Boatyard Farm, the one-acre organic farm off Hummock Pond Road run by Carl and Lera Keller since 2013, is closing down. The Kellers made the announcement over the weekend, and will be winding down their operation in the coming weeks and months.
“It’s a good thing for us,” Lera Keller said, mentioning how she and Carl have transitioned to focus more on their new property management business, Sankaty Light Property Management. They had hoped to be able to do both, Keller said, but the time necessary to run the two businesses simultaneously made it a challenge.
“We thought we were going to be able to combine it together with farming but 500-plus chickens do require love and care and we feel like it is unfair to the chickens and to the community to not give them as much of our time as they require,” Lera Keller said. “We’re still passionate about farming of course and we will always support local agriculture efforts. We will miss it so much.”
The small farm had grown in popularity since the Kellers founded it in 2013, and their eggs – sold on the honor system out of a cooler on the side of the road – often sold out quickly.
Their focus now, she added, is finding homes for the farm’s 500-plus chickens.
“We are looking to find homes for as many chickens as possible,” Lera Keller said. “People can reach out to us to buy them and they can keep them as egg birds or kill them and eat them. Also if anybody is interested we do have some infrastructure like laying buckets, some chicken houses, we also would be able to provide some basic chicken keeping education and knowledge.”
Call 508-680-4494 if you are interested in buying some of Boatyard Farm’s chickens.
