Hudson Heritage Farms
Please note that due to COVID-19 our farm is closed to the public until further notice.
Ensuring the future of agriculture through promotion of endangered breeds of livestock.
Welcome to Hudson Heritage Farms, LLC !
We are a small family owned and operated farm located in Southside Virginia. Our interests are in heritage breeds of animals and sharing our farming experiences through agritourism. Our farm raises Highland Cattle, Horned Dorset Sheep, Large Black Swine, Boer Goats, and various breeds of chickens and other critters. We sell all natural pasture raised goat, lamb, pork and beef, and periodically have breeding stock available. Our farm also offers a limited number of Farm-Stays for folks who would like to spend a day or two experiencing farm life firsthand. In our Farm Studio we offer classes on cheese making, food preservation, cooking, herbs, animal husbandry, milking, butchery, and other farm related topic. Our Old Elmo Grocery building offers a unique venue for your special occasions. WE ARE A WORKING FARM AND OPEN BY PREARRANGED APPOINTMENT AND DO NOT OFFER TOURS OF THE FARM TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
All of our products are 100% made in America. No imported meat! Remember to buy local and support our farmers.
Happy Farming,
Denise S. and David Ray Hudson
14242 River Road
South Boston, VA 24592
(434) 753-9327
HALIFAX COUNTY
We have new videos about our farm! Check out more information about us on the following sites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spnpAFSsurI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYXGEbdFEVo
Our newest video features us as a Veteran Owned and Operated Farm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz9FXZgWipA&feature=youtu.be
Hudson Heritage Farms owns the Elmo Grocery
A great place to gather and meet friends.
https://www.facebook.com/hudsonheritagefarmsallnaturalproducts/ https://www.facebook.com/Elmo-Grocery-318801321566073/timeline/
Upcoming Events at the Elmo Grocery: We always suggest that you follow our Farms or the Elmo Grocery Facebook page for up to date information about happenings at the farm or our Elmo Grocery Venue. The following are a few past events.
Free Community Event hosted by Hudson Heritage Farms
Jim Wrenn, A Novel by William Guerrant
Barn Quilt Trail day
Trail Maps and directions will be available that day at the Farmers' Market. Five pieces currently on display on Hudson Heritage Farms property will be available for viewing. Watch for more information on our Facebook page, the Town of Halifax Farmers Market Facebook page, the Halifax Barn Quilt Trail Facebook page, and the Halifax-South Boston Visitors Center website
Denise's Transition to a Woman Farmer
From designer clothes and accessories, and living in an area where gourmet restaurants and markets where within a short distance, to living in the middle of a hay pasture, wearing Carharts and Muc boots; it is challenging and interesting to see what I am capable of accomplishing as my life unfolds as a woman farmer. Sometimes I ask myself, did I secretly harbor an underlying need to live a simpler life, or a need to see if I could succeed at working with the land and animals? I have read that since most of us are only generations removed from an agrarian background, many have an underlying desire to live a rural lifestyle. I guess I am one of those people, because as long as I can remember, I wanted to move to the country and live on a farm, and that is exactly what I did.
Now I wake up each morning eager to get outside and begin the never ending tasks that are part of my daily routine of molding our farm in Virginia into a healthy, sustainable, and respectful atmosphere. As my friends of years come to visit me, they are amazed at how I have adjusted, and consistently comment on how hard a farmer’s daily responsibilities and work load really is. Although my old friends say they enjoy looking at the heritage cows, pigs, sheep, donkeys, chickens, bees, and goats, they don’t really want to get too close to the animals or my garden. At a time in life where many friends are retiring and living their dreams of less work and more play… I have chosen more work, physical labor, and a sometimes demanding but always changing and interesting life style. What I have found I am capable of doing (with the help of Mother Nature), consistently amazes me. I sleep well each night (except when the coyotes are lingering on the outskirts of my goat pastures).
