![\"Hoffman\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Hoffman-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\")
<\/a><\/em><\/strong>(Madison County, NY \u2013 July 2013) On July 27, Madison County held its sixth annual Open Farm Day, with 36 farms and three farmers markets participating.\u00a0 My friend Bob and I have joined this local adventure every year since it began, and we are still amazed at the abundance, diversity and beauty that we experience.\u00a0<\/p>\nOur first stop was at Thorp Apiary in Cazenovia run by Bob and Bev Thorp.\u00a0 They produce and sell honey to the public and sell beeswax to crafters who make candles and other products.\u00a0 Their place is surrounded by beautiful garden plots full of dozens of varieties of wildflowers for the bees.\u00a0 They also have a small orchard with many varieties of apple trees.\u00a0 Apples are available in the fall through their self-service apple shed.<\/p>\n
From there we went to Granny Anne\u2019s Registered Holsteins Farm, an 80-cow dairy begun in 2006 and recognized as A Dairy of Distinction.\u00a0 They have milking cows and show cows, several of whom are champions.\u00a0 Their two young daughters gave us a tour of the farm, which included a visit to a \u201cone in a million\u201d new calf, so designated because she was a reddish brown and white out of a black and white mother, which apparently rarely happens.<\/p>\n
One of the daughters has her own business, called Kitty Kakes Bakery, and we were treated to one of her incredibly delicious cupcakes and a glass of cold milk.<\/p>\n
Next on the agenda was Empire Buffalo just east of Chittenango Falls State Park, with 90 acres and a herd of 40 grass-fed bison.\u00a0 We had lunch here \u2013 a bison burger, coleslaw, and steamed-in-the-husk corn on the cob.\u00a0 The corn was possibly the best I\u2019ve ever had, and the burger was delicious.<\/p>\n
It was the first time I\u2019d eaten bison, and I must admit that the enjoyment of this particular lunch was definitely tainted by the fact that while I was eating, I was also watching the herd of buffalo nearby as they grazed on pasture with about eight little ones following close by their mothers\u2019 sides.\u00a0 It was disconcerting, to say the least.<\/p>\n
From here we drove into Cazenovia, up East Lake Road with its magnificent homes, on our way to Owera Vineyards. Owned by Ben Reilley and Kristie Fondario, Owera is Madison County’s first winery.\u00a0 It\u2019s located on a 57-acre farm and has a beautiful tasting room with a 200 year old white oak custom bar, a caf\u00e9, a state-of-the-art wine production facility, an amphitheater and event center.\u00a0 Their first crush was in 2010, producing about 1,000 cases of wine.\u00a0 Owera\u2019s portfolio now includes 12 wines, several of which are award winners.<\/p>\n
Just up the ways a bit, on Peth Road, our next stop was \u201cOur Farm,\u201d begun in 1982 by the Golub Family. Originally little more than a roadside stand selling strawberries, the farm is now a destination for thousands of school children and families every fall.\u00a0 Known for its exceptional sweet corn, pumpkins, and agritourism, the farm offers hay rides, a petting zoo (goats and a donkey named Dominick), horse rides, u-pick pumpkins, a corn maze and a giant pumpkin throwing catapult.<\/p>\n
In 2011, they installed a 10kW PV solar system, which supplies all the energy needs of the farm.\u00a0 Their latest venture is several varieties of rhubarb sauce, including one with jabanero peppers.<\/p>\n
One place was not part of the original plan, but we were close by, so we had to stop.\u00a0 The Stoltzfus Family Dairy on Skinner Road in Vernon Center produces yogurt, cheese curd, FarmStead Cheese, and Creamline milk, which is pasteurized but not homogenized.\u00a0 Their yogurt is made on site with real fruit, honey, and maple syrup, all produced locally.\u00a0 They source their milk from three family farms, all within 10 miles of the plant.<\/p>\n
As Mennonite farmers in both vocation and spirit, their cows have access to the outdoors year-round, which creates healthy cows through fresh air, exercise, sunshine, and grass.\u00a0 Their products are sold at the farm as well as in retail stores throughout Madison County, including the Sherburne and Morrisville Big M, Clyde\u2019s Little Red Barn in Earlville, Parry\u2019s in Hamilton, Mosher Farms in Bouckville, and the Kountry Kupboard in Madison.<\/p>\n
We also stopped to visit the National Abolition Hall of Fame in Peterboro, along with what remains of Gerrit Smith\u2019s estate.\u00a0 This is a spectacular local treasure, but that story will come in another column.<\/p>\n
Chris Hoffman lives in the village of Sherburne in her 150+ year-old house where she caters to the demands of her four cats, attempts to grow heirloom tomatoes and herbs and reads voraciously. She passionately pursues various avenues with like-minded friends to preserve and protect a sustainable rural lifestyle for everyone in Central New York.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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Think Local By Chris Hoffman (Madison County, NY \u2013 July 2013) On July 27, Madison County held its sixth annual Open Farm Day, with 36 farms and three farmers markets participating.\u00a0 My friend Bob and I have joined this local adventure every year since it began, and we are still amazed at the abundance, diversity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23679,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agfarming","category-top-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-cFS","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48724\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Hoffman\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Hoffman-e1356564447858.jpg\")
<\/a><\/em><\/strong>(Madison County, NY \u2013 July 2013) On July 27, Madison County held its sixth annual Open Farm Day, with 36 farms and three farmers markets participating.\u00a0 My friend Bob and I have joined this local adventure every year since it began, and we are still amazed at the abundance, diversity and beauty that we experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n