FARM PROFILE Lightening T Farms: A One-Woman Wonder

A group of yaks with long, pointed horns curving up from their heads, thick furry coats and shaggy "skirts" hanging down around their legs bump each other out of the way, swinging their horned heads while vying for the bread slices Tara Stolz hands out at the fence. Grunting sounds abound among them as they try to squeeze in for a treat. &emsp;&emsp;Stolz of Lightning T Farms in Milford, New Hampshire, raises yaks and elk, fascinating herd animals that are a source of lean, high-protein meat, a healthier option than beef. Yaks, originating in the Himalayan mountains, now live in New Hampshire as domestic farm animals. &emsp;&emsp;They are more approachable than the elk, she notes. &emsp;&emsp;"Elk are still very wild animals, so they only rut in the fall. They are one of few mostly matriarchal species, except during the rut," Stolz says. &emsp;&emsp;The elk herd wanders in the woodsy pine areas of the farm yet might be lured by rattling grain in a feed bucket, a way to give them the required minerals. &emsp;&emsp;The males or bulls make a bugling sound that can start low or high and move into a higher-pitched scream. The bugling can be a sign that a male's cows are straying too far. Or it is done to establish dominance if other bulls venture too close to his cows and is especially frequent during the rut. &emsp;&emsp;"For an old cowgirl, I've got interesting critters going on here. I'm not sure I could go back to cows," she says, referring to the 10 years in eastern Washington she spent cowgirling among cattle and horses. &emsp;&emsp;She talks about the quality of yak and elk meat, which is low in fat and big on flavor. Elk meat is very dark red and has a robust flavor without gaminess, and yak meat is very juicy yet lean and tastes a lot like beef but much healthier for you, as described on her website. For example, a yak ribeye serving is 120 calories with two grams of fat, one being saturated fat. A beef ribeye serving is 300 calories with 19 grams of fat, 10 grams of it saturated. Yak and elk meat are also leaner than similar cuts of bison, pork and turkey. &emsp;&emsp;Stolz's farming business includes more than her herds. This one-woman wonder also offers gourmet gift boxes of goods, almost all of which she grows or makes on the farm. These can be ordered to ship directly to recipients' addresses, often for special occasions. &emsp;&emsp;"The number one seller is the breakfast gift box," she notes, adding that her top priority is excellent customer service. This includes the quality and presentation of products. &emsp;&emsp;"I'm very particular. It's high-end gourmet, and if I don't think it's the best I've ever had, I won't use it," she says. &emsp;&emsp;One version of the breakfast box includes items like pancake mix, sugar maple syrup, maple and nut granola, a choice of flavored fruit spread, strawberry cream, instant oatmeal and hot cocoa mix, all homemade or mixed on the farm. &emsp;&emsp;Another of Stolz's impressive products is edible crystallized flowers, such as pink mini-roses. Time spent perfecting her method has resulted in detailed roses that retain their natural appearance; she now experiments with other flower varieties. &emsp;&emsp;She taps her sugar maple trees and boils it outside her kitchen door, using a long, slow process that results in especially smooth syrup with subtle flavorings of vanilla, she explains. &emsp;&emsp;Stolz enjoys creating recipes for her products, saying experimenting and product development are among her favorite aspects of her work. She shares specific recipes on her website, like recent ones for homemade paprika and an "easy holey boule." &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;"It took three years to figure out what I was going to do. I had to let the farm tell me what it wanted to do," notes Stolz, recalling the gradual process. She probably dabbled in every conceivable thing a person could do on a small farm, she adds. The birth of a farmer While growing up in a suburb of Seattle rather than a farm, she asked her mother to send her to a rugged horse camp with activities like multiple-night pack trips. &emsp;&emsp;"It was hard-core, and there was no turning back from there," she remembers. &emsp;&emsp;Ten years of cowgirling followed, from age 18 to 28. Lightning T was her brand at that time, so years later, that's what she named the farm. &emsp;&emsp;In between, she spent 15 years in suburbia, teaching school in numerous southern and Midwest locations until her husband retired, and they moved north to New Hampshire six years ago. They bought an existing elk farm of roughly 20 acres, and she decided yaks would be a good addition. &emsp;&emsp;The first small batch of yaks came from Connecticut, and the next group from Maine. More recently, she added two from New Hampshire to the herd. &emsp;&emsp;The farm currently has a dozen of each species. Two young yaks were lost to a predator, one this year and one last. This is a real setback on a farm that waits two years for them to mature before harvesting, unlike many commercial farms, which harvest after 14 or 15 months, she explained. In addition, yak and elk calves grow more slowly than the calves of beef cattle. &emsp;&emsp;Stolz says her husband has zero interest in farming, nor does their 10-year-old son right now, but she thinks her husband might be starting to develop an appreciation for it. She hopes their son will eventually "catch the bug" and grow to like the physical satisfaction of working outside. &emsp;&emsp;"It was all my dream," she shares. The vast array of farming activities she juggles, in addition to being a mother and wife, might seem overwhelming to someone else. Yet she seems to take it in stride. &emsp;&emsp;"My superpower is figuring out how to be efficient. Fortunately, it's doing what I like," she says. BOX Lightening T Farms Milford, New Hampshire 603-249-1764 lightning-t-farms@hotmail.com lightningtfarms.com