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TOMPKINS COUNTY
FARM CITY DAY
2001 Host: The Melon Foundation
Rob and Laurie Todd married in 1982 and began
farming in Lansing, New York. Gradually acquiring
machinery, they rented land and worked 550 acres
between their produce farm and cash-crop acreage.
In 1994, the Todds purchased a 250-acre farm
on Fenner Road in Lansing, currently with 10
acres of their own intensive fruit and vegetable
production, and the rest rented out to a neighboring
farmer.
Todd's Melon Foundation features ten different
kinds of melons, including a "true"
cantaloupe called French Charentais which was
mentioned in the gourmet magazine Saveur in
1998. In addition to different varieties of
watermelons and cantaloupes, they raise orange
honeydews and canary melons.
Jam is a new product line, made from their
own fruit: strawberries, raspberries (both summer
and fall types), peaches and apricots. At the
Ithaca Farmer's Market, they also sell vegetables:
peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes,
peppers, onions, and eggplants. Their teenage
son Samuel (almost 18) had his own small stand,
adjacent to theirs, at the farmer's market for
years.
Like most successful farmers, Rob and Laurie
Todd give their managers, employees and family
members a lot of credit and thanks. Laurie is
especially grateful to her manager Pat Bowman,
her "gardening mentor" Slim Bunk,
and Rob's parents, Tom and Elsie Todd. "We
would not be able to do this without the help
of others."
The Melon Foundation is located in the "lake
plain" region in northern Tompkins County,
an area with a rich agricultural history. In
years past, the farm on Fenner Road raised hay
and beef cows, as well as many crops typical
of the area: corn, wheat, soybeans and barley.
A barn built in the late 19th century remains
in working order.
For more information, call CCE Tompkins
County
at (607) 272-2292
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