Rachael McGarr

We currently are reapiring 36 acres of forest in West Broofkield, MA after 15+ years of neglect- removing invasives with our herd of mixed dairy goats. Our goal is to start a micro creamery where we can make ice cream, candies and yogurt from our goats and registered jersey cows. I am a heavy equipment operator out of Boston and my husband is a wheeled vehicle mechanic and instructor for the Army Reserves. When he is not on active duty he is a industrial mechanic/facilities maintnece.

We currently raise geese, ducks and pork as well. We focus on heritage and rare breeds wherever possible. We are hoping to find a dairy farmer who would consider working with us as we take over their operation. We are open to other types of farming as long as it is livestock friendly ( our geese and ducks are great for managing weeds/grass and pests in orchards and vineyards).  We are comfortable with most equipment, quick to learn and constantly taking educational classes on regenerative agriculture and organic farming practices.

We have a business plan for our current situation, we don't feel that massachusetts is a good long term goal for us and would prefer to find a Farm in Maine. Our long term goal is a micro creamery on a diversified farm operation where we can be reasonably self sufficient and be good stewards of the land. We hesitate to day we are only interested in one type of farming since we are more jack of all trade type people and generally farming works better when you can be flexible. I have a background in cranberries and poultry while my husband spent more time with hay equipment and conventional row crops. We currently have 60 head of goats 300+ flock of geese, ducks and chickens with a focus on rare breeds, 3 breeds of heritage hogs for a total of 15 hogs, 2 jersey cows and a few livestock guardian dogs. We would like to be able to use our Belgian horses for some of our farming

Our preference is to ease into a farming operation under the guidance of a current successful owner. While we do have ability for some financing a larger operation would be easier to finance with either a short term partnership or owner financing, profit sharing etc. We can send more details to anyone interested in considering working with us