John Carter’s family has been farming in Bethel since 1791. His business, Middle Intervale Farm, brings roughly 200 head of livestock to market every year, and sells beef, lamb, eggs and produce throughout the state.
During the pandemic, as large processing plants closed, demand for the farm’s beef went up — but the availability of spots at the local slaughterhouse went down.
“I definitely got cut back,” Carter said, meaning he had to keep animals, and pay to feed them, for a longer period. “I got stuck with thirty to forty hogs. That sucked.”
