A farm-focused B & B invites guests to share in the Vermont agricultural experience.

If you're like thousands of other visitors who love Vermont’s food and food philosophy, a visit to Shepherd’s Hill Farm in Taftsville is a great way to learn more.

The morning meal is an important part of staying at a bed-and-breakfast (after all, it is half of the deal). But rather than simply reading a menu, guests at Shepherd’s Hill Farm can have a personal hand in getting their meal from Pasture to plate.

 “A lot of parents that come here want their kids to see where their food comes from,” said Ellen Terie, who owns and runs Shepherd’s Hill Farm, a 36-acre farm and B & B in Taftsville.

This family friendly inn is just the place to learn.

Just steps from the farmhouse kitchen, guests can enter a wooden henhouse and collect fresh eggs. Off the back porch, a garden offers vegetables such as zucchini and tomatoes and herbs for savory omelet fillngs. In the nearby pasture, 40 lambs provide a supply of meat for sage-flecked sausage. Even the honey used in meals comes from the farm’s bees.

Opportunities for hands-on involvement vary with the seasons, but nearly always include collecting eggs and feeding hay to farm animals. In spring, for instance, when sheep are giving birth, guests can feed baby lambs with a bottle and even witness the birth of a lamb! In summer, chores include herding sheep, sorting lambs and harvesting vegetables. Fall brings lots of activities and winter preparations, from spinning down and jarring honey to picking apples.

Just ask the guests. “Helping out creates community right away,” said Nikki Clapper of Cambridge, Mass. “When you go to a place that gives you an opportunity to participate, it gives you a connection to a place more than, ‘I’m going to write you a check and eat your breakfast.’”

For more about Shepherd’s Hill Farm, including beautiful photographs of the animals and farm facilities by Caleb Kenna, see the full article “Will Work for Vacation” by Michelle Edelbaum in the Spring issue of Vermont Life Magazine.

For information on Shepherd’s Hill Farm and other farm stay opportunities visit www.VTFarms.org, the official site of the Vermont Farms Association.