Hastings Hill Farm Now Offers Local Beef, Milk, Produce and More

Hastings Hill Farm in Suffield has operated a farm stand for a few years. With the help of a state grant, they are opening a farm store that will offer locally raised beef, milk, soft cheeses, yogurt and fresh produce.

Megan Hastings, who helps manage the farm along with her family, said the Hastings have worked the farm for five generations.

"Last year we had four generations working the farm, before we lost Grandpa," Megan Hastings said.

Richard "Bill" Hastings passed away in December. Her parents, Susan and Larry Hastings, along with Megan’s sister, Lauren Kaplan and her husband, Scott, all work the farm. Megan Hastings' two children, aged 11 years old and 12 years old, help out at the store as well. John Schuler also has worked at the farm for years, helping out in the barns and bringing in the corn crop.

The farm has just under 300 head of cattle, with about 30 beef cattle and more than 200 dairy cows. The beef cattle are Herefords and Angus, and the Hastings are expanding that side of the business. The beef cattle are sent to a meat processing plant in Westminster, VT, for slaughtering. Dairy cattle include Jerseys and Holsteins.

The farm received a grant from the state of Connecticut which helped with building the store, new electrical work and piping and a new roof on a portion of one of the barns. Hastings said they will apply again this year in hopes of making new roof repairs, because of damage caused by the heavy snow last year.

Finishing touches are being put on the store, which has a walk-in freezer and a bottling machine. The milk will be bottled on site, and there will be skim and whole milk offered. Cheese and yogurt also will be made there. Hastings said they have been making soft cheeses for a few years, but this will be the first time it will be sold on site. Beef of various cuts is now for sale, along with seasonal fresh produce. You can buy individual cuts as well as whole cuts, half cuts and quarter cuts of beef.

The farm is open seven days a week. The Hastings had a farm stand for about five years, but decided to expand and offer more items through a store.

The farm hosts farm tours for camps, scout groups and birthday parties. A group of about 40 kids from Bridgeport recently visited the farm, seeing newborn calves.

"They had a blast, many of them had never been to a farm before," Hastings said.

Find out more about the farm and prices for the beef at it's Web site or call 860-668-7524. The farm is at 472 Hill St., Suffield.