About
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A Bit About Us
Created by a husband and wife team, Terroir Farm had been a dream for many years. Moving from the big city of Indianapolis to live in the woods amongst the trees, we found what we were looking for in regards to a slower paced life that provides a meaningful purpose and grounds us in a desired sense of place. It felt like home. So we made it home.
Northern Michigan is perfect for a lot of reasons: lake Michigan provides a powerful grounding force, as fresh water abounds in a rural setting filled with beautiful coniferous and deciduous trees. A four-season paradise, this lovely state never disappoints. There is rock collecting, hiking, lazy days on the beach, and lake jumping to be had in spring, summer, and fall, and skiing and sledding in the winter. Those times were a part of our journey as we became more rooted, and so we bought a home with 15 wooded acres only a 15-20 minute drive from Petoskey, decided to farm, and we have never looked back since.
This sense of home, purpose, and connection to the land inspires the unusual farm name. “Terroir” means “taste of place” and is the inspiration behind much of what happens at the farm. It is a French word often used in wine tasting to describe regional flavor differences in grapes. We think that this applies well to our pasture-raised American guinea hogs, free-range Icelandic chickens and guinea fowl, and wild-foraging Nigerian dwarf goats. Our farming philosophy is rooted in the idea of being stewards of our land, living in harmony with our animals, just as Nature intended.
Here on our farm, we are naturally home to white pine, red oak, red maple, silver maple, hop hornbeam, and beach trees. These trees canopy the forest undergrowth of fern, wintergreen, trout lilies, and many more green plants. Our goats love to eat the leaves of these trees (including tree hay) and plants, and our hogs love to eat the leaf brush when the leaves fall to the ground in the fall.
As we steward our land, we cull select trees to open up sunlight for lower vegetation, and to allow established trees more room to spread their "tree wings" up toward the sky. With the trees we cut, we either use the wood to grow mushrooms or heat our home in the winter. In any given year, we get a plentiful amount of acorns, hop hornbeam nuts, and beech tree nuts that fall to the ground, providing additional local food for our hogs.
This all contributes toward our namesake, and we are happy to share this all with anyone who supports our farm!
As we plan, prod, and plow forward, we can't wait to also add seasonal bounties of fresh fruit and vegetables, in addition to wild-fermented sourdough bread and other baked goods baked in an outdoor wood-fired brick oven.
Whether you are a weekend warrior, a summertime visitor, or a next door neighbor, we invite you to experience the flavors that arise from this place. Welcome to Terroir Farm.
~ Todd and Amanda
Northern Michigan is perfect for a lot of reasons: lake Michigan provides a powerful grounding force, as fresh water abounds in a rural setting filled with beautiful coniferous and deciduous trees. A four-season paradise, this lovely state never disappoints. There is rock collecting, hiking, lazy days on the beach, and lake jumping to be had in spring, summer, and fall, and skiing and sledding in the winter. Those times were a part of our journey as we became more rooted, and so we bought a home with 15 wooded acres only a 15-20 minute drive from Petoskey, decided to farm, and we have never looked back since.
This sense of home, purpose, and connection to the land inspires the unusual farm name. “Terroir” means “taste of place” and is the inspiration behind much of what happens at the farm. It is a French word often used in wine tasting to describe regional flavor differences in grapes. We think that this applies well to our pasture-raised American guinea hogs, free-range Icelandic chickens and guinea fowl, and wild-foraging Nigerian dwarf goats. Our farming philosophy is rooted in the idea of being stewards of our land, living in harmony with our animals, just as Nature intended.
Here on our farm, we are naturally home to white pine, red oak, red maple, silver maple, hop hornbeam, and beach trees. These trees canopy the forest undergrowth of fern, wintergreen, trout lilies, and many more green plants. Our goats love to eat the leaves of these trees (including tree hay) and plants, and our hogs love to eat the leaf brush when the leaves fall to the ground in the fall.
As we steward our land, we cull select trees to open up sunlight for lower vegetation, and to allow established trees more room to spread their "tree wings" up toward the sky. With the trees we cut, we either use the wood to grow mushrooms or heat our home in the winter. In any given year, we get a plentiful amount of acorns, hop hornbeam nuts, and beech tree nuts that fall to the ground, providing additional local food for our hogs.
This all contributes toward our namesake, and we are happy to share this all with anyone who supports our farm!
As we plan, prod, and plow forward, we can't wait to also add seasonal bounties of fresh fruit and vegetables, in addition to wild-fermented sourdough bread and other baked goods baked in an outdoor wood-fired brick oven.
Whether you are a weekend warrior, a summertime visitor, or a next door neighbor, we invite you to experience the flavors that arise from this place. Welcome to Terroir Farm.
~ Todd and Amanda
