Moon Shine Mountain Farm events
• Nichole and Daniel Stinson offer canning and pickling classes at their farm south of Marshall. • Farm tours are offered through the fall. • Children’s “fun farm days” can be arranged for family or socially-distanced groups of 4-8.
Conservation-minded
Moon Shine Mountain works in conjunction with the John Marshall Conservation District to fence their livestock out of Thumb Run that runs through their property. The incorporate rotational grazing, moving stock from pasture to pasture to minimize mowing and maximize forage growth.
moonshinemountainfarm.com
“My farm homestead is my therapy. There is nothing better for my soul than being outside taking in all God’s beauty.”
- NICHOLE STINSON
Nichole Stinson says she living her dream life at Moon Shine Mountain Farm, sharing her love of the outdoors, gardening, animal husbandry and farm life with her family and with her community.
Simple days, simple ways Meet the modern Moon Shiners: These homesteaders are serving up taste treats and a strong buy local, eat healthy message Learning to live with the land is an ongoing process for this farm family. Meet the Stinson clan of Marshall’s storied Free State region and hear how they’re taking it from farm to table, from pasture to processing, from the land to the hand, and everything in between. Tucked atop a mountain with a rich history of outlaw moonshining in the Free State area just south of Marshall are 34 acres devoted to something other than illegal alcohol. Daniel and Nichole Stinson give a nod to the re-
Poppy Stinson, left, labors alongside her mother, Nichole, in a garden bed at Moon Shine Mountain Farm near Marshall.
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gion in the name of the organic farm they created in 2012: Moon Shine Mountan Farm was carved out of their desire to live healthy and know what was going in their bodies. The Stinson’s and their children live on and tend every acre. “Our Farm started as a dream. The growth of Moon Shine Mountain Farm into a true farm, albeit a small one, has happened organically, pardon the pun.” chuckles Stinson. Nichole Stinson, who grew up in a HOA community in Maryland, says that through several trials and a few military tours, she and her husband
decided a life in the country would be best for them. It was that quest to go back to the earth, live and eat simpler and cleaner that fueled their passion to share with others what they have learned, are still learning, and what they call their, blessings. Stinson says between their natural lifestyle and the joy the animals bring, she and her family have been living the highest quality of life and cannot imagine doing it any other way. Moon Shine Mountain Farm began with a garden and a few chickens, but, as Stinson jokes, “Chickens are like potato chips, you can’t have just one!” Stinson says the farm is fun for kids of all ages and assures that the herd, which includes Dexter Cattle, sheep, ducks, geese, turkeys, and the chickens, or “ladies”, as she calls them, will come out and follow guests with or without treats. Produce grows year-round at the farm, with a Spring to Fall outdoor garden and a Greenhouse in the winter. The garden is vital in the Stinson’s goal of self-sustainability and a variety of fruits and vegetables are available depending on the season. Stinson says they focus as much as possible on heirloom vegetables and save their own seeds whenever they can. “Except squash,” admits Stinson, “funny enough, every time we try to grow squash, the squash bugs take over. I’ve resolved to buy it from another local farmer.” Canning is a huge part of what the Stinson’s do
A tale as old as time…
At the Stinson family’s Moon Shine Mountain Farm near Marshall, they live and work in a natural rhythm, one dictated by the seasons and the circular nature of the birth, life, death renewal cycle of an active stock farm. “It’s not for the faint of heart,” says Nichole Stinson. “Farming is not an exact science, it’s more like, organized chaos.” Timeline from farm to table for a beef burger: - Early fall: Dexter calves are born (from young heifers purchased from Dixie Meadows Farm. - March: Calves are weaned and left on a grass pasture to grow. Moon Shine beef is grass-fed and grass-finished. - 13 months later, usually in May: Processing at Fauquier’s Finest. The Stinsons typically keep one side for themselves and sell the rest under their Moon Shine Mountain label.
