MEET YOUR FARMER! Bi-Monthly Column by Author and FarmOn! Foundation Founder, Tessa Edick. Published by the Columbia Greene Media for HudsonValley360.com and print publications. Edick chronicles farmers journey into food by way of the farm and shares these stories with us motivated by the hard work these folks do to feed us well from family farms!

If you haven’t thanked a farmer, you should. This is what Tessa Edick wants readers to take away from her column, Meet Your Farmer, published by HudsonValley360 Media. Her column takes you to the fields and barns where the produce is grown, the cows are milked, the seeds are sown. She introduces you to the farmer and his or her family. She interweaves history with modern-day farming practices. Her column is informative, educational and fun. She wants readers to know that supporting our farmers is mutually beneficial. To borrow from her column, FarmOn!

 

Thanks!

 

Mark P. Vinciguerra
Publisher/General Manager
Columbia-Greene Media

  • HOOT! Italiano Farm Benefit Dinner

    Meet your Farmer by Tessa Edick   HOOT! Italiano Farm Benefit Dinner in Copake Hosted International Italian Chef & Author, Announced Industrial Hemp NYS project with SUNY   “One of the nicest things about life is the way we must stop whatever it is we […]

  • Copake farm spreads holiday cheer and food awareness

    Posted on: December 18, 2017 12:15 am Daniel Zuckerman for Columbia-Greene Media   COPAKE — Empire Farm in Copake held a holiday pop-up event Sunday that showcased the best of local products made in Columbia County.   This was the second year the pop-up event, […]

  • Faso bill would extend grant program for veteran, young farmers get started producing

    Posted on: September 5, 2017 08:24 pm Richard Moody Columbia-Greene Media Local veterans and farmers advocates support federal legislation that will reauthorize funding to help veterans and young aspiring farmers to start up in the field as the large portion of the farming population ages […]

  • Hudson Summer Fest brings community together and helps save local farms

    Posted on: August 20, 2017 12:15 am Richard Moody Columbia-Greene Media HUDSON — This year’s Hudson Summer Festival partnered with the Farm On Foundation to help local farms and businesses reach out to the community and to fund the foundation’s programs that guide youth toward […]

  • Meet Your Farmer: Get your FarmOn! and Hoot!

    We are more alike than different, my friend Paula always reminds me — we all have to eat!   It’s one of those things you cannot digitalize — and it’s probably one of the most important things you do after breathing and sleeping — both […]

  • Meet Your Farmer: Terroir Tells the Truth

    Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media July 20, 2017 05:15 am It’s the time of year that begs for fresh fruit, local vegetables and long walks on green pastures as we wait for corn, tomatoes, peaches and grapes to peak, pick and taste!   Taking in […]

  • Fortune, farms and good food at your New Year’s table

    Posted: Thursday, May 18, 2017 12:15 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media Savor the idea of feasting for future fortune — it has always had a ring to it as cause for celebration in the new year! This year, more than ever, I am […]

  • Meet Your Farmer and get your ‘FarmOn’

    Posted: Wednesday, December 27, 2017 11:52 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media     What does healthy mean to you? The packaging that envelops your food says so, or the farmer who grows the food you eat told you?   Our food choices today […]

  • Take the crunch challenge and support NYS agriculture

    Posted: Thursday, October 13, 2016 9:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Its CRRRRRRUNCH time! The apple harvest is underway statewide. Look for New York state apples at a farm, market or food store near you and take the crunch challenge for the […]

  • Irving Farm Coffee cares about agriculture

    Posted: Thursday, September 8, 2016 9:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   I don’t drink coffee, but I’m suddenly inspired to start.   The bloom of the hydrated grind, the cherry surrounding the bean, the harvest that makes or breaks a family farm […]

  • Camp FarmOn! students have winning idea

    Posted: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Weeding out the “good ones” is essential for sustaining profitability in farming. And weeding just plain sucks. So, as seeds and weeds compete for terroir to optimize growth, management of them […]

