Agriculture...a celebration of our roots

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Agriculture

. . . a celebration of our roots

A special supplement to the SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT • August 14, 2018

SHOWING OUR ROOTS

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SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT

AUGUST, 2018

Yogurt, kosher chickens and cheese, Oh My! Local farmers get creative to stay alive in volatile times

STORY AND PHOTOS

BY KATHY DALEY

J

ack Diehl is knee-deep in preparations for going all-organic on his Route 52A dairy farm in Callicoon.

“There's forms and papers, record keeping, what you feed your cows and what you do to your land in terms of spraying,” he said.

With prices for cows' milk at a low ebb coupled with uncertainty about the future of the milk market itself, farmers are digging deep and branching out to keep doing what they love.

Take Mary and Tim Tonjes, Callicoon dairy farmers, who began diversifying 15 years ago.

“We started making dairy products and selling directly,” recounted Mary.

The couple had taken over the farm

Tonjes artisanal yogurts and cheeses, which come in a variety of flavors, are sold directly and also distributed to local stores like Peck’s Markets and Pete’s Market in Narrowsburg.

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from Tim's father who began farming in 1950. “(The farm) has been shipping milk for 68 years,” said Mary, “and we still ship, just not the volumes we had shipped in the past.”

Instead, Tonjes cows produce milk for yogurt, mozzarella, ricotta, kefir, buttermilk, farmers cheese, lightly pasteurized milk, halloumi cheese and aged raw milk cheese.

“We built an underground processing plant and cheese-aging room to take advantage of cooler temperatures,” said Mary. “It’s built into the side of a hill, going back 70 feet.”

“We sell to all the Peck's Markets, who were great about supporting us

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Jack Diehl's farm, at the corner of Gabel Road and Route 52A in Callicoon, is in preparation for organic certification. 'I milked cows when I was in high school,' said Jack, above. “I'm not going to stop now.'

early on,” Mary continued, “and to other local stores like Pete's Market in Narrowsburg, and restaurants, and a few spots in Orange County.”

The couple's sons work farmer's markets in Barryville and Callicoon, while Tim and Mary head for the Union Square Market in Manhattan every Saturday.

“It's working well for us,” said Mary.

“People always request new products, so we try new things. You get a lot of feedback working directly with customers. It's worth it. It will allow our kids to continue the business.”

In Swan Lake, Bob Franklin's organic dairy farm sells the only kosher organic milk on the market.

He milks 40 cows on his 135-acre Bethel Creamery farm, selling to customers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Rockland County and Orange County. He's expanded into kosher yogurt and soon, cheeses.

Franklin was born in New York, grew up in Montana and worked as a wildlife biologist. A rabbi, he came back east to complete his religious studies and moved to Sullivan County to buy the Swan Lake farm.

He and son Eli also operate an on-site kosher chicken slaughterhouse known nationally for its humane treatment of animals and for its strict CONTINUED ON PAGE 5R

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Bob Franklin, right, and son Eli run Bethel Creamery in Swan Lake, a farm with 40 cows that produces the only kosher organic milk on the market.

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Key players in filling Peck's Market shelves with artisanal yogurts and cheeses (above) are the herd of Holstein-Friesians on Tim and Mary Tonjes' farm in Callicoon CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3R

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standards for kashruth, or ensuring the food is kosher.

Joined by several dozen employees, Franklin says he's not making a ton of money but is paying his bills and still relishes the beauty of farming.

Headed north is the Shandelee Road farm of Richard and Mary Ann Dirie, one of about 30 spreads licensed by New York State to sell raw milk, that is, unpasteurized and unprocessed. They also sell fresh eggs, maple syrup and honey.

Circling back to Callicoon, the Diehls of Diehl Homestead Farm, Peter and Alice, began selling maple syrup in 2008 when farmers' milk prices plummeted. Now son Adam, who is herdsman for the farm, and his wife Annette have taken on the syrup enterprise. They studied value-added production at Sullivan Cornell Cooperative Extension and added maple sugar, candy, cotton candy and maple cream to the roster.

The family opened a farm store,

which sells local foods along with Diehl honey and whole milk minimally pasteurized by Annette. The milk also sells in Peck's stores, and the Diehls now plan to ramp up their on-site milk processing ability.

As for Jack Diehl, he's been preparing land and cows for organic certification for the past two years with guidance from Bethel Creamery's Bob Franklin.

Jack, brother to Peter, also owns a farm market on the property, where two acres are devoted to pumpkins and sweet corn, and a huge garden offers fruit and vegetables for sale.

The land also welcomes hunters and fishermen at the Sportsmens Den, run by Jack's nephew Peter Diehl Jr., son of Peter and Alice.

