Stonewood Farm

Agricultural Loan program

Peter Stone and his family have a bustling farm in Orwell, filled with about 37,000 turkeys they raise each year. 

Of those, 3,000 will be utilized for ground turkey and boneless breasts — frozen products — about 20,000 will feed local families during the Thanksgiving season and a few hundred will set the Christmas table. The remainder will become ground turkey sausage. 

In 2016, the farm suffered a loss — more than half its turkeys succumbed to a disease right before slaughter, meaning Stone’s costs had already been accrued and the income would be heavily altered. 

The farm didn’t have the sales expected for Thanksgiving — one of the biggest retail times of the year — and as a result lost a significant amount of money. 

The Stones needed financial help to keep their farm afloat and reached out to VEDA, which was able to provide two loans; one to help Stone make it through the loss and another for the following year in order to start again. Additionally, a line of credit filled in the gaps. 

“I don’t know if anybody else would have touched any of that,” Stone said, crediting the business’ survival to the partnership and trust with VEDA. 

Stone grew up on the farm. His parents converted it from a dairy to turkey business because, he said, milk prices then were much like they are today — they didn’t move. When he took over, Stone tried cows, too, but eventually got rid of them altogether in favor of the feathered fowl. 

In addition to raising the birds, Stone and his wife Siegrid sell hay, part of the business that proved important during the transition from cows to turkeys. 

The turkey business is highly seasonal, raising the birds in the spring and summer in order to get them ready for holiday tables. During the winter months, empty barns are cleaned, year-round products are made and the cycle begins again. 

Those year-round sales are important, too, as they allow Stone to have a bit more control over the market — something he said is a big challenge with dairies. 

The farm is in charge of its own sales, working directly with stores and distributors. It works for them, even if it is more work, because they can set their prices. 

Stone’s father worked with VEDA and he has continued that tradition, too, for creative financing solutions to everything from replacing a large-scale freezer to a current project helping make it possible for the seasonal workers who come to the farm from Jamaica to live on the property versus in rented homes miles away. 

“I don’t know if anybody else would have touched any of that.” 

~ Peter Stone