I would like to share my story about my background in Plant Science and how I started the business of Lightfoot Farm. I have a BS in Plant Science from the University of New Hampshire (1979), with a minor in Business Administration. I also have an MA in Social Ecology, with studies in Biological Agriculture and Holistic Nutrition, from the Institute for Social Ecology. I studied dried flower production in Maine with Mark and Terry Silber, authors of The Complete Book of Everlastings. Over the past thirty years, I have worked at Johnny's Selected Seeds, Littlewood Farm, LeGare's Farm, Flower City, and various local flower shops doing floral design. Recently I studied Dendrology and Plant Taxonomy through Norwich University in Northfield, VT.

    Lightfoot Farm was established in 1988 by myself, then Carol Servetnick (now Carol Noyes), on rented land in Plainfield, VT. The farm business began solely growing flowers. Some were marketed fresh to local restaurants. I dried the rest of the flowers on drying lines in a shed and designed wreaths, bunches, and other dried floral arrangements for sale at the Montpelier Farmers' Market and other local ships.

     In 1990 I moved to Northfield and set up a business there, again on rented land. In 1993 I bought a four-acre hillside property in Northfield Falls, VT and moved perennial flowers and some trees over to that location. I began planting an orchard with plums, pears, Nanking cherries, grapes, elderberries, blueberries, jostaberries, red and black currants, and nut trees. The business was expanded beyond just flower production. The farm was doing business for ten years until I had a baby in 1998 and took a break from the business for twelve years (name changed to Carol Noyes).

     The business started up again in 2011 and now the orchard is producing fruit. I am making jams and fruit syrups to expand the ability to sell in winter.  More recently disease resistant Liberty and Freedom Apples were planted (developed at Cornell University), along with raspberries, sea buckthorn, aronia, and blackberries. Herbs were also planted to expand the business into dried herbs and herbal teas. With such a diversity of crops, I can more easily manage the farm without the need for spraying toxic pesticides and fungicides, although the farm is not certified organic by Northeast Organic Farmers' Association. I use copper fungicide and a biodynamic spray (horsetail, stinging nettles, neem, and a probiotic) to control insects and disease. Organic fertilizers are used to maintain soil fertility, including greensand, bone meal, dolomitic limestone, North Country Organics fertilizer, fish emulsion and kelp. Compost, from Grow Compost of VT in Waterbury, is used as topdressing in the gardens and orchard. Cardboard and woodchips are laid down to suppress weeds. Use of natural weed suppression methods is very labor intensive.

     In 2013 my husband, Gerold, and I bought 126 acres of forested land across the road. This serendipitous event occurred just after I finished a class in Forest Ecology and Gerold noticed a for-sale sign across the road. Gerold built a barn and went into maple syrup production. Now we sell maple syrup and also use the syrup to sweeten the jams.