Jack Diehl is banking on going organic as a way to survive. For each 100-pound weight of milk, dairy farmers now earn from $15 to $16. By contrast, organic dairy farms realize $22 to $23 per 100-pound weight. “I'm not going to stop farming,� vows Diehl. “It's in my blood.�

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Keep farmers farming Lackawaxen Food Hub brings the farmer to your front door STORY AND PHOTOS BY ISABEL BRAVERMAN

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pick-up truck pulls up to the loading dock. A mother and her two teenage kids get out of the truck. Forming a small assembly line, they hand each other black crates filled with bottles of milk. They are the family who runs Creamworks Creamery, and they are making their weekly delivery to the Lackawaxen Food Hub. Farmer Eusebius (Sky) Ballentine was bringing his goods to markets in the city when he realized he didn’t want to make that trip every week. He wanted to focus on the local area (his farm, Ant Hill, is based in Honesdale, Pa.). He saw the challenge of distribution that small farms face, so in 2013 he started Lackawaxen Farm Company, which delivered farm products to the community. “As a farmer, you see there’s a neces-

sity for something like this,�

Ballentine said. Lackawaxen Farm Co. went through many iterations, and now it is a non-profit called Lackawaxen Food Hub. The hub, based at the site of Ant Hill Farm (although it is a separate entity), delivers wholesale and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes to the surrounding community.

The hub works with around 30 farms and food producers who generate everything from fruits and vegetables, to eggs, meat and dairy products.

Every Thursday all the farmers let the hub know what they will have available for sale in the coming week.

The hub decides what to put in the CSA box. All the products are listed on their website in an online marketplace, and it goes live on Sunday night when shoppers can choose

At left is Lackawaxen Food Hub Chair Eusebius (Sky) Ballentine and Executive Director Christine Ahern.

what products they want to buy, and also customize their CSA box. People have the chance to shop the website until Monday at noon.

Then, farmers, like Creamworks Creamery, bring their products on Tuesdays to the hub, and it gets delivered on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

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CSA box where people can pick it up, either from a local business or a private location.

People can sign up for the CSA at any time, and also cancel or put it in on hold at any time. It is delivered year-round, because Ballentine really wanted to fill the winter gap that most farms face. The box is filled with a

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overs from a farmers’ market) and donating it to people in need. They drop it off to the Victims Intervention Program and the Salvation Army in Honesdale and Catholic Social Services in Carbondale, Pa. The food hub serves as a way to support farmers. Many farmers spend most of their time out in the fields, and don’t have the time or resources to work on marketing, a website, selling their goods, etc. That’s where the hub steps in. Their team is able to offer those resources, so they can “keep farmers farming out in the field,” said Ahern.

Ahern was the manager of radio station WJFF for ten years, and after that worked at the food distributor Global

Over 30 farms and food producers drop off their goods at the food hub every Tuesday, so the packers can make CSA shares to be delivered to people.

as you could possibly get,” said Ballentine.

In March, the food hub brought in Christine Ahern as the Executive Director. She oversees pretty much every aspect of the hub, and works on getting grants. One of the programs the hub offers is taking products that farmers haven’t sold (such as left-

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National Foods. Ballentine started Ant Hill Farm in 2008. The food hub team includes Alan Carroll, warehouse and operations manager; Josh Luistro, warehouse packer; Wanda Gangel, warehouse packer; Gerard Miserandino, delivery driver; True Food Collective, marketing; and Sara Velazquez, meat share curator. The board of directors is Ballentine, Chair; Ryanne Jennings, Vice Chair; Tim Lauffenberger, Treasurer; and Jon Bond, Secretary.

The CSA currently has 100 subscribers. “I don’t know if there’s anybody who lives here that doesn’t know a farmer,” Ahern said. The Lackawaxen Food Hub brings the farmer to your front door.

Matt from Creamworks Creamery drops off their supply of milk and dairy products at the Lackawaxen Food Hub in Honesdale, Pa.

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variety of items from different farms.

So it’s not like a regular CSA that is only from one farm.

Not only does purchasing a CSA support local agriculture, but consumers are getting a benefit too. The food is delivered fresh and it cuts down on waste, since there is a short delivery distance. “It’s about as fresh

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2018 Farmers Market schedule Compliments of Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther Barryville Farmers Market 3385 State Route 97 Barryville, NY Located behind The River Market May 19th-October 27th Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

(570) 982-0050 www.barryvillefarmersmarket.com

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Callicoon Farmers Market Outdoor Market A. Dorrer Drive Callicoon Creek Park, Callicoon, NY May 6th-November 11th Sundays from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. www.callicoonfarmersmarket.org

Livingston Manor Farmers Market Main Street Livingston Manor, NY Sundays, 10-2pm Monticello Farmers Market Joe’s Park Broadway, Monticello, NY Next to Soy Restaurant June 28th-August 30th Thursdays from 3 p.m.-6 p.m.

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Kauneonga Lake Farmers Market Fire Department Pavilion 3594 State Route 55 Kauneonga Lake, NY May 26th-October 6th Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

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Farming in the family ...

