Fledgling Farmstead

About the Farm

Fledgling Farmstead is nestled on a historic 190-acre farm of fields and forest in the rugged hills of Tunbridge, Vermont, where the land was first cleared in 1791 and has served many purposes from dairy farming to sheep raising to forest products. The farm is stewarded by Evan and Emily Reiss along with their children and Emily's parents, Lee and Dean Wheeler, who represent a beautiful collaboration of fledgling and experienced farmers working to reinvigorate diversity and productivity on this storied land.

Evan's agricultural journey began with a degree in Ecological Agriculture from the University of Vermont, leading him into a decade of 100% grass-based dairy farming as a founding member of Family Cow Farmstand and later Mountain Home Farm, where he spent years milking Guernsey cows and crafting raw milk, butter and cheese. When economics and evolving interests led him away from exclusive dairy farming, he embraced his passion for fine woodworking, establishing Raven's Rook Woodcraft in a shop on the farm. Emily grew up on a diverse family farm in Orange, Vermont, where she developed an intimate connection to homesteading among cows, chickens, sheep, goats, horses and vegetables, later exploring the intersection of organic farming, permaculture, herbalism and community resilience through formal studies and hands-on experience.

Today, Fledgling Farmstead operates as a diversified family farm offering a vegetable and herb CSA, seasonal fruits, grass-fed meats, and farm-fresh eggs, while serving as an event space for workshops and celebrations nourished by the farm's own produce and stunning landscape. Though not certified organic, their growing philosophy embraces and exceeds those principles, eschewing synthetic herbicides and pesticides in favor of their own compost, fostering diversity through inter-cropping, cover cropping, and crop rotation in systems inspired by ecology. The farm's mission extends beyond production to propagate greater sustainability in their local and regional community through education, connection, and inspiration.