Today I take a few minutes to watch the news and find that a popular brand of supermarket eggs and several meat products are contaminated with samonella or e-coli and being recalled. I wander out to my chicken coop and thank the girls for their daily deposit of farm fresh eggs, and reflect upon how lucky I am to have such good hens. It’s a “yen and yang farm thing” as I have forgotten how just a month ago they scratched up my fresh herb patch and left their unwanted deposits on our porch.
Upon moving to the farm a dear friend wanted to know if we were getting a tractor. I hadn’t told her that we had gotten rid of our luxury car and now were the proud owners of a big orange tractor! One of her “bucket list” items was to drive a farm tractor. When she came to the farm to visit this spring, she was wearing white pants; and although I longingly looked at her trendy clothes, I was reminded how differently our lives had become and how I had changed. It wasn’t too long ago that I would have felt the needed to wear the latest spring fashion to feel good about myself. I still like trendy clothes, but look at them in a different light now; like how many goats I can buy for the price of one designer purse or pair of pants. After giving my dear friend a brief lesson on tractor safety, off she went across our pasture in her white pants and beaming smile. Now she thinks her grandson might enjoy coming with her on the next visit to the farm, and she thinks perhaps she could help during the goat kidding and sheep lambing season.
Another old friend who maintains a stress ridden sixty plus hour work week recently put my transition to farm life into words for me when she said, your life is simple (she did not know I was up all night worried about a sick animal) but meaningful on a daily basis…”simple but meaningful,” I like the way she put it. Her comment reminded me that we can make life less complicated, and that we can learn to live a less complex and hectic life style if we choose to do so. It is possible to learn new things like growing and raising ones own food like our ancestors did before us. All it requires is the desire to change and learn, patience, flexibility, physical labor (who needs a gym for exercise when you live on a farm), and the daily ability to laugh at ones self when mistakes are made.
Highland Cattle
There is no doubting the fact with their stocky appearance, sweeping horns and eyes that peep out through long shaggy fringes, Highland Cattle win hearts and are favorites amongst animal lovers around the World.
What isn't so obvious is the hardiness of this ancient breed. They were born and bred to deal with the extreme weather conditions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland making them the hardiest breed of cattle in the world today.
Scottish Highland Cattle, Conservation Status: Recovering
Buffy our fold matron and baby Zeus
The Highland breed has lived for centuries in the rugged remote Scottish Highlands. The extremely harsh conditions created a process of natural selection, where only the fittest and most adaptable animals survived to carry on the breed.
Originally there were two distinct classes; the slightly smaller and usually black Kyloe, whose primary domain was the islands off the west coast of northern Scotland. The other was a larger animal, generally reddish in color, whose territory was the remote Highlands of Scotland. Today both of these strains are regarded as one breed.
This “Grande Old Breed” can be traced to the first herd book being published in 1885 by the Highland Cattle Society in Scotland. Archaeological evidence of the Highland breed goes back to the sixth century, with written records existing from the twelfth century. The first recorded importation into the United States occurred in the late 1890’s when western cattlemen recognized the need to improve the hardiness of their herds.
The double hair coat (long, coarse outer layer and soft wooly inner layer) is one of the most notable differences between Highlands and other breeds. The coat reduces the need for expensive barns and
shelters.
Due to the double hair coat, this breed does not need a heavy layer of backfat for insulation. This allows the animal to marble naturally on low input forage while producing lean, low fat, high quality cuts of beef.
Highlands shed out earlier in the spring and produce less hair in a warmer climate, making them suitable for a variety of environments.
Easy Handling: Highlands have a long history of living with humans. Early Scots would keep the family cow(s) inside their homes during the winter. A woven wattle fence would separate the animal’s living areas from that of its owners, with both sharing the added warmth. Highlands tend to be docile and calm and do not stress easily. They are easy to work with despite their long horns. The horns are used primarily for knocking down brush to graze, predator control and scratching. Horns on females are generally upswept and finer textured than those on the males. Male horns are more forward pointing and massive.
