History of Cloudland Farm

Cloudland Farm was originally a 2,000 acre dairy farm purchased by the Emmons family in 1908.  At that time, the farm raised Jersey cattle, Southdown sheep, Berkshire pigs, and produced maple syrup.   Milk, eggs, potatoes, and apples were sold locally.  Butter was shipped to Woodstock in a horse-drawn wagon, loaded onto a rail car, and taken to Boston where it was sold.  Ice was harvested from the farm’s pond during the winter and was used as “refrigeration” throughout the year.  The farm employed as many as 30 workers during the summer and one photo of its sawmill in winter shows 10 men.

Now a 1,000 acre farm, Cloudland is home to Black Angus beef cattle, pastured chickens and turkeys, pigs, horses, a certified tree farm, the Cloudland Farm Country Market, and a farm-to-table dining establishment.   The farm is operated by Bill and Cathy Emmons.  Their daughter Meg works in the restaurant on occasion when she isn’t busy tapping trees, making maple syrup, or marketing syrup at Bourdon Maple Farm.  Her twin sister, Abby is a cardiac ICU nurse in Virginia and comes home to the farm a couple times each year where she often gets roped into helping with some type of farming chore.  Son Will works full time off the farm but helps with major farm projects as he is able. Meg’s husband, Sam Musson of Musson Brothers Tree Surgeons, is a huge help with winter firewood, jobs requiring a chainsaw, and with brush hogging steep hillsides on occasion. Will’s girlfriend, Calli Stott, is new to farming, but is enjoying learning about cattle and pigs when she is at the farm.