  • See you at Empire Farm for a Hootenanny

    Posted: Saturday, July 30, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   My name is Tessa Edick and I eat. I know where 90 percent of my food comes from and make a conscious choice to eat local daily. I opt out of […]

  • Innovation in NYS at Maple Hill Creamery

    Posted: Saturday, July 16, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Strong rural communities are key to a stronger America.   This is a story of a sustainable off-the-grid food system with a single blade of grass, a cow, a farmer and […]

  • Farm candy is calling

    Posted: Saturday, June 18, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Pick your own. Meet your farmer. It’s time for farm candy!   Dive into strawberry season where everything is coming up rosy. Sweet as candy, you will crave strawberries galore.   […]

  • Saving seed is everything

    Posted: Friday, May 20, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Do you know where your food comes from? Start with seed and soil.   At Empire Farm, we are invested in local right down to our seed with trustworthy sourcing just […]

  • Change food

    Posted: Saturday, April 23, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   One of the most important things we do every day is eat. There is no black or white, no rich or poor at the table, there is only hunger because we […]

  • CSA: Who’s your farmer?

    Posted: Friday, April 1, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   CSA is not a buzzword, it’s a way of life. Think about how meaningful it is to make real changes in the world by simply eating better and allocating your food […]

  • The Business of food — your choice in support of agriculture

    Posted: Friday, March 27, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   It is not a privilege to eat and be healthy. It is a human right we must reclaim. Every one of us each and every day with a collective consciousness that […]

  • Spring ahead: You decide what to eat

    Posted: Saturday, March 12, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Farmers plus economic development equals better health for you and community.   It’s time for a paradigm shift in food, one conceptual worldview must be replaced by another and our lives […]

  • Love is food, family and farming

    Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Funny thing about traveling in search of something is that everything you need is always within you and never where you are going.   Forty years later, I realize that everything […]

  • Invest in food for your health and community

    Posted: Saturday, January 16, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   The single most important thing we do each and every day is eat. People question why locally sourced fresh organic food is expensive. The real question is why is processed food […]

  • Feast for good fortune: The family farm

    Posted: Saturday, January 2, 2016 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   The idea of feasting for future fortune has always had a ring to it as cause for celebration in the New Year.   This year, more than ever, I am on […]

  • Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that?

    Posted: Friday, December 11, 2015 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   As the Amish saying goes, “We do not inherit the land from our elders; we borrow it from our children.”   Who is going to feed us in 2020?   “Hudson […]

  • This holiday, thank a farmer

    Posted: Saturday, November 21, 2015 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   FarmOn! is the future of food. It’s time to come together and celebrate. Let’s put the land to rest and reflect on a year of good news and collective hard work […]

  • Talking turkey at McEnroe Organic Farm

    Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   My farmer told me a secret and I’ll share it with you: “The taste of our pasture raised farm fresh organic turkey you won’t find in any store,” explained Erich McEnroe. […]

  • Trick or treat — Hudson Valley harvest is sure to please

    Posted: Sunday, October 25, 2015 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Holy cow it’s harvest time! At the heart of the Hudson Valley in our rich agricultural region, October is buzzing with places to go, farmers to meet and unforgettable things to […]

  • Victory Garden a food win for school district

    Get your ticket to Sunday Supper with Alice Waters   Posted: Saturday, October 10, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   We are all concerned about our children’s health. Obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in teenagers over the past 30 […]

  • Spanning generations at Klein’s Kill Fruit Farm

    Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2015 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Klein’s Kill Fruit Farm feels more like an office on Wall Street, bustling with movement and sales, than a 4th generation regional family farm!   In September and October, it’s all […]

  • Is the Fair food fair?

