Meet the Farmer at Acorn Farmers' Market & Café

submitted by Acorn Farmers’ Market & Café

Come join us for Meet the Farmer: Webbed Foot Pines this Saturday, April 9, 11 am to 1 pm. Farmer Lucas from Webbed Foot Pines will join us as he shares his vast knowledge of poultry farming and more than 25 varieties of fowl he has on his farm.

Farmer Lucas will start off at 11 am with a farm presentation sharing his knowledge and experience with the community. Come with a question and get half a dozen eggs for free. (Limited to the first 24 participants.) Enter into Webbed Foot Pines whole chicken giveaway drawing any time from 11 am to 1 pm, with the two winners drawn at 1 pm right here at Acorn.

When asked to tell us a little about his farm, Farmer Lucas shared this: “I grew up as a farmer. My dad raised traditional field crops and beef cattle and a few hogs primarily. My grandparents on both sides were farmers. Three of my four sets of great-grandparents were farmers. I'm the first farmer in my family to sell direct (no middleman) or retail. Growing hay and straw, livestock, and poultry have always been my hobby, and now I have turned it into a full-time business.

"I was a 4-H kid at 10 years old when I told my mom, 'I'm going to find a way to raise ducks and make that a living!'

"I started Webbed Foot Pines as a hobby farm in 2001, raising over 40 different varieties and showing exhibition waterfowl poultry and game birds at State and National level shows. We currently still raise over 25 varieties and exhibition poultry as a hobby. We are different than most in the poultry world in that we still incubate, hatch, and raise many of our own stock from breeding them. This will be my thirteenth year officially as Webbed Foot Pines LLC being my only source of income, supporting my family and me.”

by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.