Terra Madre Delegate Profile -
Kevin and April Fletcher, organic poultry and eggs
Maple Hill Farm - Scottsville, VA
www.bestofwhatsaround.org

Deep in the quiet, gentle meandering hillsides of central Virginia, the Maple Hill Farm is home to a much-revered flock of rare-breed hens. Here, long legged snowy Araucanas, black and white spotted Barred Rocks, golden beauties Buff Orpingtons, and imposing Jersey Black Giants are fed only certified organic grains grown using environmentally safe methods.

Through the moniker The Best of What's Around, farm managers Kevin and April Fletcher sell their USDA organic eggs, produce, dairy products and meats. Fresh eggs from "the girls," as the Fletchers like to call their hens, were this farm's first product. Handpicked and packed, these pale, luminous, multi-colored eggs quickly became the hands-down first choice of local chefs and specialty grocers.

Pastured eggs, such as those raised by the Fletchers, have won even the low-cholesterol heart of the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education program (SARE). A recent study compared free-range and caged eggs and revealed that free-range eggs have 10% less fat, 40% more vitamin A, 34% less cholesterol, and a startling 400% more omega-3 fatty acids-an integral part of all healthy body cells.
The Fletcher free-range birds really are free: no hens are ever debeaked or have their wings clipped, and hens aren't confined in cages or barns. If they want to be roost potatoes and hang out in their mobile hen house all day, that's their choice, but they can also scratch in the dirt, sunbathe, scamper, roll in the dust or forage for insect delicacies whenever they like.

Maple Hill Farm's 1,340 acres, protected by a conservation easement, demonstrate how agricultural lands can be beautiful, environmentally healthy, and economically productive as they serve the principle of eating locally. April and Kevin are both native Virginians who spent their childhoods in the state's agrarian southwestern region and pursued educational success, earning higher degrees in law and business management respectively. With their "best of" past perspective and present farming strategies, the Fletchers are also managing farmland for musician and Farm Aid board member Dave Matthews. The Fletchers, however, don't make a flap about themselves, insisting that their hens are the real stars. They're "just a couple of farmers." -Sue Knapp-Steen, Slow Food Virginia-Old Dominion