    Posted: Sunday, September 13, 2015 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Tractor pulls, pig races and the passing of summer are worth celebrating as we look to the harvest months and reward those dedicated to feeding us well all year long.   […]

  • Bringing the farm into the school cafeteria

    Posted: Tuesday, September 8, 2015 12:30 am By Charlie Holmes Columbia-Greene Media   CRARYVILLE — At Taconic Hills Central School District, the farm-to-school program started with two curious high school students who approached “Meet Your Farmer” columnist Tessa Edick and question why the school’s milk […]

  • Food for thought and Camp FarmOn!

    Posted: Saturday, August 29, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Put your money where your mouth is and change the way you look and feel with food. The third most important thing you do every day after breathing and sleeping (which […]

  • LIVING TODAY: Get your FarmOn!

    Posted: Sunday, August 23, 2015 12:00 am By Katie Kocijanski Columbia-Greene Media   COPAKE — If you ate today, thank a farmer.   The spirit of food entrepreneurship and the revitalization of family farms is very much alive and well across the Hudson Valley, particularly […]

  • Empire Farm partners with SUNY, Cornell University

    Posted: Friday, July 31, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   I don’t know if you know, but kids learn better by doing. And garden-based learning is key to innovation. Honestly, everything I ever needed to know I learned at a farm, […]

  • Farm chic raises funds for local ag at Empire Farm Hoot!

    Posted: Friday, July 3, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   It’s on! You are all invited to the farm and the table July 18 in Columbia County to get your FarmOn! at Empire Farm in Copake to celebrate local agricultural with […]

  • Bronx Zoo inspires us all to eat healthy

    Posted: Thursday, June 18, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   How does your garden grow? That’s the theme this summer at New York’s fines — the Bronx Zoo!   Connecting kids to what they eat is powerful. Learning what the animals […]

  • ‘The Farm of Many Faces’

    Posted: Friday, June 5, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Polyface Farm is America’s premier non-industrial food production oasis.   Joel Salatin is a third generation farmer and owner of Polyface Farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Four generations of his family […]

  • Is farm to table just farmwashing?

    Posted: Friday, May 22, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Kids that grow kale eat kale! When I was growing up in the Finger Lakes region of New York state, we ate everything we could from surrounding farms and it was […]

  • Getting to know the USDA

    Posted: Friday, May 8, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   You can learn everything and anything you ever want to know at a farm.   The “Know your Farmer — Know your Food” tagline is true. Meeting your farmer is key […]

  • Sign up for a CSA

    Posted: Friday, April 24, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Forget who your are wearing, who’s your farmer? I ask everyone. If you don’t have one, you are missing out on good food direct from the source. It’s not a new […]

  • Revisiting Sir William Farm

    Posted: Friday, April 10, 2015 11:00 am | Updated: 11:02 am, Fri Apr 10, 2015. By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   I wrote my first Meet Your Farmer column in 2012 and serve it back to you to enjoy again — just like I […]

  • REisen Shine Farm The meat you should eat

    Posted: Friday, March 13, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edickm For Columbia-Greene Media   Taste is a true testament to eating local. You cannot market taste of real food — you have to eat it to know that nutrition just tastes better.   Transparency, quality, […]

  • Going back to the farm for health

    Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   The single most important thing we do each and every day is eat. People question why locally sourced fresh organic food is expensive? The real question is why is processed food […]

  • What is a CSA?

    Posted: Monday, February 9, 2015 9:45 pm By Tessa Edick tessa@104.236.34.6   Seed money is an idea we use in business but its roots are in agriculture. The idea was based in sharing the risk to eat with a farmer who would grow the food. […]

  • New year, new way to eat

    Posted: Thursday, January 22, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   The idea of feasting for future fortune has always had a ring to it as cause for celebration in the New Year. This year more than ever I am on a […]

  • Good Food Matters

    Posted: Thursday, January 8, 2015 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Children are our future. Without them leading the way, we have no future. What we feed them is vital to their health and our own. It’s health that builds families, communities, […]

  • ‘Old-fashioned kind of delicious’ at Monte’s

    Posted: Friday, December 26, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   It’s the most wonderful time of the year for food, family and friends in the rich Hudson River Valley! Hospitality is Dafna Mizrahi’s middle name — and at the top of […]

