle Ray<\/em>
\nLandmark Correspondent<\/em><\/div>\n

RUTLAND \u2014 The expansion of Lilac Hedge Farm has been years in the making.<\/p>\n

A March social media post announced that farm owner Ryan MacKay \u201cwas fortunate enough to be able to purchase\u201d 130 acres of farmland surrounding neighboring Alta Vista Farm from the Mann family. MacKay bought his first property in Holden in September 2015, and it was the first time Lilac Hedge Farm, named after his grandparents\u2019 dairy farm, \u201chad its own home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAround the corner at Alta Vista Farm, Steve Mann was the best farmer neighbor that I could have asked for,\u201d MacKay said. \u201cHe was outgoing, kind, and much more helpful than he had to be. As (I was) a young farmer with minimal equipment, he helped me get through that first fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Working the fields at the expanded Lilac Hedge Farm. Photo Credit: Submitted photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, Lilac Hedge has built a reputation of quality and consistency. Pasture-raised meats, available through home delivery, shipping, and seasonal farmers markets, are their main product, but they also offer farm fresh produce and their own and locally made products in the year-round farm stand at 216 Wachusett St.<\/p>\n

In addition to the large parcel purchased several months ago, MacKay relayed in the post that he, along with Steve\u2019s adopted son Tyler Fisher, whom he has had guardianship of since Steve\u2019s death in February 2016, \u201ccompleted our dream and purchased the heart of the farm, the center 6 acres on which includes more pasture, barns, and buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tyler has been a big help at the farm over the years and still lends a hand with haying whenever he can. MacKay said that being able to secure the Alta Vista property means a lot not only to him, but also to Tyler, who is able to be a tangible part of carrying on his family\u2019s farming history.<\/p>\n

\u201cSupport from the entire Mann family has meant more to us than we can describe,\u201d MacKay said. \u201cNow we own and manage over 500 acres of property, and although that is a lot of land, it really isn’t. It takes a lot of acres of pasture to graze animals and raise their winter feed, and we have hundreds of animals that depend on that food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lilac Hedge general manager Heidi Cooper said the additional land will certainly enhance how and what they are able to offer customers, and that \u201cthis type of land provides us more stability and security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on others to grow feed for our animals can be a necessity, but we prefer to grow as much of our own feed as possible,\u201d she said. \u201cIt means more happening closer to home: less mileage traveled for less environmental impact, and a strong local economy. I think one of the largest benefits is the preservation of open space. We\u2019re keeping this land in use doing exactly what it\u2019s meant to be doing: supporting agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus far 2024 has been full steam ahead. They have been working hard getting the additional abutting acres up and running, and there is talk of bringing bison to the land in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore land certainly means more responsibility and more time from our staff,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cThat said, we\u2019re fortunate this land is so close to our current farm and cuts out transportation time. We have leased lands much farther away that take many more resources and man hours to get to and from, so this is a move in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lilac Hedge Farm also has a bar that serves beer, wine, seltzer and cider, 95% of which is produced in Massachusetts, and a kitchen that offers up all kinds of delicious cuisine such as hot dogs, burgers, fries, sandwiches, pizza and more.<\/p>\n

The farm calendar is filled with a plethora of fun, family friendly events. Visitors can take in the scenic views, visit the adorable farm animals \u2014 from ostrich to emus, tortoises and alpaca \u2014 and shop the farm stand.<\/p>\n

Local favorites Midnight Riders kick off the season with live music at 5 p.m. May 4, the official opening weekend of the farm; a Spring Artisan Festival featuring local vendors is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 11. Lilac Hedge is hosting the Rutland 4th of July kickoff bonfire with Midnight Riders from 5 to 9 p.m. June 28, and has a lot more planned.<\/p>\n

Cooper said they are always looking ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re waiting to share more details until we have all of our ducks in a row,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot on the horizon, but we\u2019ll keep those details tucked away until the time is right.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked why it\u2019s important to him to continue his family\u2019s farming legacy, MacKay was pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n

“Farming has always been a part of my life,\u201d he said. \u201cAlthough my grandfather closed the official farming chapter of his life 1960s, I was raised loving animals and learning how to take care of the land. I know he was proud of me when I started my farm, and although he isn’t with us anymore, I know he is watching out for me and ensuring I’m making the right decisions to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, email info@lilachedgefarm.com<\/a>, visit lilachedgefarm.com<\/a>, and follow Lilac Hedge Farm on Facebook (facebook.com\/LilacHedgeFarm<\/a>) and Instagram (instagram.com\/lilachedgefarm\/?hl=en<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Danielle Ray Landmark Correspondent RUTLAND \u2014 The expansion of Lilac Hedge Farm has been years in the making. A March social media post announced that farm owner Ryan MacKay \u201cwas fortunate enough to be able to purchase\u201d 130 acres of farmland surrounding neighboring Alta Vista Farm from the Mann family. MacKay bought his first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}