by Beth Miller-Herholtz
Kinloch Farm is a Fauquier County cornerstone, dating back to 1823 and nestled near the Bull Run Mountains. You can imagine the spirited history these rolling hills have seen! The Currier family purchased the land in 1960, and under the leadership of its current matriarch, Andrea Currier, has continued the family’s deeply rooted commitment to land and wildlife conservation, native grasslands, sustainable farming and community outreach.
It’s no surprise that Mike Peterson, Kinloch’s farm and conservation director, found a perfect fit here. He, too, comes from deep farming roots; his originated in Illinois around his grandparents’ farm and a boisterous supper table that gathered all of his father’s siblings (his dad was one of eight!) and his cousins each Sunday. Mike learned that food brings people together, and for a while, he pursued that mission through the culinary world. Today, he tends to the intersection of conservation and agriculture at Kinloch, knowing that best practices in each of these areas result in the best nutrition. You can literally taste it!
The entire Kinloch herd, which hails from a historical line of Aberdeen Angus bulls and cows, is 100% grass-fed and finished. Mike and his team view their livestock as a way to improve the landscape, that it is a cohesive relationship often defined as regenerative farming. Their grazing management practices are all done with an adaptive lens that respects ecological cycles. It’s through this lens that we see an abundance of native species thriving at Kinloch, from grassland birds to insects to native grasses and more. This healthy structure provides a flourishing habitat and food for wildlife, pollinators and the herd. “Nature craves diversity,” Mike said, and we can see the benefits of this as keystone species like kestrels and bluebirds prosper here. The benefits are also seen in the herd’s overall improved health.
I met up with Mike at the heart of farm operations on a chilly February day. The barns and pens were quiet, and in the distance we heard the low mooing of cows and calves in a nearby pasture. After our conversation, I stopped to watch the Angus graze on the tall grasses with a deeper appreciation of their relationship with the land. I saw one of the calves receive a thorough tongue bath, another prance up the hill to pause by a tree trunk for a good chin scratch and several cows patiently accommodating their milking calves.
You can watch these beautiful antics, too, if you mark your calendars for Kinloch’s annual Reach the Roots day, the third Saturday in October. This family-friendly fall open house gives community members a firsthand look at Kinloch’s regenerative farming and conservation efforts.
You can also stop by Kinloch’s Farm Store, at 4559 Old Tavern Road in The Plains, Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. I recommend planning a Sunday visit to also catch another of Kinloch’s and Fauquier’s mainstays, the Archwood Green Barns Farmers’ Market, located next to the Farm Store. No matter how you find a way to get to know Kinloch, you’ll know their roots run as deep as their dedication to the health of our lands and the animals that thrive upon them.
Photo credit: Beth Miller-Herholtz