  • Emphasizing farm fresh at The Meat Market

    Posted: Thursday, December 11, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Local is not a buzzword — it’s a lifestyle. It’s about you. It’s about where you live. It’s about making connections. It sustains jobs, land stewardship, animal welfare and is a […]

  • Give thanks for arts and agriculture

    Posted: Thursday, November 27, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   As you fully slip into that tryptophan dream this afternoon, think about the harvest: what you ate, how it was made, where it came from, what it impacts and fantasize about […]

  • Local author urges agrarian return in debut book

    Posted: Thursday, November 27, 2014 12:00 am By Kyle Adams River Chronicle Staff   FarmOn! founder Tessa Edick’s new book, “Hudson Valley Food & Farming: Why Didn’t Anyone Ever Tell Me That?” seeks to answer a couple of questions she gets a lot as a […]

  • ‘Hands-on’ is key to successful dairy farms

    Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   There’s a reason all milk is not created equal — and it starts with an age-old approach, the farmer offers daily hands-on attention working with the animals. When cows are considered […]

  • Start today, opt out of processed and go local

    Posted: Thursday, October 30, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   I’ve never quite fancied myself a writer, but after inviting you monthly to join me on a food journey profiling Hudson Valley family farms and inviting you to meet your farmer […]

  • Agricultural education inspires

    Posted: Thursday, October 16, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Holy Cow! An agricultural education is impactful, imprinting and empowering.   Last weekend the students of the Pine Plains Chapter of FFA participated in the FFA Fall Agricultural Festival at Stissing […]

  • Farmers make FarmOn! festival a success

    Posted: Thursday, October 2, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   “Happy Farming!” Alice Waters exclaimed last Saturday while cutting the ribbon at the ceremony for the opening of the FarmOn! at Empire Farm in Copake, announcing the new ag-entrepreneurial working farm, […]

  • Get your Farm On!- Local food festival hits Empire Farm

    Posted: Sunday, September 28, 2014 12:30 am By Katie Kocijanski Columbia-Greene Media   COPAKE— Saturday’s warm fall weather set the tone for the Hudson Valley Food Lovers Festival, hosted by Farm On! Foundation. The event took place at Empire Farm, just south of the hamlet […]

  • Education putting victory back into gardens

    Posted: Thursday, September 18, 2014 12:30 am | Updated: 10:58 am, Thu Sep 18, 2014. By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Alice Waters is coming to our table in the Hudson Valley to inspire us all to have one collective conscious conversation about sustainability, […]

  • Good food is for all

    Posted: Thursday, September 4, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Fresh air, delicious eats and a tractor — if you haven’t already, Meet your Farmer! Twice a month for over two years, I have carved out a food formula to inspire […]

  • FarmOn! to offer locally grown food dining event

    Posted: Friday, August 15, 2014 12:00 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Moooooove over meatopia this epic unprecedented Hudson Valley event is the real deal in eating local, responsible sourcing and building community for a deliciously good cause. Food is love.   Sunday, […]

  • FarmOn! opens new farm

    Posted: Thursday, August 7, 2014 12:30 am | Updated: 9:53 am, Fri Aug 8, 2014. By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Happy to officially invite you to FarmOn! Join us at the new farm. Let’s build a victory garden at our new headquarters that […]

  • Farm On! feeds hundreds, announces new center

    Posted: Sunday, July 27, 2014 12:30 am | Updated: 12:30 am, Sun Jul 27, 2014. By Arthur Cusano Columbia-Greene Media   COPAKE — The Fourth Annual Hootenanny Farm Fresh Benefit Dinner drew hundreds to Copake Country Club Saturday evening for a night of locally grown […]

  • Saturday is going to be a HOOT!