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...and the true meaning of organic at Gorzynski Farm STORY AND PHOTOS BY ISABEL BRAVERMAN

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ohn Gorzynski is not the first one to farm in his family. His grandfather had a farm in New Jersey, his great-grandfather in the Bronx, and his great-great-grandfather in Manhattan. Passed down through generations, John and his son, Tim, run the family farm in Cochecton Center.

The Gorzynski Ornery Farm is an organic vegetable and fruit farm located on 50 acres right on Route 52. John bought the land in 1982. Before then he had already started farming in Sussex County, NJ. But he was looking for the perfect piece of land: good soil, near a clean source of water, within three hours of the city and for the right price. Just by CONTINUED ON PAGE 11R

John and Tim Gorzynski run their farm in Cochecton Center on 50 acres of land.

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The Gorzynski Farm sits right on Route 52 and is run by the whole family.

water. So he started a coalition of farmers to establish a definition of “organic.” He was the founding chair of Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) in the 1970’s. There were around 80-90 small farmers in the organization from all over New York State, including a contingency from Long Island, and many from the Hudson Valley.

Today, their office is in Binghamton.

The group of small farmers worked for many years to define organic practices, and to make sure farms were following that label. In collaboration with Cornell University, a law was passed in 1996 and implemented in 2000. Under this law, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) enacted a definition for “organic.” But it wasn’t what the farmers hoped it would be.

“The regulation didn’t come close to what I thought the standard should be,” John said. Under the law, there are over 200 amounts of pesticides that can be used. So basically, what you are buying at the grocery store labeled as organic isn’t actually organic.

Farmers need to pay a fee to receive the organic label from the USDA, and it is costly. As organic became trendier, people wanted to buy into the label, just like a new designer handbag. But the Gorzynskis didn’t want to pay for a label that lost its meaning. “It’s just a marketing tool,” John said. Their farm used to be called “Gorzynski Organic Farm,” but after this ruling, they changed it to “Gorzynski Ornery Farm.” They still use organic practices although they are not USDA labeled.

Summer and fall are busy seasons for the Gorzynskis. John and Tim and a few other employees are out in the field from the early morning until evening. Every Saturday, John and Tim wake up at 3 a.m. to make the drive to the city and set up their stand at the Union Square market, ready for their most loyal customers who roll in at 6 a.m. They also offer a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, where people can sign up to receive a box of the freshest fruits and vegetables from the farm every week.

John’s other two kids, Megan and John, grew up working on the farm, and their mom Sue also helps out, along with their aunt and uncle. For them, farming is all in the family.

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chance, he found Sullivan County.

It took him two years to move the farm from New Jersey to this area; the barn was previously used as a poultry farm and the fields were used for hay.

When he moved in two years later, he had just gotten married and he and his wife, Sue, set up the land and lived in a trailer across the road.

Today the farm is an established production, and John and Tim bring their products every Saturday to the Union Square Green Market in Manhattan.

John was one of the founding members of the market, which began in 1976. Widely known in his field, John was a force behind bringing farmers together and establishing organic practices.

Of course, all farming used to be organic. But after World War I, companies making chemicals for the war were looking for other uses. And in addition to these chemicals, the makers of gasoline were looking for uses of the byproduct of gas. Farmers started using these toxic materials in the fields, as a way to ward off pests.

John has always been an organic farmer, using just sun, seed, soil and

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Farm Fest set for September 22

STORY AND PHOTOS BY FRED STABBERT III ant to learn more about farming?

Want to see how a modern farm operates?

Then the Farm Fest on Saturday, September 22 is the place for you.

Hosted by Hilly Acres Farm on 32 Wahl Rd., Jeffersonville, the Farm Fest will run from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Hilly Acres farm is owned and operated by the Hahns – Tanya, Andy and Michael. This farm has been in the family for generations as Andy’s great uncle once owned the family’s 97 Sander Rd. farm location as well as Tanya’s father. “I am convinced Andy married me to get the farm back,” Tanya joked.

Today the Hahns raised beef, pigs, sheep, and poultry and sell their products at Farmers Markets in Callicoon and Barryville as well as at the farm.

Featured this year will be a pig roast, hay bale toss, antique tractors, hay rides, music, old-time butter making demonstrations, 4-H rabbit exhibition, pumpkin decorating and of course, the ever-popular “meet the animal exhibits” where Farm Fest attendees get a chance to see pigs and other farm animals up close.

Admission is free and there will be craft vendors available, and well as vendors selling locally-raised produce and meats.

For more info, call 482-4296.

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Northeast Farmhouse Pasta’s Bob Eckert serves up some delicious chili during a recent Farm Fest. Good food is always available at Farm Fest.

A hay ride is a great way to spend a fall day at the farm. Here a family enjoys a ride in one of the Hahn’s hayfields.

There are plenty of animals to see at Hilly Acres Farm, including pigs. Here Rabbit Queen Princess Becky Coombe shows a young Farm Fest attendee the pigs.

Tom Kappner of Kenoza Lake enjoyed tasting and learning about home-made ice cream from Patty Olsen during a recentFarm Fest.