Interview

Interview: Sunset Farm's Ethan Farrell

Ethan Farrell on his family's farm fresh philosophy

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Ethan Farrell moved to Narragansett’s Sunset Farm when he was eight years old, and has been learning about agriculture ever since. We talked about heirloom vegetables, hand cut steaks and what locavore gourmet chefs want from his farm.

Okay, first things first. Is Kinney Bungalow part of Sunset Farm?  I always assumed that the two were interchangeable.
Yes, Kinney Bungalow is a part of Sunset Farm. The farm was built in 1864; the bungalow was added to the property in 1899, named after Francis Kinney. Throughout the summer, the bungalow hosts weddings and other various events on the grounds. 

Tell me about your background.

My family and I moved to Sunset Farm as caretakers in 1999. In 2014, we signed a lease of the property for the next 25 years. Both my parents, Suzanne and Jeff Farrell, came from agricultural backgrounds. When we moved to the farm, I was eight years old. This is when I started my education in agriculture.

What do you raise at Sunset Farm? 
Here on Sunset Farm, we raise pigs, beef cattle and grow a wide array of farm fresh crops in our gardens. We also have a handful of horses, goats and an Irish wolfhound named Lucious.

How can we buy your meats and veggies? 
Sunset Farm has a retail market from the middle of June until the end of October, where you can buy individually cut Angus steaks and burgers. We also have fresh pork products. As for the farm fresh vegetables, there is a wide array of options. Some of the best heirlooms include Brandywine, Cherokee Purple and our hybrid Carolina Gold. Sunset also has a wholesale market year round that provides products for local restaurants. We also supply fresh meats and produce to Luca’s farmstead market located on Block Island.

Sunset Farm supplies an impressive number of excellent local restaurants.
One of the restaurants we supply to is The Mews Tavern. Here we supply burger patties used for the Rhody Natural Burger and the Salt Pond Burger. At Local 121, we provide ground beef for their Sunset Farm Double Cheeseburger. At Hotel Viking’s Restaurant, OneBellevue, Sunset Farm provides our 8 oz. burger patty and beef brisket. We’re also on Block Island, at the Poor People’s Pub. Here we supply pork, beef and farm fresh vegetables. At Charlie O’s, we supply burger patties for their Sunset Farm Burger. We supply ground beef to The Coast Guard House for their own version of a Sunset Farm Burger. Trio also has a Sunset Farm Burger, made with ground beef or a 4 oz. patty. Spain Restaurant uses a variety of farm fresh produce and beef cross cut shanks. We also supply Mariner Grille with ground beef and El Fuego with salsa tomatoes.
I hear you’ve got an exciting new project you’re launching.

I hear you've got an exciting new project you're launching.  Tell me about this new truck and where we can find it. 
Sunset Farm now has a mobile kitchen that will be used for baked goods such as pies, cookies, banana bread, zucchini bread and blueberry buckle. The trailer will also be used for our homemade jams, jellies, relishes and garlic dill pickles. We will also have weekend concessions that provide salads and snacks on-the-go with all products straight from the farm. The trailer will be located on the property of Sunset Farm, looking to begin being open on the weekends by mid July.

Sunset Farm
505 Point Judith Road, Narragansett
789-4070

Sunset Farm, vegetables, farm, Kinney Bungalow, Ethan Farrell

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