We are a small family farm in Southbridge Mass that has run in the Clemence family for the six generations. In the past we have been a dairy farm. In just the last few years, Missy Peters (also a Clemence) started raising vegetables and making all kinds of farm fresh home-made products like pickles and jams. In the spring we tap the maple trees and do a little sugurin'. In 2020 Jeremy was intrigued by the honey bee and became a bee keeper. This led to the Clemence Hill Farm Apiary and we now offer local unfiltered honey and other honey based products including soaps, lotions, lip balm and more. We are excited to see what else might happen here on the farm!
Clemence Hill Farm Pork was run by Ryan, Ben, and Jeremy Peters, with help from family and friends until they went to college! Today, their uncle George raises the pigs right here on the farm and sells beef and pork products. You will have to contact George directly for beef and pork (Please visit www.AristaFarms.com).
The boys began raising pigs in 2015, because they always wanted pigs, and continuously asked for pigs for birthdays and Christmas since they were young children. Their parents told them stories of the farms they worked on as kids and the pigs they raised when they were kids, and so that and their love for pork (especially bacon) inspired them. When they heard there was a need for pork they jumped on the opportunity to raise their own pigs. They have since realized how much work it really is to raise them, but think it is still lots of fun. Pigs require lots of work and money, as you need to make a proper pen, buy food, get a clean water supply, and maintain the pen for them in order to keep them clean and healthy otherwise they get sick and smelly. The pigs are feed a balanced diet composed of a variety of nutritious foods twice a day. The boys have learned a lot about pigs, the reality of farming, and business from our experiences, and through it all have enjoyed watching the pigs grow from 75 pounds to a massive 200+ pounds!
A long time ago the King of England granted to our family's ancestors the land that our farm now sits on. Since then the land has split up due to marriages. One of the early splits was between the Clemences and the Mckinstrys. The Mckinstrys got a lease for 99 years in 1926 to use the pond on our property for the Mckinstrys Ice business. The land given to the Mckinstrys is now Pleasant Street and the surrounding area. The rest of the land has stayed in the Clemence family, and has slowly turned into today's landscape. Some land was sold to the town for the airport, landfill, and Industrial Park. The rest of the land has been used for dairy farming for four generations, ending in the 1980's. At this point all the dairy cows were sold and the farm became strictly a hobby farm. In the early 2000's young George decided to bring the tradition back and revived the farm with a small beef operation, and has been growing since. In 2015 he helped his nephews Ryan, Ben and Jeremy Peters start the pork business called Clemence Hill Farm Pork in order to provide quality meat carefully raised to give you the best, home grown product. Today the beef and pork is managed under Arista Beef, and is run by George, the fifth generation of farmers in the Clemence family. All of this makes for six generations of farmers in the family! We have a 6th generation family run farm that provides quality food using no growth hormones or antibiotics.