Food fresh from the Island.
Island Fresh farm is located on beautiful Marrowstone Island, a serene protected spot in the rain shadow between Kilisut Harbor and Admiralty Inlet. We believe in sustainability and farm to restore the land through its use. We are not certified organic, but grow our crops without use of harmful pesticides or herbicides and use only natural fertilizers to amend the soil. Our pigs are content as they rotate through grassy pastures, tilling the land and fertilizing as they go. Their diet is balanced with locally sourced grains, fodder (sprouted seeds), local whey, eggs, and windfall fruit. The chickens, ducks, and turkeys free range to control flies, slugs, and other buggy pests while contributing their own fertilizer. Our flock of sheep graze the pastures to keep the fence lines mowed and our Kiko goats clear the brush. We use New Zealand designed fencing in combination with guardian animals to keep predators wild and our family of domestic food animals safely protected. We strive to give our animals a natural, stress-free life. Pigs are allowed to root and wallow; sheep and goats are rotated on grassy pastures; and chickens and ducks are free range with mobile housing. We raise our animals humanely so we (and you) can eat delicious healthful food without guilt. Happy healthy animals are more delicious and more nutritious!
Meet the Animals!
Our sow are purebred Red Wattle, a heritage breed developed in North America and listed as threatened by the Livestock Conservancy. Red Wattles have a docile temperament, are excellent mothers and good foragers. Most important, they are considered to have superior flavor by top chefs and food critics. Our boar is a purebred Berkshire, another heritage breed, considered by many to be the pork equivalent of Kobe beef due to its excellent marbling. We have found the F1 cross of these two breeds to be both exceptionally well suited to our farm and exceptionally delicious!
All our sheep and goats are born and raised on our own pasture. Our flock of sheep consists of a mixture of hair sheep breeds including Barbados Black Belly, Katahdin, and Dorper. We recently switched to the hair breeds from more traditional wool breeds and find their meat to be exceptionally sweet and mild in comparison. Our goats are New Zealand Kiko, a meat breed known for superior parasite resistance, mothering ability, and hardiness. Although rare in the US, goat meat is highly popular in other parts of the world. Try some and see what you are missing!
Our flock of chickens is a diverse mixture of breeds laying brown, white, blue, green, or pink eggs to provide a rainbow in every dozen. There is controversy as to the best way to raise poultry (cage-free, pastured, free-range, etc). We think we have found the best, free range with mobile housing. This allows the chickens to forage widely to catch bugs while also rotating to new green pasture frequently. The flavor and dark yolks speak for themselves. Learn more about all our products by getting in touch!
