Sol Mountain Farm is bringing fun to the table

SOUTH FORK— Sol Mountain Farm has been bringing the Friday Market to the South Fork area for the past six years and are beginning to make headway in adding to the event and bringing new opportunities to like-minded people coming to the area to visit.
The farm was established with the permaculture policy. The policy definition states, “Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems.”
Owners Wes and Angela O’Rourke started the farm in hopes of providing healthy, purely organic vegetables and pork to the greater South Fork community and the Valley as a whole and have done so for the past six years at the local farmers market held at the South Fork Visitor Center every Friday.
According to Wes, the farm has about 50 pigs on hand at any given time and processes the meat through USDA requirements in order to sell the meat at the market and to local restaurants. “We have some rare heritage breeds that are world renowned for their meat and fat quality, and we want to provide that to our consumers,” said Wes.
The farm has a large greenhouse that is used to grow all kinds of vegetables ranging from lettuce and leafy greens to cabbage, peppers, broccoli, potatoes and much more. “The vegetables are available from late April to early October, which is a long growing season compared to other locally grown produce. It gives us an edge that other growers do not have where we can offer fresh produce throughout the entire market season, which is typically from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” said Wes.
In addition to the pork and vegetables, the farm also hosts annual events like their annual Farm Party and Sol Mountain Bike Race. “The Farm Party includes a pig roast where we roast an entire pig, offer farm tours and have live entertainment, which will be from a band called No Seeums out of Taos, New Mexico this year. It’s a great way to kick off the summer and will be on July 7 this year,” said Wes.
The bike race is held at the end of September and includes a potluck as well as live entertainment and camping opportunities at the farm. “We have built our own single-track course at the farm and invite mountain bikers to come enjoy a weekend of fun and racing. We also have hiking trails and access to the BLM trails located just outside of our 38-acre farm here in South Fork,” said Wes.
Wes and his family plan on expanding their services to the community through future events and camping opportunities. Guests to the farm can come and stay in traditional Ute teepees or stay at one of the many camping locations on the farm. “We believe in the potential of the South Fork area and the Valley and want to continue to enhance the community through education and healthy food. We want to cultivate the community and see more community networking with like-minded people,” finished Wes.
For more information or for a list of events, please visit www.solmountainfarm.com or visit them on Facebook at Sol Mountain Farm.