When we first started this farm, we did so with a vision not just for growing good food in a way that takes care of the land, but of creating a place where people could stay on the land and have immersive experiences growing and sharing food. There are a few reasons. First, we know that, while diversified farming (mixing organic vegetables, and pastured livestock, as well as other endeavors like honey, fruits, mushrooms, etc.) is one of the most environmentally sustainable, delicious and beautiful ways to grow food, it is very hard to do in a way that is financially sustainable in our region. To make it work, it needs to have other sources of revenue, and farm viability matters to us. Second, and more importantly, we believe that many of the most important challenges we face stem from the disconnect between people and the land; we’ve all felt how grounding and even healing it can be to experience direct connections to land, to place, to the ecosystem that feeds us, to the people who feed us, and to the work that feeds us. We want our farm to be a place that renews that connection, and fosters experiences that help us all take care of the things that matter.
In the last eight years, we’ve built a beautiful diversified farm. As we have gotten to know the land we have built soil organic matter, cleared fence lines, created silvopasture, managed invasive species, and restored ecosystems in our pastures. We’ve helped people learn about our connections to place through food and farming, and we’ve fed a lot of people in our community. We have also been working to move forward the ability to build out facilities to support our original vision. This has called for design and planning, and also moving through a process with our town planning board to get all environmental reviews, approvals and permits in place to build it. It has been a long road, and some of you have been on the journey with us from the beginning. We’ve commissioned archeological surveys, studies of bats and turtles and snakes, siteline studies, noise studies and traffic studies; we’ve dug soil test pits, and at the same time, dug deep in ourselves to think through the best way to achieve our goals with the best environmental outcome. In the end, the approval process generated a 6,000 page record! The planning board came to a clear conclusion that the project would have no significant adverse environmental impact, and granted our approvals. The NY State Supreme Court agreed. The town planning board chair has now signed the site plan, and we are initiating construction. It is extremely exciting.
It has been a long path, and we are grateful to our town, their planning board, the planning board’s consultants, and all of the personnel at the various agencies that were involved in the approval process (from health agencies to environmental agencies, to historical preservation, the list goes on). We are also grateful to all the people who helped us move through this arduous process–architects, lawyers, biologists, archeologists, designers, and engineers. I also want to express deep gratitude for all of the individuals who have directly contributed to making the farm what it is today, from the first apprentices, all past and current team members, and everyone who has ever come to a public program or event and lent a hand planting trees or harvesting garlic. Finally, the time has come to break ground. It has been a long time coming.
We are starting our work to install major utilities (water systems, septic, stormwater, electrical distribution, etc.) and then we’ll be moving on to building the buildings. It will take us 18-24 months to complete. While it happens, some of our public programs and some of our farm sales channels will be reduced or redirected (its hard to farm and teach in a construction site!). But we will keep farming (cows gotta eat, and weeds keep growing). We will be temporarily closing our onsite farmstand, however you can still pick up our meat and produce down the road at Brookby Farms. You will still find us at the Hastings Farmer’s Market twice a month through the end of May. We’ll continue to sell to our restaurant partners, including Willa, Troutbeck, The Lantern, and Community Table. As always, if you are looking for something specific, please reach out directly: farm@harlemvalleyhomestead.com. And we look forward to welcoming you and others to the farm once our full project is built out. If you want to see our approved site plans, you can find them here.
And, as always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Send an email to askusanything@harlemvalleyhomestead.com. - Josh Viertel, Founder