Farmed with Care at Long Stone
by Catherine Fisher, Community Farm Specialist, The Piedmont Environmental Council
A quick browse on Long Stone’s website will tell you this farm is “owned and farmed with care” by Casey and Justin Wisch and their four young children. Although a simple phrase, the magnitude of that care is apparent after just a short conversation with these farmers who produce non-GMO pastured pork, beef, chicken and eggs on over 300 acres in Lovettsville.
Leaning on Justin’s background in livestock management and Casey’s overseas introduction to permaculture and grazing, the couple launched Long Stone in 2011 as a grass-based operation. “I truly believe large land can be sustainably managed with livestock,” says Casey. “We have worked to establish chemical-free systems that really are the core of who we are and how we manage our farm for soil health and clean proteins.”
Implementing grazing systems has involved working with the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District and Natural Resource Conservation Service to help provide year-round forage for livestock. Mixed in with perennial forage fields, Casey and Justin plant certain fields multiple times a year with the intention that each planting will get grazed three times before the next animals move in. “What happens in the hog field isn’t the same as what happens with the cattle, but what stays consistent is the goal to prioritize animal, soil and ecosystem health,” Casey says.
Casey enjoys the years-long challenge of bringing cattle onto previously degraded hay fields they lease and watching the fertility improve through soil tests. “We know the hay we’re growing is clean and weed-free because of how we’re managing our land. We know exactly what our cattle are eating and pooping out. We understand and have control over it all,” she says.
In their interconnected grazing systems, manure has found a second life in their farm orchard as fertilizer for Long Stone’s latest passion project: Blue Wall Cider & Wine, which has begun with single-varietal small-batch cider experimentation. While livestock is the Wisch’s main passion, a heirloom apple orchard has finally found a place at the farm, a dream since 2010. The orchard itself, like the rest of the property, is part of a long-term soil building project.
For example, the couple has been planting cover crops and spreading self-sourced manure, while continuing to move cattle and poultry through the orchard to help manage fertility and pest pressures. “Our goal in the orchard is to integrate livestock to help us manage the orchard soil and fruit production. We’ve been running livestock over orchard ground for the last five years to prepare the soil,” says Casey.
Long Stone Farm is a beautiful mosaic of people, animals, forages, seasons and habitats. Experience it yourself and learn what it means to farm with care during the spring and fall Loudoun County Farm Tours, a Sunday Supper, or their new series of events connecting agriculture and holistic health. Better yet, stop by their year-round on-site farm stand in Lovettsville, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., or their seasonal off-site Route 9 Market and tasting room in Paeonian Springs, open April–December. To sign up for a CSA, purchase bulk meat shares, and learn more, visit longstonefarmva.com.
“To find multiple proteins in one place is really valuable to [customers],” says Casey. “Visitors can see us working with our family on the farm. People care about that. It’s a very transparent way to buy.”
Photo credit: Casey Wisch
