All posts by lubrainerd

Individual Trip to McEnroe Organic Farm

May 1, 2014Uncategorizedlubrainerd

On a sunny Thursday afternoon (the first of its kind) I traveled to McEnroe Organic Farm in Millerton, New York. My tour was led by two workers named Lauren and Sean and, unlike most of the organic farmers we have met this semester, Sean actually has a bachelor’s in Environmental Science! Lauren studied art in school, but she still knew her stuff about the science behind the farm. The farm started as a conventional dairy farm but is now a 1500-acre production site. It has been run over four generations, with two of the McEnroe boys currently working on-site and the original owner, Ray, showing up now and then. Since it is certified organic, their pest control methods are limited to natural modes such as sulfur. They grow a plethora of vegetables, herbs and spices, raise cows, pigs and chickens for meat, and run a composting unit to create their own soil– they even brew compost teas. However, not all of their land is used for profit. They keep a lot of woodlands, meadows and ponds intact in order to keep natural habitats in check.

The most “economical” part of their farm is the vast number of tomato plants. McEnroe Organic Farm uses both heated and unheated greenhouses to ensure that they can grow their “Hot House Tomatoes” year-round. We got to take a look inside at the massive, ceiling-height plants, and it really was remarkable! The farmers here use a very unique method when growing their tomatoes; it is something I had never heard of, yet understood easily because of my biology background. They call it “splicing”, and it helps the tomatoes grow big and red without any inorganic compounds being added. This splicing process simply involves them slicing the root-stalk of the tomato and adding fruiting and rooting fertilizers (completely organic, of course). The point of this is to completely line up the vascular tissue of the plant, making for some really huge, really tasty produce! “Tomatoes are a great plant to grow,” said Lauren, “because they’re so economical. You can grow them year round in a heated greenhouse”. So they do. Unlike Monkshood Nursery, where the tomato plants were barely past the seedling stage, McEnroe Farm’s plants were already climbing the twine to the ceiling and being picked and sold daily. It’s amazing what can be done with a bit more space and a few more hands on deck.

Another noteworthy part of the farm is the composting site where they mix local garbage, manure and leaves into completely organic soil that farmers from all over the area buy for their farms and gardens. McEnroe uses most of the compost we produce in their greenhouses, cold frames and fields in attempt promote healthy soil and strong plant growth. We didn’t spend much time at the compost site, but I did learn a fair amount about how smelly, and helpful, this composting facility is for farmers who raise so many plants and animals.

McEnroe Organic Farm is much larger than all of the other farms we have ventured to in #es291. Its impressive production gets it into wholesale mediums like Whole Foods and they also keep up a great farm store on-site which sells both on-farm and off-farm products. You can learn more about McEnroe Organic Farm by following this link!

Rory Cut the Cheese

April 7, 2014Uncategorized#chaseholmfarms #ES291 #cheese #rawmilklubrainerd

Chaseholm Farm has been in the Chase family for three generations. What started off as a dumping ground has now turned into a small farm that fuels Amazing Real Live Food Co., which produces everything from raw milk and cheese to Saurkraut and Kombucha. Using their raw milk license, they are able to milk 30 cows on over 70 acres of land. By reusing the maure as fertilizer and fermenting the hay fed to the cows, they are able to follow through on their motto: ‘Better soil, better food, better people.’ Unlike larger farms, they are interested in the longevity of the cow, keeping the calf with the heffer to improve the happiness of the herd. Their oldest cow is now 10, and they are hoping to keep their cows productive until the old age of 12, unlike other farms in America that only keep their cows alive for an average of 4 years. While the barn is nearly 75 years old, their ideas and methods are revolutionary and will hopefully start changing the face of dairy.

From the cows, Chaseholm Farm is able to produce 7 different types of cheese. Rory Chase is the mastermind and cheese connoisseur of Amazing Real Live Food Co. Rory chose the cheeses that he did because he not only personally liked them, but they had the fastest turnaround time of any of the cheeses. His knowledge of the science of the cheese was far beyond anything we could have imagined and while it was often difficult to follow along, it became clear that cheese making is a complicated art form with much more to it than what we see on the shelf in the store. Unlike other creameries, Chaseholm farm does not age their cheese in plastic, but instead a natural rind with aging processes from 10 months to only a few days. They also offer a very wide variety of cheeses from the basic quesoblanco to a complicated, “funky” cheese they like to call Monkshood, which is washed in cider. While lots of complicated jargon was tossed around, the most important thing we learned was that the taste and type all depends on the yeast, mold and curd size – it’s not all about the age. All cheese starts out as milk and, while there are very few ingredients, the different treatments result in a wide variety of cheeses.

Situated half in Dutchess County and half in Columbia County, Chaseholm Farm will have a problem trying to sell parts of their farm if finances ever become too tight. They have very little income and run a small operation cobbled together with materials and employees from larger farms. Just a month ago Chaseholm Farm opened their doors to their quaint farm store where you can buy all of their products. They also frequent farmers markets from larger markets in Cold Spring and Ossining to smaller markets closer to home. While many farmers often despise these markets, Rory Chase seems to enjoy spreading his love and knowledge of cheese. We were lucky enough to be his pupils for a day and experience the delicious products of Chaseholm Farm.