Second-generation Hardwick farmers conserve farmland and woodland for diversified farm business producing beef and distilled spirits
The Meyer family, including brothers Nick and Taylor Meyer, protected nearly 50 acres of farmland and woodland in Hardwick. Previously in hay for their dairy herd, the land is now used by the family to grow organic heirloom corn, barley, oats, and rye for their farm-based, small-batch distillery, High Drive, located on a separate parcel down the road.
High Drive Distillery started production in 2023 and their gin is sold at the farm and at 802 Spirits retail outlets, managed by the state. In addition to grains, red clover picked from their fields is a key ingredient in their gin. The brothers plan to launch High Drive whiskey, including rye and bourbon, in the spring of 2025.
The second-generation farmers also run North Hardwick Farm, producing organic grass-fed beef that is sold on the farm and at the Hardwick Farmers’ Market in the summer. The family farm started in the 1970s with beef cattle, added dairy in 1978, and transitioned back to beef in 2019.
Nick and Taylor Meyer stand with Nick’s son, Murray, in front of the farm’s still for High Drive Distillery, which opened in 2023. Photo courtesy of North Hardwick Farm.
Nick and Taylor are committed to passing down the farming and land stewardship tradition, like their father did with them.
“Farm diversification is a key ingredient for survival in the hills of Vermont,” said Nick. “When we had to sell the dairy animals, we asked ourselves how we could continue to work the land and keep it open? We are not just farmers, but stewards of the land with the responsibility of a caretaker. The answer was beef and grains. And not just selling grains but turning that beautiful crop into a taste from the fields of Vermont through whiskey. Conservation plays a unique role so those fields can continue a productive path towards diversity.”
“Conservation can be a great way to support enterprising farms like North Hardwick Farm, while ensuring that these important ag. soils remain available for farmers in the future,” said VLT’s Clarice Cutler, who worked with the Meyers on the project.
The conservation project adds to a nearly 1,000-acre block of conserved land in Hardwick, including 260 acres previously conserved by the Meyer Family. Contiguous blocks of conserved land can support diversified and dynamic agricultural economies like Hardwick’s.
Vermont’s farms are an important part of the state’s economy: according to the 2022 USDA Census of AgricultureUSDA Census of Agriculture, sales of farm products exceeded one billion dollars.
The conserved parcel has more than 30 acres of managed woodland with softwood and hardwood forest. Seeps and intermittent streams in the forested portions ultimately drain into the Lamoille River. The conservation easement ensures that those wooded areas will continue to absorb and filter water in the watershed, enhancing clean water further downstream.
