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Spotlight on Cayuga Pure Organics
Cropsey Community Farm Manager Shane Hardy got his start in farming at Cayuga Pure Organics (CPO) near Ithaca, NY. On May 30, 2013, a devastating fire destroyed the barn that housed all of CPO's cleaning and packaging equipment and a considerable amount of inventory. With the new harvest starting in July, they need to replace the equipment before any of these new crops can be sold. RFA is proud to sell CPO dried beans and grains at the Piermont Farmers' Market. To learn more about how you can support CPO's rebuilding efforts, visit their fundraising page here.
From Shane:
I graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in philosophy and religion, obsessing over the ethical implications of career paths I might take. But growing food seemed like a good idea. Everyone has to eat, and it was work that would keep my hands and mind focused on the here and now (at least more so than pondering unanswerable questions full time.) So, my friend Tycho got me an interview with the owners of Cayuga Pure Organics (CPO), Erick Smith and Dan Lathwell.
 Erick (in photo at right) took me around the farm and told me about their operation growing organic dry beans and grains, and their dream of a local food system that included these staple foods grown in an ethical way. We strolled over to the shop where Dan was working on a tractor. Dan proceeded to tell me how if you weren't careful near a tractor, you'd end up wrapped around the power take off shaft like a string of liguini. Erick asked me if I'd grown up on a farm. I told him no. He asked if I'd ever worked on a farm. I told him no. Erick asked me if I knew much about growing food. Sheepishly, I told him no once again. Dan recounted a few more tragic farm accidents and warned me I wouldn't get rich by tending fields, "but it's noble work" he said. Then Erick asked me if I knew how to drive a manual transmission. "YES!" I answered. Erick and Dan shared a look that seemed hopeful to me, and one of them said "Well, that's a start."
Erick and I walked back into the house, and for reasons I don't quite understand, they trusted I'd work well enough and hired me. I can't say enough here about how much that trust meant to me and how much I learned while there. It changed my life. I had a job that brought me joy, and gave me a purpose and skills to be useful in the world. Within three weeks I was plowing the field behind Erick's house, and within three months I was behind the wheel of a combine, harvesting organic soybeans while Dan combined the next field over. They taught me quick, I absorbed everything I could. I saw hundreds of tons of grain and beans and corn and buckwheat pouring into vast metal bins, food that would feed that regional masses. I met other farmers and learned little tricks from them. Within a year and half I was managing much of the field work and helping revise the crop rotation. I made mistakes, I broke things, I fixed things, and they nurtured me. Although I eventually left Cayuga Pure Organics, wanting to expand my growing knowledge to include vegetables and fruit, the people of CPO are still my dear friends. I speak with Erick and Anne and Debbie regularly, and see them a few times a year when I visit.
My story is not unique. Anne, who now manages the crops, has a very similar one. She came to CPO knowing nothing of agriculture, and has blossomed into an amazing young farmer. This is a place that not only fills a void in the local food system by growing organic grains and beans and partnering with a mill to grind flours, but also a place that nurtures young people so the next generation can feed itself. It is a place where community bonds are made and people grow as a family together while they share the toil and the joy, the crop failures and the bumper crops, and the duty of farming.
A few weeks ago I got a message from Anne. She sounded thoroughy shaken as she described how the beanery (their cleaning and processing facility) had burned utterly and completely to the ground. I was heartbroken. We need CPO in our food system, and we need them in our world. They cannot go on without a facility to clean their products. We MUST help them if we believe in local healthy food, if we believe in leaving a healthy world for our children, and if we want good people to succeed in the face of tragedy. Please visit their website to learn more about them and their fundraising campaign.
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News from Cropsey Community Farm
Irrigation Project Is Complete!
 In the April/May issue of the RFA newsletter, we wrote about the drilling of the well and thanked some of the wonderful local businesses and individuals that helped us with the first phase of the project. We would like to thank the following people for completing the work necessary to make the field irrigation a reality:
Rick Ell Ellectric Service of Spring Valley did a skilled and meticulous job installing the wiring to the pump house.
Randy St. Denis of R & H Plumbing in West Nyack installed the pressure tank and the necessary plumbing to get the water from the well out to the field. He has been exceedingly generous with his skills and his time since the beginning of Cropsey Community Farm.
