Justin Torrico

Description of farming status, plans, and practices:

In 2020, I took a job for the year developing, managing and and directing the April Hill Regenerative Agricultural education farm in South Egremont, MA.    On that site, I designed and implemented a diversified regenerative farm center highlighting the practices of regenerative agriculture including no till vegetable production, poly-culture orchard plantings, silvo-pasture, intensive rotational grazing of sheep, chickens and ducks, compost and compost tea production, and an apiary.

I am currently am farming on family land in the town of Mt. Washington Massachusetts and running a permaculture design/build firm. At the moment personally own only ten bred ewes (shetland) and two rams and about 50 lbs of red wiggler woms making wormcastings. At the family farm we have several acres of polyculture orchard, silviculture design moving our forest towards chestnut production overtime, a breeding sow, around 150 chicken layers and around 100 duck layers.  We raise around a 1000 meat chickens a season as well.  I have design and implemented and sometimes manage for years all manner of regenerative agricultural practices.  My interest lies in diversified regenerative farming with an emphasis on the development of perrenial crops such as chestnuts, hazelnuts, perrenial greens and a variety of medicinal and culinary herbs.  I am also in the process of developing a large scale worm composting and compost tea business.  And I am a prolific seed saver having grown vegetable seed for sale in the early 2010s and I am interested in tying this into my farm enterprise overtime.  I am also not alone in my farming endeavors, I am working alongside my partner and several long-term friends who currently work in my permaculture design-build firm.

The permaculture design-build firm largely works on silvopasture and poly-culture orchard design and implementation.  I have also recently been getting projects to make design manuals for starting diversified regenerative farms.  One current project for this spring will involve planting 3500 bareroot fruit and nut trees alongside alleycrops of perrenial herbs and flowers.

We are ready to move with our farming crew asap into a longterm agreement, ideally lease to own.  

Does this farmer have a business plan?

In progress

Preferred location:

Desired acreage:

21-50, 51-100, >100

Infrastructure required:

Onsite housing, Barns or other facilities for storage of equipment, livestock, and crops, Water access

Primary crops:

Fruits, Grains, Hay, Other Crops

Primary Livestock:

Cattle - Beef, Cattle - Dairy, Goats/Sheep, Poultry, Other livestock

Description of livestock/crops:

diversified organic fruit production - highlighting unique heirlooms i.e. asian pears, quince, cider apples, raspberries, goldenberries, elderberries.

Chestnut and hazelnut 

Cattle, small dairy, wool and meat sheep, chickens, 

calendula, comfrey, culinary sage 

Tenure options desired:

Farm Management, For Lease, Partnership, For Sale, Other Tenure Agreement

Will this farmer's operation qualify an eligible landowner for an Agricultural Assessment?

Yes

Experience & education:

Farm owner, On farm work experience