Kate Stillman grew up in and later inherited the family business, Stillman Quality Meats, which goes back four generations. “I grew up like a real, bona fide Massachusetts farm girl,” she says. COURTESY STILLMAN QUALITY MEATS

A pig at Stillman’s farm. Tending to the animals is an around-the-clock job. “Animals don’t take a hurricane off,” Stillman says, “or they get up at night and have babies. It’s 24/7.” COURTESY STILLMAN QUALITY MEATS

Cattle at Stillman farm. “I knew I always wanted to farm,” Kate Stillman says. COURTESY STILLMAN QUALITY MEATS

Smoked lamb cutlets available at Stillman Quality Meats. COURTESY STILLMAN QUALITY MEATS

Kate Stillman’s farming roots are set in four generations of livestock, dairy, fruit and vegetable farming. Stillman’s boots stepped onto the family’s path at age 9 when she starting helping with sales at farmers markets.

“I grew up like a real, bona fide Massachusetts farm girl,” Stillman says. “We ate pork from pigs my grandfather raised and smoked. We had our own beef, our own eggs, and chicken. Growing food small was a way of life and that’s what we did. I took all that for granted, growing up.”

Stillman expected to take over her family’s greenhouse business, which grew high-end garden stock and cut flowers.

“I knew I always wanted to farm,” she says. As a young woman representing her family’s operation at markets, she paid close attention to the market offerings.

At the time, protein was scarce at markets, and Stillman recognized that her family’s farm in Hardwick was in the unique position of being able to offer a complete range of vegetables and protein to customers. Stillman remembers, “There was only one other person doing it, so there was a huge demand, so I just went along with it.”

This vision of offering a complete meal set Stillman on a different path. She charted her own course by creating a vertically integrated farm model that begins with raising young animals and goes through delivery of fresh meat for customers’ plates.

“Growing food small on the farm was our way of life. You ate good meat,” she says.

As their butchery business started, terms like “pasture-raised” or “cage free” were new buzzwords for the animal husbandry and craft butchery the Stillman family had been doing since the late 1800s to feed their own family. “I believe in this model genuinely,” she says. That conviction spoke to her community, and they supported her. “It took off faster than I thought,” Stillman says.

The team at Stillman Quality Meats consists of six to 10 people, including family members.

“Animals don’t take a hurricane off, or they get up at night and have babies. It’s 24/7,” she says with a laugh. “We never caught up from the pandemic on staffing. The way I’ve dealt with it is we’ve upgraded as much as we can with technology and equipment to meet the demand.”

The butchery is Stillman’s highest labor demand, so since the pandemic, she bought an extra grinder and an extra slicer; on the animal side, Stillman automated as much as possible with automatic feeders and waterers. One person can do the job of two people by using these tools.

In both of her roles as boss and farmer, Stillman offers tools and technology to support her highly skilled team members. “Technology is not meant to replace labor — it’s to respect and save the labor that you have,” Stillman says.

In her farm newsletters, Stillman signs off as “Farm-her Kate.” She is thoughtful about the contributions of women to farming, including butchery. Stillman’s grandmother and great aunt ran their farms. “The tractor was the cool masculine thing that got all the attention,” she says with a laugh.

“Women have always been prominent in farming, and they do a damned good job farming, and what really changed it, was we have a tool — the cellphone — that allows us to get our personal stories out,” says Stillman, speaking of the biggest changes to farming. “This can be a tough business with a lot of guts and no glory — quite literally.”

Although female in a male-dominated field, the bigger challenge was starting as a 27-year-old and employing people twice her age.

Over 14 years, Stillman grew into her role and business. “You have to be a boss in this industry. Producing food is serious business because there’s a lot on the line. In cutting meat, there are a lot of regulations and paperwork. It’s high stress.”

Stillman is grateful to have a team that allowed her to get started and let her learn as a young woman. “It’s been a good experience, and I’ve learned a lot,” she says.

Reaching for customers who are accustomed to shopping in grocery stores gave Stillman a challenge.

“Most farm-raised meat ... looks different and tastes different. It’s expensive because you’re paying the real cost of the product,” she says.

“You have to find special customers who are willing to drive to your farm, have faith in your product, and try it. At the end of the day, this meat is higher quality, and it tastes better. That’s the starting point to all of this.”

Education has been key. “It wasn’t easy to learn how to make sausages that taste great or to learn how to cut fresh steaks, merchandise them, and get them out the door to people. That’s probably been the biggest victory,” she says.

“People like the taste and flavors. That’s important to me because I really want to deliver the goods to people,” she says.

To taste Stillman Quality Meats, come to CISA’s Local Loves Local event on Thursday, Sept. 8 at Four Star Farms Brewery in Northfield from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Stillman burgers, local corn, and local beer will be on tap. Tickets online at buylocalfood.org/LLL.

To buy Stillman Quality Meats, customers can order on their website for pickup at their Farmstead at 3674 Greenwich Road in Hardwick or opt for home delivery. Orders are packed in a cardboard box with insulation using dry ice and ice packs for two-day ground shipping.

In October, Stillman Quality Meats plans a full-service butcher shop, where customers can visit the farm, buy fresh meats, and request custom meat cutting from the pros. Watch their website for details: www.stillmanqualitymeats.com

Lisa Goodrich is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture). To learn more about local farms, what’s in season, and where to find it, visit buylocalfood.org/find-it-locally.

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