 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
By Darrin Youker, The Post Star, February 25, 2003 SALEM -- Karen Weinberg yelled out "Hey girls!" as she approached a flock of sheep munching on a hay bale. The sheep were congregating among the hay, some strands of straw sticking on their downy wool. Timidly, and with a little prodding, one approached Weinberg, who put her hands on the soft nape of a sheep's neck. The sheep are part of a dairy operation on Weinberg's 3-Corner Field Farm. Sheep's milk and lamb meat are sold from her small-scale operation that practices sustainable growth farming. That concept, which involves using natural vegetables and grains for feed instead of animal byproducts and hormones that factory farms use, has found footing in this traditional agricultural community. Organic farms, offering high-quality specialty crops, have also begun to appear on the farming landscape of Washington County. Both concepts look to minimize the amount of artificial chemicals and hormones used in plants and animals. Sheep and lambs on Weinberg's farm are not penned up in large barns; in the green months they feed on pasture grass and throughout their life are treated humanely. "If we are going to use animals for food, the least we can do is make sure they have a good life," Weinberg said, standing among the flock of sheep. "Here, they get to live how they are supposed to live." Organic farming has seen a jump statewide over the past decade. The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York has certified six farms in Washington County. It is the largest organization in the state approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to certify farms by their standards. In 1991, NOFA-NY had certified more than 100 farms statewide, but that number jumped to 230 last year, said Sarah Johnston, executive director of NOFA-NY. Sustainable growth and organic farming is also catching on in high-scale restaurants in New York City. Weinberg sells lamb meat to the Savoy Restaurant in New York City. Flying Pigs Farm in Salem also sends pork to the restaurant. Peter Hoffman, owner of the Savoy, said restaurant owners and chefs are looking to these type of farms because of the high quality product they produce. Several restaurants will name, on their menu, the farm where the meat and produce comes from, he said. "For starters, the taste is just extraordinary," Hoffman said. "There is very little conventional meat that comes into this restaurant." Flying Pigs Farm also follows the sustainable growth philosophy, using natural vegetables and grains for pig feed. Natural farming Weinberg and her husband, Paul Borghard, operate their 100-acre 3-Corner Field Farm on county Route 64. The farm lies on a small plateau of land among the rolling hills of the Salem countryside. Farms and clapboard barns are tucked into these small hills. While now they are covered with snow, hay and corn will sprout up from them in the warmer months. A small milking parlor and several barns make up the farm's operation. Sheep stay outside, unless nursing young lambs. Sheep are milked twice a day from May to October, following their natural cycle, Weinberg said. Milk is then processed at a dairy operation in the Albany region. Lambs are born in the spring and the largest offspring are normally sold off for slaughter starting in September, Weinberg said. Most lambs are sent to commercial slaughterhouses to be sold in farmers markets and to restaurants, she said. Once a week, Weinberg drives down to the farmers market in New York City to sell meat and dairy. In the summertime, she make that trip twice a week. Numerous restaurant owners and chefs tour the farmers market looking for fresh organic produce and meats, Weinberg said. "It's a nice environment," Weinberg said. "(Shoppers) want to know where the food comes from." Locally, some organic farmers have set up agreements with restaurants selling summer vegetables to chefs. Jamie Snyder, owner of Happenchance Farm in Greenwich, has been offering his certified organic vegetables to farmers markets and local restaurants for several years. During the summer, he sends mixed salad greens and vegetables to the Cambridge Hotel under an agreement he has with owner John LaPosta. Snyder had worked on a conventional farm for more than a dozen years but decided to start one of his own on a smaller scale. He saw a market for organic farming in the area. "You see a lot more smaller-scale farms of 10 and 20 acres," Snyder said. "There is also more of a network among the smaller farms." Weinberg tries to make her sheep operation as close to organic as possible. But in the winter months she has to buy commercial, non-organic hay. The organic variety would push up costs too high, she said. But above all, Weinberg said, she wants to make sure her farm has a minimal impact on the environment and that animals are well-kept during their time here. "Look at them, they're quiet and content chewing their cud," Weinberg said of the flock. "We are trying to create a sustainable farm -- having a quality-enough product so you don't have to increase quantity." NATURAL FARMING Farms in Washington County certified by Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY):
Farms in Washington County that use sustainable growth farming:
Source: NOFA-NY Web site: www.nofany.org, and www.eatwild.com
|