    Posted: Thursday, July 24, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   “FarmOn! with Celebrity Chef Filled Charity Summer In New York’s Hudson Valley — Vongerichten, Bloomfield, Brock, Pelaccio” writes Larry Olmsted of Forbes.com.   He continues, “If you ate today, thank a […]

  • What organic farming really means

    Posted: Thursday, July 10, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   When did food become “organic” food?   It’s time to start looking at companies selling food that aren’t holding themselves to a higher standard of best practice, transparency and quality and […]

  • Farmer’s markets full of treats

    Posted: Thursday, June 26, 2014 10:47 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   I don’t pay lip service to eating local and neither should you. Pay you farmer instead and make a critical difference by reversing the trend of Agribusiness back to re-establishing economically […]

  • A sense of community at Common Hands

    Posted: Thursday, June 12, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   A few years ago we all decided to abandon that plastic bag for a reusable version with a collective consciousness and changed our thinking to positively impact the environment. One day […]

  • Princess, court promote dairy awareness

    Posted: Thursday, May 29, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Love cows. Honor your farmer. And pledge your loyalty to the ag royalty of milk life.   Buying freshly bottled milk from your local dairy farmer makes a big difference to […]

  • Up close and personal at the dairy farm

    Posted: Thursday, May 15, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Milk a cow, visit a farm, meet your farmer and get connected to where your food comes from!   Last week, Farmer Fred Barringer welcomed me to milk cows and shared […]

  • Eating organic isn’t that difficult

    Posted: Thursday, May 1, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   If you think that organic farm fresh food is expensive and not easy to source — think again. What is good health worth to you? What does eating local food in […]

  • Four brothers keeping it local in Millerton

    Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   You are what you (and they!) eat. Our food choices and sources direct from the farm break down the corporate barriers to better nourishment, health and wellness in our food system. […]

  • Generations keep farming alive at Triple Creek

    Posted: Thursday, April 3, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Think again before you reach for milk simply because of a label — that organic milk is not what you think it is … transparency, quality and animal welfare are the […]

  • Celebrating the sweet stuff at Crown Maple

    Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Skip the sugar and be mindful of maple — a source of energy and nutrition that supports better health, your community, local agriculture and stimulates economic development in New York state […]

  • A crossroads between farm and restaurant

    Posted: Thursday, March 6, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   We are at a crossroads — a junction where four roads meet and decisions are made which path to take. A connection to clean seed, soil, air and water are vital […]

  • Conference takes on farming’s future

    Posted: Thursday, February 20, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Raise your replacement, I say, is the future of farming. The next generation who heed the calling to the farm to feed us so well is in line with my mission […]

  • Farmers weigh in on facets of the Farm Bill

    Posted: Thursday, February 6, 2014 12:30 am By Tessa Edick For Columbia-Greene Media   Connecting health to what you eat is vital. Everything you need to know about food you learn at the farm. The F word is officially trending. Farm to Table, Foodie, Fresh […]

  • Holmes: You Have to Trust in Your Farmer

    Originally Posted: Thursday, December 12, 2013 12:30 am   When you food shop — don’t be fooled by slick labels and fancy packaging. Even the USDA Organic labeling for consumers is a marketing program and certainly a healthy revenue stream for the U.S. Government — […]

  • A Perfect Time to Try an Organic Turkey

    Originally Posted: Thursday, October 31, 2013   Erich McEnroe told me this farm secret and I’ll share it with you, “The taste of our pasture-raised farm fresh organic turkey you won’t find in any store.”   It’s the most delectable time of the year to […]

  • Get Your Apple-a-Day the Hard Cider Way

    Originally Posted: Thursday, October 3, 2013   Are you eating an apple a day? It’s time. You know what they say … and this year drink your apple too, but in a new way. Dry hard ciders filled with delicious goodness are worth investing in […]

  • 4th Generation Fruit Farmers Talk Economics

    Originally Posted: Thursday, September 5, 2013   Klein’s Kill Fruit Farm feels more like an office on Wall Street bustling with movement and sales, than a fourth generation regional family farm! In September and October it’s all about bringing fruit to the public to meet […]

