Farmer of the Week: Sidehill Farm

One of Sidehill Farm's young Normande calves roaming in the fields.

Sidehill Farm is a small, family run dairy farm that produces delicious, organic yogurt in Hawley, MA. Sidehill farm is owned by Amy Klippenstein and Paul Lacinski. They decided to start making yogurt because it is a healthy food “that your average person could afford to eat every day.” They started the farm nearly 20 years ago in Ashfield with only one cow and a small garden. They moved to their land in Hawley in 2012, which was previously an organic potato farm. Today, Sidehil Farm is the highest elevation operating farm in the state, and has a gorgeous view of rolling hills in every direction. They produce nearly 1,000 gallons of yogurt each day and have 225 acres of pasture and hay fields in the Berkshire Hills.

​Amy and Paul give the utmost attention and care to every part of their business. They name all of their cows and don’t need to use tags to identify them. They milk only four cows at a time to give them the best treatment possible each day. They never use hormones or antibiotics on their cows and add nothing artificial to their yogurt.

Additionally, they spend a lot of time caring for their land and soil. A large percentage of the land they own is used to graze their cows and Paul loves the process of growing grass and learning about soil fertility. He explained that they use their cattle as a land management tool. As the cows rotate through the pastures cutting grass down and moving on in order to allow the grass to recover, fertilizing the field as they go. Paul and Amy work hard to enhance the health of their soil to care as best they can for the earth and their cows. 

Amy Klippenstein and Paul Lacinski, owners of Sidehill Farm.

Their great care extends to their customers as well. Sidehill Farm raises Normandes and Jersey cows because their milk has a much higher protein content than traditional Holstein cow’s milk. This high protein content and natural cultures of their milk is essential for making firm yogurt naturally. Many companies use Holstein milk because the cows are a lot larger and produce much more milk per day, but have to add artificial ingredients to make their yogurt firm. Amy and Paul sell their raw milk at their small farm shop. They also sell their sour cream, yogurt, grass-fed beef, pastured pork, and cheddar cheese. Additionally, they carry many products from other nearby farms including cheese, eggs, ice cream, and even pickles.​

Paul and Amy spending time with their Jerseys.

Amy explaining how the milking process for their cows in the Sidehill Farm milk room.

Paul and Amy both love the “moments in farming of breathtaking beauty” and the ability to spend so much time with nature and animals. They love contributing good, healthy food to their community and love when customers stop through to visit the farm. Sidehill Farm's yogurt is available at Harvest Market in the Campus center and other retail dining locations on campus. Be sure to check out their farm stand in Hawley if you are ever in the area! 

​Thank you so much, Amy and Paul, for all of the hard work you do to care that you have for the earth and to provide such delicious, healthy, unique yogurt to our community. 

Photo credits: Keith Toffling