Fort Hill Farms, LLC of Thompson, CT is owned and operated by the Orr family, with generations working the land. Kies Orr and Jared Lavack look after dairy and field operations on the farm, supported by a network of experienced advisors and suppliers.
Fort Hill Farms milks over 200 cows and produces grass and corn to feed their animals.
Fort Hill Farms is committed to sustainability. The Farm has long practiced conservation tillage, cover crops and recycling of manure as fertilizer. The co-generation of electricity from the methane digester is the latest step towards a more sustainable future for the Farm. Electricity generated from digester will be used to help power the farm as well as provide sustainable energy to communities across Connecticut.
Fort Hill Farms has partnered with Ag Grid LLC to form a Special Purpose Company, Fort Hill Ag-Grid LLC to develop and operate the digester system.
Fort Hill Farms milks over 200 cows and produces grass and corn to feed their animals.
Fort Hill Farms is committed to sustainability. The Farm has long practiced conservation tillage, cover crops and recycling of manure as fertilizer. The co-generation of electricity from the methane digester is the latest step towards a more sustainable future for the Farm. Electricity generated from digester will be used to help power the farm as well as provide sustainable energy to communities across Connecticut.
Fort Hill Farms has partnered with Ag Grid LLC to form a Special Purpose Company, Fort Hill Ag-Grid LLC to develop and operate the digester system.
About Fort Hill Ag-Grid Anaerobic Digester
Fort Hill Ag-Grid LLC (FHAG) is a partnership between Ag-Grid Energy LLC (AGE) of Kennett Square,Pennsylvania and Fort Hill Farm of Thompson, Connecticut. We are setting up an anaerobic digester(AD) to recycle farm and food waste and to generate 450 kW of clean and renewable energy.Recycle ~20,000 tons of food waste per year
Generate 3.5 Million kWhour of electricity per year using a 450 kW engine/generator
Reduce Millions of tons of CO2 emissions.
The Farm Team
Jim Orr
‘Uncle’ Jim Orr is Executor and Trustee of the Peter M Orr trust and a manager of Fort Hill Farms. He is a retired global business executive with years of experience working with John Deere and FMC Corporation. He has an MBA from Wharton and BS/MS from Syracuse University.
Kies Orr
A fourth-generation dairy farmer, Kies Orr (or known as the farmer's daughter) operates Fort Hill Farms, the dairy farm she grew up on. With a focus on dairy production, Kies studied Agricultural Business and Management with a focus on dairy production at SUNY Cobleskill in New York State, where she met Jared. Having a passion for farmland preservation, Kies has become the voice of the next generation of farmers. She loves teaching children about farming at local schools as well as working with Connecticut State Representatives and the Department of Agriculture to ensure the longevity of dairy farming in her home state.
Jared Lavack
Jared graduated from SUNY Cobleskill 2014 with a degree of Agricultural Mechanics and power machinery. He was born and raised on a dairy farm in Gouverneur, NY(45mins from Canadian border). Jared and Kies met in college and will be the fourth generation to take on the dairy farm. Jared's family reminds Kies that she stole their best worker, (LOL). Jared moved to Connecticut after college and became the head mechanic and crop manager. You may also find him hugging or scratching one of his many Jersey cows that we have on farm.
Updates
The Fort Hill Farms Microgrid
Sustainability Is Key To Fort Hill Farms' Future'
The construction at Fort Hill Ag-Grid Digester has begun.
Events
"Fort Hill Ag-Grid Update
Fort Hill Ag-Grid team is excited to share that construction has begun at our site for the new anaerobic digester and is in progress. Stay tuned as we will continue the updates on a regular basis."
We are planning on opening ceremony for the digester after Thanksgiving 2020. Stay Tuned!