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For most people,
the term “local foods” conjures images of farm fresh
fruits and vegetables – and there isn’t much of
that available in January. However, even in the
dead of winter, you can still incorporate local
foods into your meal planning by choosing locally
raised meats. Twenty years ago, consumers looking
for direct-marketed meats could choose between a
whole or a half cow. Today, consumers can still
“buy bulk�?, but they can also choose smaller quantities
from a wide selection of products and cuts. In addition
to beef, local farms raise lamb, pork, goat, venison,
and all kinds of poultry, such as duck, geese, turkey,
game hens and chicken. These farms tend to be small-scale
diversified operations. The animals are typically
raised on pasture and the farms are often certified
organic. Two such enterprises, Kingbird
Farm in Berkshire and Engelbert
Farms in Nichols, offer their products year
around.
Michael and Karma
Glos started Kingbird Farm in 1996. Their farm is
a “barnyard ecosystem” integrating multi-species
livestock grazing, vegetable fields, perennial herb
beds, greenhouses, and forest. The Glos family raises
a vast array of plants and animals including Scottish
Highland X Angus beef, Tamworth pork, feeder pigs,
breeding stock, broiler chickens, duck, goose, eggs,
potatoes, garlic, onions, strawberries, tomatoes,
peppers, culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, and wild
crafted mushrooms from their woods. All farm work
is done with draft horses.
Nearly all of Kingbird
Farm products are certified organic by NOFA-NY Certified
Organic LLC; only their beef is not certified due
to a lack of consistently available certified organic
hay. The cattle are grazed exclusively on certified
organic pasture and wintered on good local hay.
All animals are raised outdoors on pasture and the
Glos family selects livestock for hardiness and
an ability to utilize a range of forages. Even when
the hogs and chickens are indoors for the winter
they endeavor to provide them with fresh foods (beets,
pumpkins, apples) in addition to their grain ration.
Livestock are treated with homeopathy and herbs,
supporting their natural immunity. When hogs and
beefers reach market size they are very carefully
processed at a certified organic butcher in Northern
Pennsylvania. All poultry are processed on the farm
by the Glos family.
Kingbird Farm’s
main goal is to provide the community with high
quality foods raised with the utmost care and respect.
Right now consumers can purchase pork, both fresh
cuts and nitrate-free smoked meats and sausages;
poultry, including ducks, whole roasting chickens
and stewing hens; and all cuts of beef, including
nitrate-free corned beef – all direct from the farm.
See their web site, www.kingbirdfarm.com,
or call them at 607-657-2860 for details.
The Engelbert family,
Lisa and Kevin and their three sons, continue a
multigenerational dairy farming tradition begun
in the mid 1850’s, and have worked their current
farm since the early 1900’s. Today, Engelbert Farm
continues its successful dairy operation, and was
one of the first dairies in the region to adopt
rotational grazing and organic production methods.
Concern over deteriorating soil quality and herd
health led the family to consider and then try alternative
methods, and in the early 1980’s they gave up synthetic
chemicals entirely. Shortly thereafter they obtained
their first NOFA-NY organic certification. Lisa
currently serves as co-administrator for NOFA NY,
so the farm is now certified under the NOFA-VT program,
to avoid a conflict of interest.
As their children
have grown to adulthood and made a commitment to
the family farm, the Engelberts have worked to increase
farm income by diversifying into beef, veal and
pork production. Beef cattle are raised outdoors
on pasture and the hogs are raised outdoors with
plenty of space, fresh air and sunshine. All are
fed 100% certified organic feed, which is grown
with care on the farm. Absolutely no animal by-products
are ever fed. The beef animals are primarily grassfed.
Veal calves are raised on 100% organic milk and
all the pasture they care to consume. Hogs are fed
organic milk, corn, grass and leftovers from the
certified organic gardens. The Engelbert Family
is proud of the way they farm; their land and animals
are healthy and their farming system is sustainable.
Individual cuts
of meat are available directly from the farm year-round
by appointment. Beef, veal and pork are also available
by the whole or half animal on a preorder basis.
All Engelbert Farm meat is processed at a facility
that is USDA inspected and certified to process
organic meat. For more information contact the farm
at 607-699-3775.
Buying from local
food producers provides many benefits for the consumer
as well as the farmer and the community at large.
Consumers can learn about a farm’s philosophy and
animal husbandry practices, and choose foods produced
in ways that reflect their own values. When farmers
are able to sell their products directly to the
public, they get the chance to explain what makes
their products special. They also get a larger share
of the consumer food dollar, which helps keep them
in business and their land part of the rural landscape
we all appreciate. In addition, farming is an enterprise
that returns its income to the community, keeping
local money circulating. Consumers get more than
good food when they “buy local”, they take an active
role in sustaining their quality of life.
Debbie Teeter
is Senior Program Coordinator in the Agriculture
Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins
County.
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