Sweetland Farm in Vermont: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Sweetland Farm in Norwich, Vermont, is a highly diversified family farm that grows produce for its CSA and farm store and won the 2025 Leopold Conservation Award. Founded in 2012 by Norah Lake, it manages 200 acres of conserved farmland, about 15 acres of vegetables and a three-acre orchard with more than 50 varieties of fruit. It is a model of how a Vermont vegetable operation can pair regenerative practices with electrification and a 90 percent carbon-reduction goal.
| Location | Norwich, Vermont |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012, by Norah Lake |
| Sectors | vegetables; orchard fruit; CSA; farm store; workshops |
| Scale | 200 acres of conserved farmland; about 15 acres of vegetables; a 3-acre orchard |
| Why it is elite | 2025 Leopold Conservation Award; conserved land and carbon-reduction pledge |
| Ownership | Family farm led by Norah Lake |
| Official website | Sweetland Farm official site |
History of Sweetland Farm
Norah Lake founded Sweetland Farm in 2012 and bought an 87-acre parcel from the Vermont Land Trust that year. The farm now totals 200 acres of conserved farmland, with half managed forest and half open land. Its early growth was covered in 2017 by Vermont Farm to Plate.
The 2025 Leopold Conservation Award recognized the farm's soil health, water resources and wildlife habitat work. The farm has also made a public climate pledge to cut fossil carbon emissions by 90 percent over 10 years from a 2018 baseline.
What Sweetland Farm Grows and Raises
The farm raises about 15 acres of vegetables, a three-acre orchard with apples, pears, plums and peaches, and rotational pasture or hay fields. It uses organic, regenerative and integrated pest management approaches, though it states that it does not sell certified organic products. NOFA-VT lists berries, tree fruit, vegetables, herbs, flowers, seedlings and some meat among its products.
Energy is part of the plan. Solar panels are on south-facing roofs, irrigation pumps, delivery vehicles and heat pumps have been electrified, and a wood-chip boiler fueled by the farm's own forest heats its greenhouses. A winterized greenhouse is being built for winter growing. The farm also hosts workshops for other farmers.
How Sweetland Farm Makes Money
CSA and farm shares
The farm uses community-supported markets and farm shares, and the NOFA-VT Farm Share Program is among its payment options. Shares provide up-front cash before the season.
Farm store
The farm store and farm stand sell the farm's produce and other local items, which keeps the margin on the farm.
Education and workshops
Hosting workshops for farmers adds a service line and positions the farm as a training site. Revenue amounts are not published.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Sweetland Farm
Spend on energy where it pays back twice. Replacing fossil fuel with solar, heat pumps and a wood-chip boiler fueled by the farm's own forest lowers exposure to fuel prices and supports the carbon story used with customers and funders.
Combine conservation land with intensive production. Buying through a land trust parcel and conserving it secured the farmland base, while CSA and the orchard capture high value per acre.
A wood-chip boiler fueled by the farm's own forest may be the most Vermont sentence ever written about a greenhouse. At farm.FM we write farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and an operation with fifty varieties of fruit and a carbon pledge is a comedy goldmine we will approach with great affection. The only thing we would roast is the farm stand's waiting line.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
How to Contact Sweetland Farm
Website: https://sweetlandfarmvt.com/
Contact details are on the farm's official website; we did not copy address, phone or email because they were confirmed only through a third-party directory. Confirm farm store and CSA details with the farm before traveling.
Sweetland Farm Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Sweetland Farm - Official farm website
- UVM Extension award story - Report on the Leopold Conservation Award
- NOFA-VT farm profile - Directory entry listing products and sales channels
- Vermont produce safety spotlight - State agency profile of the farm
- Vermont Farm to Plate - Independent coverage of the farm's growth
Sweetland Farm FAQ
What does Sweetland Farm grow?
Vegetables, orchard fruit, herbs, flowers and some meat, sold through a CSA and farm store.
When was it founded?
Norah Lake founded it in 2012.
Is it certified organic?
No. NOFA-VT lists it as not certified organic, though it uses organic, regenerative and IPM approaches.
What award did it win?
The 2025 Leopold Conservation Award.
Sweetland Farm shows that a diversified Vermont CSA can combine conserved land, electrification and strong direct markets. Read about more operations in our guide to Vermont farms.