Founder of Laura’s Lean Beef Company and Mt. Folly Enterprises, as well as a well-known innovator, Laura Freeman began her career in agriculture in the fall of 1981.
Laura owns and runs Mt. Folly Farm, one of the largest USDA-certified organic farms in the Bluegrass. She is President/CEO of Mt. Folly Enterprises, the company that owns Mt. Folly Farm, Laura’s Hemp Chocolates, Laura's Homestead Alternatives CBD, and Wildcat Willy’s Distillery.
Read more of Laura's story.
When I asked this question to our regenerative farming team, the response back was, “Compared to what?” The idea that we might behave like gardeners falls between two future visions: a rewilded paradise where people exit stage right; or a “precision agriculture” future, where food is grown in laboratories, enormous soil-less greenhouses, or dead dirt. …
Dear Friends, Fall is here, the silage for our winter feed is up, and our plans turn to harvest, cover crops, complex rotations, grass and soil diversity. Per my last letter, I’ve paid a visit to our friends the Halls, at The Troublesome Creek Times in Hindman, Knott County.* There, I spent an afternoon, delivering supplies…
Dear Friends, And the winner is Julia Truitt Poynter! Thanks to all who signed up for the Mt. Folly Farm newsletter and entered to win a stay at the Homestead. Julia and I will tour the farm, visit the distillery and the new Mercantile on Main, see our downtown. She plans to visit in October…
Dear Friends, At Mt. Folly farm, we are doing big things, simply. We are part of the drawdown movement, which seeks to sequester carbon dioxide in plants, trees and soils. We have long been a part of the organic movement as well, for us meaning our products are raised in soils, part of the underground…
Dear Friends, Last week we hosted a garden club here. We talked first at the Homestead Cabin, then toured on a tractor-pulled farm wagon. Necessarily, these tours are but a snapshot of what we do at Mt. Folly. One of the most innovative undertakings for the year (and for many years to come, I believe)…
Dear Friends, March is women’s history month. As a woman, I’d rather an eon than a month, which we deserve. Still, I ask you to send me a vignette, long or short, about the women who’ve been role models, inspired you, accomplished the impossible, and have improved the well-being of humanity. I’ll get these notes…
Dear Friends, There is a connection between the soil microbiome and our microbiome. As we focus on health, we’ve come across these new findings. For organic farmers who use nature rather than pesticides and herbicides to grow plants, including organic hemp for CBD, we are heartened to see this research going mainstream. The human microbiome consists…
Dear Friends, At the fall equinox, farmers pause to reflect on the growing season, with harvest upon us. Here at Mt. Folly, I’m dispensing with happy talk. From Covid to climate, the year has been rough, so rough I’ve had to summon my inner mule. Here is the back story, some of which you may know:…
Dear Friends, A summer theme for Laura’s Mercantile is “Real People; Real Relief.” Here I want to twist that phrase, and call out “Real People; Real Solutions.” We are watching the climate with apprehension. This summer we’ve seen pictures of panicked subway commuters in Asia, as water pours in their car; flooding in Belgium and…
Laura relies on us here at Laura’s Mercantile to provide her with the best full spectrum CBD products available on the market. Our products are essential to keeping Laura’s mind and body healthy so she can continue her journey of promoting regenerative agriculture and carbon sequestration at Mt. Folly Farm, and building her local economy in Winchester, KY.