  • ‘Cheese Please’ Society Needs Good Choices

    Originally Posted: Thursday, August 8, 2013   America has a love affair with cheese. We eat it on everything every day and all of the time. We eat it at restaurants, grab it to go, eat it by the slice from packages and melt in […]

  • ‘Gourmet all the Way’ at Willow Brook Farm

    Originally Posted: Thursday, May 30, 2013   People say America demands cheap food — I say that is propaganda. I believe Americans want food that is convenient and truthful, healthy and tastes great so we can brag about its deliciousness.   We are obsessed with […]

  • Experience the Farming Life for Yourself

    Originally Posted: Thursday, April 4, 2013   Who hasn’t dreamt of open farmland, rolling hills and fetching this morning’s egg from the heritage hen just outside your door to scramble … then you come to your senses and think that’s a fantasy!   But in […]

  • A Family of Farmers Dedicated to Good Food

    Originally Posted: Thursday, March 21, 2013   Food is at the heart of family, community and the prosperity of this country. You care about how you look and feel and it is vital to eating local. Eating local is the only way to truly get […]

  • The ‘Big Cheese’ of Local Cheese

    Originally Posted: Thursday, February 7, 2013   Being a black sheep isn’t always a bad thing. Especially when it comes to cheese. In a land that celebrates four cheeses, cheese melts and commodity cheese, it’s good to stand up for wholesome goodness and opt out […]

  • Real ‘Field to Glass’ at Harvest Spirits

    Originally Posted: Thursday, January 24, 2013   Truth or dare? Make your community your supermarket! Dare I say demand local spirits where you eat and drink as your only food choices even when big business begs you to pay attention to their billboards.   You […]

  • Fiber Farms can be Fabulous Fun to Visit

    Originally Posted: Thursday, January 10, 2013   Fiber farms are a fabulously fun way to meet your farmer! Spruce Ridge Farm alpaca raised by Steve McCarthy and Jeff Lick are surely the luckiest animals in the field. They are fed a special vegetarian grain with […]

  • The Microbrewing Movement

    Originally Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2012   America has a love affair with craft breweries. “Beer makes people happy. People find a local brewery and they become repeat customers. They share their find and come back again.” Tom Crowell of Chatham Brewing told me with […]

  • The Way to Great Milk

    Originally Posted: Thursday, November 29, 2012   “All milk is not created equal.”   That’s the tagline on the Hudson Valley Fresh website and they are telling the truth. Hanging in the barn at Tollgate there are 32 prestigious top quality milk awards including the […]

  • Spirited for Field to Glass

    Originally Posted: Thursday, October 18, 2012   Jeff Baker pulled into the distillery on Sunday in his John Deere gator driving over the rolling hills of his 120-acre farm. Organic rye and barley grow there — under the sunlight of the Hudson Valley. He was […]

  • The Farmers Behind Sir William Farm

    Originally Posted: Wednesday, October 17, 2012   It all started with an honor box on the farm down the road — Farmer Bruce and his son Justin Conover at the Rasweiller Farm just off Copake Lake were always outdoors — rain, shine, hot or sub […]

  • Herondale’s Grass-fed, Free Range Animals

    Originally Posted: Thursday, October 4, 2012   Meat eaters. I live with two of them. They don’t consider it a meal without meat. Eric, 17 years old and at 6-foot 5 inches is always eating. He wakes up every morning, strolls into the kitchen without […]

  • Beyond Organic Farming

    Originally Posted: Tuesday, September 25, 2012   This is a journey into farming. And who better to take it with than Andy Szymanowicz. He’s a real star. I call him my starmer. He feeds my family. He’s fabulously fun. He’s passionate about his business and […]

  • A Family of Farmers

    Originally Posted: Friday, August 24, 2012   “Come over on Friday morning, bring a pie plate and we will throw together a fresh peach pie. I am making some for my family,” Linda Fix told me last week.  I jumped at the chance to have pickins […]