Frank Barreira of Frank Barreira Construction singlehandedly built the pumphouse that sits just outside the field's fence. Like Randy, Frank has been a generous and vital supporter of Cropsey Community Farm for three seasons.
The Angel on the Tractor in the South Field
Steve Smith has spent many hours plowing and disking the South Field at Cropsey Community Farm using his own tractor. His hard work helps us prepare for the farm's expansion next season, provided we are able to fence the additional seven acres. He has done this with his own tractor and disk. It is generosity like this that enables RFA to start up a farm in a place where there is virtually no agricultural infrastructure left. if you are interested in supporting RFA's efforts to build a fence for the southern field expansion, visit our website or email us.
Link Elementary School 5th Graders Community Service Project
 A special thank you goes to Link Elementary School 5th grade students, their parents and the PTA for painting row markers for the field and signs for the farm! Students painted and stenciled 240 row markers and then came to the farm to help hammer them in.
A special thank you to Beckerle Lumber of Congers for helping us with the lumber for the pumphouse and the row markers. We are so grateful for the support that truely makes this a community farm!
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**THIS SUNDAY!**
FAMILY SUNDAYS
Summer Bugs and Bounty
Cropsey Community Farm
220 S. Little Tor Road, New City
Sunday, July 14th
10am – 11:30am
$10 first child, $5 each additional per family
This month's program is all about summer with an up-close exploration of beneficial and not-so welcome bugs that visit us during the summer and a taste test of crops in the field. Activities are appropriate for kids ages 4 and up with their parents or guardians. Purchase tickets here.
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FAMILY SUNDAYS
Farm Yoga with Little Shanti Yoga
Cropsey Community Farm
220 S. Little Tor Road, New City
Sunday, August 4th
10am - 11:30am
$10 first child, $5 each additional per family
This month's program welcomes certified yoga instructor and children's farm educator Wendy Messano. First we’ll do a farmer-themed yoga class inspired by our surroundings, and then we’ll head into the field to explore!
Activities are appropriate for kids ages 4 and up with their parents or guardians. Purchase tickets here.
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FAMILY SUNDAYS
Cropsey Community Farm
220 S. Little Tor Road, New City
Sunday, September 1st
10am - 11:30am
$10 first child, $5 each additional per family
This month's program welcomes professional artist and
garden enthusiast Robin Kereth Johnson. Robin brings her fine
arts background and knowledge of flowers and plants, and
creatively combines them into a magical mixture of gardening and art. Create a unique project to take home and share in your own garden! Activities are appropriate for kids 4 and up with their parents or guardians. Purchase tickets here.
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FARM TO TABLE with
The Food Evolution
Class starts at Cropsey Community Farm
220 S. Little Tor Road, New City
Friday, September 20th
5:30pm to 9pm
$115
This class starts at Cropsey Community Farm for a lesson in biodynamic farming. We'll harvest our ingredients and take them back to The Food Evolution kitchen, where we will prepare a beautiful meal inclusive of our bounty! If local, organic, and sustainable food means something to you, you will love this class! To register visit The Food Evolution here.
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FARMERS' MARKETS
in Rockland County
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Haverstraw Farmers' Market
Maple Avenue & 40 New Main Street
Sundays Starting June 9th
9am - 1pm
Click here for more information
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Nyack Farmers' Market
Municipal parking lot
119 Main Street, Nyack
Thursdays through Nov. 21
8am - 2pm
Click here for more information
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M & T Bank Parking Lot
Piermont Ave & Ash St, Piermont
Sundays May 26 - Nov 24
9:30am - 3pm
Click here for more information
*RFA is a vendor at this market*
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Spring Valley Farmers Market
Memorial Park Parking Lot
Spring Valley
Wednesdays June 12 - Nov 20
8:30am - 3pm
Click here for more information
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Stony Point Farmers' Market
Stony Point Town Hall
74 E. Main St.
Saturdays through October
9am - 12pm
Click here for more information
West Haverstraw Farmers' Market
130 Samsondale Avenue
West Haverstraw
Thursdays starting June 27
8am - Noon
Click here for more information
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