Exceptional Mothering and Calving Ease: Highland cows are noted for being highly devoted and protective mothers. They are noted for calving ease. Due to small calf size (60-70 pounds), calving difficulty (dystocia) is less common. Cows may produce into their late teens reducing the need for frequent herd replacement.
McKinley a beautiful example of a Scottish Highland
Large Black Swine
The Large Black, occasionally called the Devon or Cornwall Black, is a breed of domestic pig native to Great Britain, particularly Devon, Cornwall and Essex. The Large Black is accurately named, as it is a large swine breed and is the only British pig that is entirely black. It is a hardy and docile pig, with Large Black sows known for having large litters. The breed's foraging ability make it particularly useful for pasture raised operations
Boer Goats
Boer goats
The Boer goat was developed in South Africa in the early 1900s for meat production. Their name is derived from the Dutch word "Boer" meaning farmer. The Boer goat was probably bred from the indigenous goats of the Namaqua Bushmen and the Fooku tribes, with some crossing of Indian and European bloodlines being possible. They were selected for meat rather than milk production.
Nutrition-wise, goat meat is a wonder. A similarly sized serving has a third fewer calories than beef, a quarter fewer than chicken and much less fat: up to two-thirds less than a similar portion of pork and lamb; less than half as much as chicken.
Mammoth Donkey
The American mammoth donkey, commonly known as the mammoth jack, American mammoth or American mammoth jack is a landrace of North American donkey, descended from multiple breeds of donkey imported to the United States. George Washington, with Henry Clay and others, bred for an ass that could be used to produce strong work mules.
Sarah Our Mammoth Donkey and Guardian Animal
Horned Dorset Sheep, Conservation Status: Threatened
The Horned Dorset is known as the "mother breed" of all sheep for its great mothering and milking ability. Dorset ewes are today considered the greatest milkers of all sheep, and their lambs grow very rapidly on the rich, abundant milk. Dorsets, unlike most other breeds of sheep, which generally lamb once a year in March or April, have the genetic ability to breed year round, and three lamb crops in two years is not uncommon.
Horned Dorsets are the "original" Dorsets and have two horns which curl or curve forward. "Polled" Dorsets, those without horns, occurred from a genetic mutation in a flock held by North Carolina State College in the 1950s.
Dorsets are extremely hardy and productive animals, producing a desirable carcass, medium white wool, abundant milk and fast-growing, numerous offspring, making them a good choice for a small family farm.
If you are interested in visiting us or purchasing grass-fed meats, eggs, or breeding stock contact us at hudsonheritage@aol.com
Follow us on FACEBOOK and Google Maps.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hudson-Heritage-Farms-LLC/172016466152452
We are proud to be recognized as Virginia's Finest and Homegrown by Heroes
“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson
Ten Reasons to Buy Local From a Farmer
(adapted from 'Growing For Market' newsletter)...
1) Locally grown food tastes and looks better. Livestock products are processed in nearby facilities and typically the farmer has direct relationship with processors, overseeing quality - unlike animals processed in large industrial facilities.
2) Local food is better for you. The shorter the time between the farm and your table, the less likely it is that nutrients will be lost from fresh food.
3) Local food preserves genetic diversity. Livestock diversity is higher where there are many small farms rather than few large farms.
4) Local food is safe. Local farmers aren't anonymous and they take their responsibility to the consumer seriously.
5) Local food supports local families.
6) Local food builds community. When you buy direct from a farmer, you're engaging in a time-honored connection between eater and grower.
7) Local food preserves open space. When you buy locally grown food, you're doing something proactive to preserve our working landscape. That landscape is an essential ingredient to other economic activity in the state, such as tourism and recreation.
8) Local food keeps taxes down. According to several studies by the American Farmland Trust, farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services.
9) Local food benefits the environment and wildlife. Well-managed farms provide ecosystem services: they conserve fertile soil, protect water sources, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The farm environment is a patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings that provide habitat for wildlife in our communities.
10) Local food is an investment in the future. By supporting local farmers today, you are helping to ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow
