About Neptune Farm

We are a 126-acre organic farm in southwestern New Jersey, about six miles from the Delaware Bay. We raise beef cattle and sheep for bulk sale to restaurants and households in our region. The farm has been certified organic since 1992.

Our soils are mostly sandy and silt loams, and the land is very flat. Lenni Lenape Indians camped and hunted here before Europeans arrived. The farm was owned by Quaker families in the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries, and was used for Underground Railroad activities around the time of the Civil War. When our current owners, Dick McDermott and Torrey Reade, bought the farm, in 1989, it had fallen on hard times. Its topsoil was gone in places and it had grown up in weeds. With help from NOFA-NJ, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and our neighbors, our land is being restored to health.

We are using grassfed farm animals to bring our soils back to life. Growing hay and pasture for them allows us to have a productive farm without much tillage, so that the soil biota have a chance to recover. Nutrients cycle from the grass through our cows and sheep, and wind up back in the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy plants and animals, and builds a resource for future generations.