CORNWALL, N.Y.—Several prospering small farm businesses in the northeastern part of Orange County were spotlighted in the 14th annual agribusiness tour by Vision Hudson Valley on Sept. 27.
“Orange County used to be full of farms, and as time has changed, the agribusiness culture and the community itself has evolved with it,” Vision Hudson Valley Executive Director Kaitlynn Lancellotti told The Epoch Times.
“What we’d like to do with this tour is to highlight how agriculture is still thriving in Orange County and to inspire community leaders and others to be a part of it,” she said.
During the tour, a few dozen attendees paid a visit to Jones Farm, a century-old family farm in the town of Cornwall that has evolved over the past decades from a traditional dairy operation to a fruit and poultry business to a local tourism destination.
Farm owner David Clearwater said the business model changes were prompted by stricter state laws, growing competition from megafarms, and shifting local demographics.
“We had to change with the times if we were still going to be here, and I have to give my grandfather and my parents kudos for saying to me: ‘Yeah, all right, you want to try that? Let’s do that.’ And so we did,” Clearwater told tour participants.
His farm now has a produce stand, a cafe and bakery, a gift shop and clothing store, a framing workshop and art gallery, a select group of farm animals, and a pumpkin patch against an expansive mountain view that draws visitors from as far as New York City.
In 2016, Clearwater ensured that 85 acres of his farmland remained green through a conservation easement agreement with Scenic Hudson and Hudson Highlands Land Trust.
Cornwall Supervisor Josh Wojehowski said Jones Farm illustrates his vision for his town.
“Eco-tourism and ag tourism—that is our focus,” Wojehowski told The Epoch Times. “We are not really looking to build manufacturing factories, warehouses, and all that stuff; we want to grow our town while keeping our scenic beauty and small-town charm.”
Less than a mile from Jones Farm, on the same Angola Road, stands the 35-acre Christmas tree farm of Robert Nannini, a resident and quarry business owner.
Nannini, whose family has lived in the area for the past six generations, purchased the land in the 1990s and started it as a hobby farm, which now supplies at least 500 Christmas trees every winter. He also buys and donates more than a thousand trees to military bases each year.
“This is a hobby, and it is really my therapy,” Nannini said of his Farmside Acres. “To be honest, if I didn’t have a job, it would be very difficult to have a farm like this.”
Wholesome Food at a Premium
For Diane Aboushi, a licensed attorney, it was love for her children that drove her to farming.Motivated to feed her family healthy and wholesome food, Aboushi became a farmer with the support of her husband about 10 years ago. She and her workers now grow between 300 and 400 kinds of vegetables on a 100-acre farm called Halal Pastures in Rock Tavern.
She produces many vegetables from heirloom seeds—seeds passed down to multiple generations within a family over a long period—to bring back traditional food that is healthy, tasty, and good-looking yet cannot be found in chain supermarkets.
“The philosophy of making wholesome food has a very high standard; when you grow things properly, you are taking care of the soil, earth, atmosphere, microbes, and humans. Unfortunately, it is not cheap and does come at a cost,” she said.
Aboushi sells her produce in the local community, Westchester County, and New York City.
“I have nothing against other countries, but I don’t see why we can’t grow our own food in America,” she said. “We definitely have the land, we have the capacity, and we should be able to grow our own food and support the farmers here.”
Food Pantry, Farm Regulations
The bus tour also included a stop at Deacon Jack’s Pantry in Newburgh, which receives food donations from the food bank of the Hudson Valley, grocers and restaurants, and local farms.Over the past 27 years or so, the Newburgh pantry has grown from serving five families in the first year to at least 800 families on a busy weekend, according to co-director Paul Zalanowski.
The donated farm produce is often fresh and nutritious but just too small or not the right shape or color for the market, according to the organization.
“We are happy to have relationships with great organizations like Vision Hudson Valley and to help people in the county, especially decision-makers, understand agriculture’s economic impact and what it needs to not only survive but thrive,” said Marie Ullrich, the agriculture program leader at Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County.
Ullrich told The Epoch Times that sensible changes in farm labor regulations at the state level—such as overtime definitions and the rule of a prescribed day of rest within a seven-day work week—will help small family farms stay competitive.
State Sen. James Skoufis told The Epoch Times that expanding tax credits to small farm owners for the construction of on-site affordable workers’ housing would help, too.
The bus tour’s major sponsors are West Point Tours, Farm Credit East, American National Insurance, Orange & Rockland, PKF O’Connor Davies, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange County, and the Orange County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board.
Virginia Kasinski, executive director of Newburgh Urban Farm and Food, was the special guest speaker at the lunch session following the bus tour.
