The Land

In the Eastern Foothills of the Green Mountains

As of Spring 2023, we are finally grazing where we live, here in Marshfield, Vermont, in the upper Winooski River valley, between the river and the forest and the earth and the sky. This is a significant change after more than a decade of traveling from home to care for the animals on Robinson Hill Rd., in the heart of Maple Corner in Calais, Vermont. The land where we now live and graze is part of the Wellspring Land Cooperative - a cooperative of 3 households who together hold deed to the land. This land is a part of the VT Land Trust. The Robinson Hill Rd. pastures we had been grazing are a part of a larger 500 acre parcel also in the Vermont Land Trust which is owned by multiple parties who allowed us to keep animals on this land. This is a unique and beautiful area and we are grateful to have the opportunity to contribute towards creating a legacy and lived reality of more resilient and healthy waterways, ecosystems, economies, communities, and diets in central Vermont.  

Robinson Hill Beef recognizes the violent colonial history and active current neocolonial subjugation of this land, Vermont, the greater United States, Canada, and the rest of the Americas and its indigenous peoples.  It is a matter of historical fact that the land currently designated and governed as the "State  of Vermont" and the aforementioned Nation State entities also currently extant are in fact to be "owned" and governed by the indigenous peoples of these places - whether due to agreed upon (under often the most ruthless of circumstances) treaty or acknowledgement of military and political coup and genocide.  It is incumbent upon us to presence this truth, to work towards a just and democratic reparations process with these communities, to understand this history and seek its meaning in and through our lives and relationships, and to challenge and resist the many ongoing attacks on indigenous communities locally and globally.  An excellent source regarding indigenous history in the Northeast is Lisa Brooks', "The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast"

Our Cattle

Sourced Locally

We purchase in beef cattle when they are 1 - 2 years old from 100% grass-fed farms, and finish them on pasture from May - October. Robinson Hill Beef has sourced cattle from three farms outside of our own over the years. In the past few years we have also had a number of cattle butchered who were born on our farm - the results of Angus / Holstein heifers and cows crossed with an American Devon bull. We are currently sourcing our cattle from Sunrise Farm in Essex, NY - just across Lake Champlain. Sunrise has a 100% grass fed Hereford cow / calf and hay farm and I’ve had a great experience thus far working with the animals and the owner of the farm, Donald. For two seasons we grazed American Devons who came from Royal Larocque. Royal owned the Royal Butcher (a USDA inspected processing facility in Braintree) and has been raising grass fed and finished beef himself for a number of years. Previously, we sourced animals from the Berway Farm and Creamery, about an hour southeast of Montpelier in the Connecticut River Valley.  Shirley and Wayne Tullar raise Certified Organic Grass-Fed cattle on their family farm for milk and meat. They've historically raised Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns, but have in recent years begun to breed in Angus for beef production. The animals that we have most recently gotten from them are 1/2-3/4 Angus and 1/4 - 1/2 Holstein.

Graham Unangst-Rufenacht

Graham grew up in East Montpelier, VT and currently lives with his wife, Jackie, and daughter, Juniper, and English Shepherd, Tamlin, along the bends of the Winooski river in Marshfield. He has grazed and raised grass fed and finished beef cattle in different parts of central Vermont for more than 10 years.  Graham has been operating Robinson Hill Beef in Calais, VT since 2013. Our family is excited to finally be transitioning to farming where we live over the next few years as we have found a long-term home here at the Wellspring Land Cooperative.

Other Current Work

As well as beef and grazing, Robinson Hill Beef offers services in tree pruning, garden design / build, and general grazing and edible landscaping consultation.

Graham and his former business partner Aaron Guman have contracts for grants and projects establishing plantings, researching, and creating educational materials for lesser known perennial vegetables and their commercial crop viability - in particular Seakale, Hosta, and Spinach Vine. This work is supported by a USDA Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant, as well as a USDA Specialty Crop Block grant. See updates on our research here.

He is a member of the Steering Collective and Agroecology Committee at the Center for Grassroots Organizing in Marshfield VT. Please check out the website, and consider donating to support this great collaborative effort facilitating work at the intersections of racial equity and repair, food sovereignty, climate change, and youth and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color) empowerment!

Graham works part-time as the Policy Director at Rural Vermont - a small farm advocacy organization focused on equity in, access to, and scale appropriate regulations for our working lands communities. 

Past Work

Graham has worked as a mentor with youth ages 6-18 at EarthWalk Vermont, the ROOTS School, King Street Youth Center, Maplehill School and Community Farm, other local schools and educational programs, and by private arrangement.  He has offered and collaborated on educational programming for adults in the community as well, presenting at conferences such as NOFA VT, offering plant, mushroom, pasture walks, and more. He co-owned Walking Onion LLC for multiple years with Aaron Guman, providing edible landscaping services and consultation, as well as education. He served on the Rural Vermont Board from 2013 to 2016. Graham graduated from UVM with a degree in Religious Studies and Plant and Soil Science; has a Permaculture Design Certificate from Yestermorrow Design / Build School; and attended the 3 year clinical herbal training program at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism.