Herrick Farm in Rowley adds beef products to its offerings

By Michelle Pelletier Marshall Correspondent Dec 26, 2017

The 140-acre farm, which has been in operation and passed down through generations of the Herrick family since Rowley was settled in the early 1600s, has roughly 300 cows. According to Kristen Herrick, about 130 of those are milkers, 150 are heifers — which includes calves of all ages — and about 30 are steers from which the grass-fed beef is “farmed”.

Herrick, who is the 33-year-old daughter of farm owners Sam and Kathy Herrick, serves as the manager of the farm.

She introduced a Community Shared Agriculture program at the farm a few years ago, and is determined to keep the farm viable through times of low government subsidies for their dairy business, and keeping up with a profession that is nearly a 24/7 responsibility.

The farm produces produce 8,000 to 9,000 pounds of milk daily, which is picked up each day by the Cabot cooperative Agri-Mark, which distributes it to Hood, Garelick and West Lynn Creamery.

“The staunch reality of the plight with the pricing situation aside, the increased demand for farm-to-table sources has been apparent to us through it all, and has given us a goal to work toward,” Herrick said. “We have all the resources to provide the local community with a healthy supply of high quality produce, meat and dairy products. And we’re hopeful the community support will be there to move this forward.”

Herrick, who was a teacher, came back to the farm in 2009 when the prices were so low in the dairy sector that it actually cost her parents to keep the farm functioning.

“I couldn’t turn my back and pretend I didn’t care. Now that I am a mom, I couldn’t be happier with that decision,” she said. “I can’t imagine my kids not having the farm experience growing up like I did. Kids don’t often have the chance to see where food comes from and to be involved in an unfiltered way of life.”

Most days find Herrick, mother of a 2-year-old daughter and 3½-year-old son, and her brother Sam, who manages the farm’s sawmill operations, assisting her parents on the farm in some way. Herrick’s other siblings — Kelly, who is finishing school at Gordon College, and brother Billy, who works on a commercial lobster boat — help out every chance they get.

Asked about a typical day on the farm, Herrick explained that you have to be tough but compassionate or it would never work, and also be willing to make sacrifices to keep the farm going.

“We all know the more children/animals you have, the more time you dedicate to living for someone else. So imagine you have 300 pets outside – and some of them weigh over 1,000 pounds – and you are responsible for keeping them fed, clean and healthy,” she said. “It’s a big deal to manage it all. My dad doesn’t take time off because there always needs to be someone around to keep an eye on everything 365 days a year.”

Herrick said it has always been a goal to offer more farm-fresh products to the local community, and when the time came that the cost of transporting the male calves to auction outweighed the market price they received for them, it made sense to keep them and raise them.

The farm boasts a new shed for beef sales, directly across from the farmhouse, which is open, for now anyway, on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Prices are more than the supermarket beef as expected but, Herrick noted,“people know you get what you pay for.”

In an economy where consumers are more interested in transparency in the food supply chain and buying locally, they are willing to pay for it, especially when they can see the farming operation at work and meet and talk to the farmer growing their food.

“We need different food sources to feed the world but we live in an area where people want choices and to feel connected to their food sources,” Herrick said. “Through gained support we hope to add a variety of new products to our offerings, including farm-fresh, bottled milk and fresh, hormone-free and antibiotic-free chickens. We are so thankful for our neighbors who have supported us throughout the years, and hope this new endeavor is met with excitement as well.”