Poultry Lifestyle Suttler Post Farm

By Ceighlee Fennel

Miniature farms and small businesses dot the landscape along a windy, country road in Mechanicsville, Maryland. One of the signs points to Suttler Post Farm, highlighting the 90 acres of familyowned and farmed land.

John Mast’ s father bought the land in 1950 for tobacco and hogs. In 1999, a government buyout ended tobacco production, forcing the family to find a new crop.

The 90 acres was split between the two Mast brothers. John kept 60 acres for farming; Wayne used the rest for Clydesdales.

John and Judy Mast wanted to keep the farm in agriculture, so they had to figure out a new crop.

“ We were trying to make use of the farm because it’ s not big enough to handle grain, and we wanted to keep it in farming and in the family,” Judy Mast said.

Fields of Flowers They landed on cut flowers. Mast discovered the idea in a story about a New York florist seeking growers with a few acres.

“ It was kind of like an internship where you aren’ t really making anything, but you are learning something,” Mast said.

The partnership lasted about two years. When it ended, Mast began selling cut flowers at farmers ' markets and quickly found success. Since then, the Masts have also built a strong following for their meat and eggs.

“ Suttler Post Farm plays a key role in the vendor mix at our market,” Laura Barclay, Takoma Park Farmers Market’ s manager, said.“ Suttler is one of two vendors selling pasture-raised meat and eggs, and is the only vendor who sells chicken. Our customers count on them each week.”

Barclay also stressed the importance of local, fresh

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