Stone & Thistle Farm

In 1993, Tom Warren, an architectural woodworker, and his wife, Denise, a financial services professional, left Brooklyn, NY to live full time in their weekend home in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Their oldest son Riley was obsessed with the film Lassie. Nearly every night, the famous collie enchanted him with images of a different life, as she proudly herded her sheep across their living room screen. "Riley must have watched that movie 638 times," says Tom, "After awhile, we thought -we better get some sheep to keep him here with us!"

The Warrens started Stone & Thistle Farm with three sheep. "When I look back, it was probably to our advantage that we didn't have any farming background" Tom reflects. "We started out doing things differently. We didn't have a box to think in." One of their different ideas was to keep their animals outside, in the open, native environment. Some people thought the Warrens were "moving farming back 45 years" as Tom describes it, but they kept moving forward on their instinct to farm with more traditional methods. Today the family operates a vibrant livestock farm raising grass-fed lamb, goat and beef, and pastured poultry. They sell eggs and meat and have created a farm kitchen called Fable, which produces creative seasonal sausages, pot pies, stews and many other heat-and-eat foods made from ingredients raised on the farm.

Since the beginning, the Warrens have connected with shoppers at the farmers market. "We've really been welcomed by the communities where we sell. People generally appreciate what we're trying to do, and that gives us a lot of satisfaction," says Tom. The sense of connection extends all the way back to the farm, where visitors are welcome for farm tours, farm stays and special events.