Owner Heidi Kovacs operates both Sugar Maple Jerseys and The Farmer’s Table in Stockton. The former is an award-winning dairy farm, while the latter is a nearby storefront. Guests can visit the store to find handmade dairy products, ice cream, seasonal produce, local flowers, and more.
The Farmer’s Table is a 700-square foot country store. “We wanted to provide our customers with that very small town feel,” Heidi explains. The store evokes a calming feeling thanks to lavender bouquets in small milk can vases throughout the interior. But big band music from the 1940s playing on a loop gives off an old-fashioned country vibe. “Commercial farms are focused on the bottom line and quantity. We’re committed to quality. Every item the farm has to offer is the product of hard work, dedication, and a passion for our animals.”
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What’s On Sale at The Farmer’s Table
The Farmer’s Table sells handmade dairy products – including butter and yogurt – mostly made right on the Sugar Maple Jerseys farm. Meanwhile, they source artisan-flavored ice cream from a small farm in Pennsylvania. A cheesemaker also makes their available small batches of cheese by hand. In addition, they offer a product line of jersey milk soaps, made 100% from their milk.
All meats (pork, veal, and chicken seasonally) in the shop are pasture-raised and grassfed. “Our meats are unsurpassable,” Heidi says. “We feel fortunate every day to be able to eat the products that we raise on our farm. The freshness and quality is noticeable with every meal that I make for my family. We are so used to our farm’s high quality that we would have a difficult time eating commercially.”
Heidi also explains that “We do not support the retail of commercial products in our store. “We named ourselves ‘the farmer’s table’ because everything we sell is either our own, locally sourced from other farms, or from another small family-owned business.”
About Sugar Maple Jerseys
Heidi’s family lives on the Sugar Maple Jerseys farm, in an old farmhouse that dates back to the late 1700s. Heidi has been in Stockton for over a decade, but lived in Hunterdon County for most of her life. The 180-acre dairy farm is 2 miles down the road from where they sell their farm goods. She farms with her husband, Rick, and daughters, Madeline and Miranda. “My creative personality, love for my daughters, and passion for Jersey cows brings this all together each and every day.”
Besides operating Sugar Maple Jerseys and owning The Farmer’s Table, the family helps preserve farmland via local boards and committees. “This area is my home. It’s where I raise my children. It’s where they go to school,” Heidi says. “This is 100% my community.”
Visit Sugar Maple Jerseys | The Farmer’s Table at 567 Rosemont Ringoes Rd in Stockton. Look for them online to learn more.
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All Photos: © Heidi Kovacs | Sugar Maple Jerseys & The Farmer’s Table
