Studio Hill

Meet the Farmers

Caroline and Jesse McDougall are co-owners of Studio Hill, a regenerative farm that sits on a pastoral southern Vermont property owned by four generations of Caroline’s family. Originally built as a dairy farm, Caroline’s aunt converted the land to an equestrian center and hay farm. Caroline’s aunt Edie was a real-life “superhero,” whose repertoire included equestrian training, piloting planes, and running a thriving tack shop business out of the barn. 

When tragedy struck the family with Edie’s passing after a year-long battle with cancer, Caroline stepped into her next life chapter managing the farm. She and Jesse sold their web marketing and development firm, and moved south to undertake a big adventure: converting a conventional farm into a fertile and thriving regenerative farm. 

The first task was to cease the use of synthetic chemicals, and to allow the land time to heal. This proved to be a much bigger challenge than anticipated, as nothing grew in the fields that first year. Jesse was bouncing their new son, Angus, on his knee when he heard Allan Savory’s TED Talk on reversing desertification and restoring grasslands through the holistic planned grazing of livestock. 

That gave Jesse and Caroline the idea to start a grazing plan with 50 chickens, rotating the flock every 12 hours to break up soil capping and work natural fertilizers into the soil. Gradually the grass came back to life, and they knew they were on the right track. Then one day there was a knock on the door, and a neighbor told Jesse and Caroline they needed a home for 45 sheep. Fast forward to present day, where Studio Hill is home to a wildly abundant ecosystem of pasture-raised livestock, a perennial food forest, and pollinators, all residing atop highly fertile and nutrient-dense soil. 

A holistic approach to farming requires an extraordinary capacity for planning and patience. Studio Hill takes stock of the complex systems they’re working with, balancing ecological restoration with human interaction and education. Jesse is an Accredited Professional with the Savory Institute and a founding partner of Regenerative Food Network Inc.⎼a regional effort to rebuild farming infrastructure throughout the northeastern United States, providing small-farms access to the processing equipment and markets needed to create and sell value-added food products. Studio Hill hosts school groups, consultations, and webinars to show others how it’s possible to manage land without chemicals and institute regenerative practices that benefit local ecosystems and sequester carbon to combat climate change. For Caroline and Jesse, watching nature respond in positive ways to their decisions has been among the most rewarding fruits of their labor. 

Studio Hill’s operations wouldn’t be complete without head shepherdess Miranda Richardson. With a degree in animal science from the University of Rhode Island, she has led the breeding program at Studio Hill, transforming their flock from a sickly, grain-dependent flock to a 100% grass-fed, strong and healthy flock.

Regenerative & Sustainable Practices

Studio Hill restores the soil ecosystem on their land by managing livestock holistically in their perennial polyculture pastures. Their farm employs a number of techniques to revitalize the land, including: