The shift.

written by

Amy Forsyth

posted on

November 1, 2025

The shift, when the days shorten, the load lightens, deep rest slowly finds us. We aren't quite there yet, but closer than we were yesterday. We have a few bulk harvests to wrap up, our storage carrots and beets, which will leave us with thousands of pounds of each for the winter season. All of our potatoes have been harvested, yielding in around 3,000 pounds for the winter as well. The gratitude for this bounty is unmatched. Speaking of bounty, we got our garlic planted and tucked in for next year's crop. We planted a total of 3,600 cloves that will then become full heads of garlic next year. It surely was a family affair and couldn't be happier with how it went. Overall, we are happy, tired, grateful, stretched thin, and everything in between. Thank you to every single person that has supported us throughout this very transitional and challenging, yet beautiful year. We wouldn't be here without you. Enjoy the video below for a glimpse into what we've been up to. 

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Saying goodbye.

Saying goodbye.

People ask if it gets easier. It doesn’t. You just get better at carrying it. The guilt dulls to a workable ache, like a joint that predicts rain. You learn to separate the animal from the meat in your freezer without lying to yourself. You remember their lives, their heart, and you’re grateful in a complicated way. Farming is a long conversation between care and necessity. Raising animals for food means promising them a good life and a swift, respectful death. Most days the promise feels honorable. Loading day it feels like betrayal. Both are true.I used to want to detach myself from the reality of it, but I realize that it's actually not detachment that eases it, it’s the opposite. It’s knowing them so well that their leaving is stitched into every day they’re here. The joy of a lamb kicking its heels for the first time, the friendly glance and nods from our cows, the soft snorgles and oinks from our pigs—these are the same thread that pulls tight on processing day. You don’t cut the thread. You let it run through your hands until it’s done. Processing day forces you to confront the realities of ethical eating. In a world where meat often arrives pre-packaged and disconnected from where they came from, we've chosen a different way. We know exactly how our animals were treated—kindly, respectfully, without the horrors of industrial farms. Yet, the act itself is bittersweet, a reminder that every meal carries a story, a sacrifice. It's why we pause before each meal, why we waste nothing, and why we commit to doing better each year: rotating pastures, improving infrastructure, ensuring compassionate ends. To anyone reading this who simply wants to understand the farm-to-table truth: it's not glamorous, but it's profound. It deepens your appreciation for the land, the animals, and the quiet strength required to honor both. This isn't just about survival; it's about living in harmony with nature's rhythms, even when they break your heart a little.

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Forsyth Family Farm

  • 300 Gunstock Hill Rd
    Gilford NH 03249
  • 6037503975