Livestock
Farming and sustainable land management is the heart of Slough Farm. As part of that, we take pride in providing the best quality of life possible for our wide range of livestock.
Our livestock is raised in partnership with nature, not in spite of it — restoring soil health, improving biodiversity, and strengthening the ecosystems we depend on. Rotational grazing builds organic matter in the soil, increases water retention, and keeps pastures healthy and productive. These practices prioritize animal welfare, minimize chemical inputs, and contribute to resilient landscapes, producing high-quality meat while regenerating the land for generations to come.
We've chosen breeds suited to our climate and our style of land management. Our ruminants — cows and sheep — are raised on a grain-free, grass-fed diet, rotating across 75 acres of owned and leased pasture, including land we're grateful to steward in partnership with the Town of Edgartown and The Nature Conservancy. Our chickens and turkeys follow behind in small pens and tractors, gaining access to fresh grasses, seeds, bugs, and sunshine — completing the cycle, one pasture at a time.
Cows
Our herd includes cross-bred Belted Galloways and purebred Randall Linebacks, raised from 10 brood cows and Bo, our resident Randall Lineback bull.
Each fall, our brood cows have beautiful calves, which we raise for about two years. Many island cattle farmers calve at different times of year than we do, so we're often able to lend out our bull, Bo, to provide breeding services to other farms around the island. Bo is a three-year-old purebred Randall Lineback.
The Randall Lineback is the last remaining all-purpose local landrace breed of cattle that once thrived throughout New England. Originating in the 1600s as a mix of European and North American breeds, these cattle were developed for milk, meat, and agricultural labor, and adapted to local conditions over generations of isolation from outside breeding. With the rise of specialized purebred cattle in the late 1800s and 1900s, most landrace breeds — including those in New England — were replaced or crossbred out of existence. In the 1990s, a small herd of just 20 Randall Linebacks was rediscovered, sparking dedicated conservation efforts that continue today. The breed stands as a living testament to the resilient, multi-purpose cattle that built early American farming — and we're proud to play our part in helping this heritage breed grow once again.
Sheep
New lambs are welcomed each year beginning in March.
Our grass-fed flock of Tunis sheep are the true stars of the farm. Eating only pasture and hay, they grow some of the most beautiful fleeces and lambs you'll find — wool that fuels everything from felt snakes with preschoolers to weaving, spinning, and knitting with K-12 field trips and adult programs.
Each year, we welcome between 25 and 50 lambs beginning the first week of March. They're raised through the grazing season and sent off for processing each fall, around 6 to 9 months of age. Along the way, we carefully evaluate our ewe lambs to decide which animals might join our breeding stock. We strive to use every part of our animals: sheepskins are saved and used as educational tools in our natural sheepskin tanning class, held each winter, while meat and bones are donated to events and programs across the island.
Layers & Broilers
Our hens and broilers are raised on open pasture, where they're free to roam, forage for grasses and insects, and express natural behaviors. This humane approach supports animal health and produces flavorful, nutrient-dense meat. Managed pasture systems benefit the land too, improving soil health and distributing natural fertility — making pasture-raised chicken a responsible and sustainable choice from start to finish.
Our poultry, sheep, and cattle provide meat and eggs, much of which is donated across the Vineyard in collaboration with island schools, The Family Center, Island Grown Initiative, the Island Food Pantry, and other fellow members of the Food Equity Network.
ROTATIONAL GRAZING
Wherever possible, our animals graze together throughout the summer — an integrated livestock technique that maximizes the positive impact ruminants have on the land, aerating the soil with their hooves and encouraging healthy regrowth in the forage plants they graze.
The herd is moved daily to keep grazing in step with growth, giving pastures time to rest and rebound. The poultry follow close behind, getting fat and happy off the maggots left in cow pats — a tasty snack that also helps keep the fly population in check. All in all, it's a pretty clean operation.
Farmer Support
From the very beginning, it has been part of Slough Farm's mission to support and strengthen — never compete with — our island farmers. We're always glad to lend a hand through equipment shares, collaborative off-island trips, use of our breeding males, help when your cows get out, freezer space, or collaborative programming with the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society and our farmers grant program, funded by the Slough Farm Foundation.
We've also established a relationship with Dr. Erin Masur of Sheep Rock Vet to bring 24/7 veterinary telemedicine to island farm animals. Dr. Masur visits a few times a year to conduct herd and flock health exams and help diagnose long-term issues, and once she's been to your farm, she's just a text, call, or video chat away for emergencies. Slough Farm serves as her host and keeper of supplies on-island for anything needed right away. We're endlessly grateful to Dr. Masur for taking on Martha's Vineyard as part of her client load.
Learn more about Farmer SuppoRT
Community Donations
Slough Farm takes pride in sharing our bounty with those in need on this island. Anything we don't use for on-site programming makes its way across the island to a variety of food equity partners and nonprofit organizations. We're not a large-scale producer, but we work hard to regeneratively grow and raise as much as we can on the 80 acres we farm — and we prioritize sending that food where it can make the biggest impact. Our donations shift with the seasons, and we're deeply grateful to the partners who accept and put to use whatever we have, whenever we have it.
Donation outlets include, but are not limited to: island schools and preschools, the YMCA of Martha's Vineyard, the Council on Aging, Hospice of MV, the MV Boys and Girls Club, The Anchors, the Island Food Pantry, MV Center for Living, Serving Hands, MV Libraries, Kinship Heals, Island Grown Initiative, Chilmark Community Lunch, The Farm Institute, and Produce RX.