This week on the farm...

written by

Amy Forsyth

posted on

May 31, 2025

This week was a monumental week on the farm! We processed our first batch of meat chickens on farm! It was quite the experience... Farmer Kyle has years of experience butchering chickens under his belt, and it showed! We also had help from two wonderful guys, Kirk and Bryson. Kirk is our only full-time employee, and Bryson is a new farm friend to us but has been working this farmland for many years. They both have had plenty of experience butchering chickens as well, so it was a great team. Being the only one that had never experienced it before I didn't really know what to expect or feel, but in all honesty, it only deepened my love for raising these birds more. The connection to our chicken intensified, knowing exactly how these birds were treated from start to finish. Having control of the cutting and packaging is so important and now that we have it I can't imagine letting go of that. It is ALOT of work I won't lie, but knowing we can do it and produce high quality chicken, just worth it. 

We welcomed 9 more black angus cows to the farm, and then soon another 4, giving us a total of 22 for the season. This is also monumental for us as farmers because we've only ever raised 12 total. 

Overall, things are flowing and growing like never before. Amongst all the newness and change, we are constantly staying grounded in our purpose here to grow honest, true to the earth, food. 

Enjoy the video below for a glimpse into our week! 

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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