Author: Laura Freeman

While hemp is a popular topic today, this isn’t the first time the plant has been involved in our culture. It turns out that hemp has a well-documented history in the US.

“Last month, Mt. Folly Enterprises, the parent company for Laura’s Mercantile, The Mercantile on Main, and Wildcat Willy’s Distillery, was awarded a prestigious 5-year grant from the USDA to help farmers adopt practices that benefit the environment in measurable ways.” Letter from Laura. Full Spectrum CBD made from USDA-certified organic hemp grown at Mt. Folly Farm. Laura’s Mercantile. Winchester, KY

Dear Friends,  And the winner is Julia Truitt Poynter! Thanks to all who signed up for the Mt. Folly Farm newsletter and entered to win a stay at the Homestead. Julia and I will tour the farm, visit the distillery and the new Mercantile on Main, see our downtown.  She plans to visit in October [...]

Dear Friends, At Mt. Folly farm, we are doing big things, simply. We are part of the drawdown movement, which seeks to sequester carbon dioxide in plants, trees and soils. We have long been a part of the organic movement as well, for us meaning our products are raised in soils, part of the underground [...]

Dear Friends, Last week we hosted a garden club here. We talked first at the Homestead Cabin, then toured on a tractor-pulled farm wagon. Necessarily, these tours are but a snapshot of what we do at Mt. Folly. One of the most innovative undertakings for the year (and for many years to come, I believe) [...]

Dear Friends,  March is women’s history month. As a woman, I’d rather an eon than a month, which we deserve. Still, I ask you to send me a vignette, long or short, about the women who’ve been role models, inspired you, accomplished the impossible, and have improved the well-being of humanity. I’ll get these notes [...]

Dear Friends, At the fall equinox, farmers pause to reflect on the growing season,  with harvest upon us. Here at Mt. Folly, I’m dispensing with happy talk. From Covid to climate, the year has been rough, so rough I’ve had to summon my inner mule. Here is the back story, some of which you may know: [...]

Dear Friends, January was farm meeting month. I’ve attended hours of Zoom meetings and virtual farmer meet-ups. (1) Now, I turn to summarizing the information for our farm team and our customers. The main theme of our discussions was how to use biology to solve our environmental and health problems. From the gut microbiome to [...]

Dear Friends, Several Fridays ago, I tuned into a live-stream conference at the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). The conference speakers reported on their research into the properties of full-spectrum hemp, under the title Exploring the Mechanisms Underlying Analgesic Properties of Minor Cannabinoids and Terpenes. Homestead customers may not know much about [...]

Dear Friends, By now you may realize that Laura’s Mercantile is part of an effort to build a regenerative agricultural system. For our part, this involves our regional Laura’s Homestead Alternatives accounts and our online store. In addition (this is Kentucky, right?) it also includes a distillery, Wildcat Willy’s (now: Regeneration Distillery)! One of the [...]