Area farms will welcome visitors Saturday

Staff Writer

Thirty-eight farms throughout Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties will participate in this year’s Family Farm Day on Saturday, Aug. 26.

The event is sponsored by the Cornell Cooperative Extensions of the three counties. People can visit 12 farms in Otsego County.

Farms included in the tour produce dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables, cider, fiber, flowers and herbs, honey and maple products and soaps, so there will be a variety of things to experience Saturday.

Many farms, including Family Farmstead Dairy at 1644 county Route 39 in Worcester, will offer tours.

“We will give them a tour of the processing facility,” Liam McGrath said. “We will show them how we take raw milk from the tank, how we process it and set up the filling machine with some bottles and show a mock filling process to show how the filler works. We will talk about the process and farm practices, our goals and mission.”

He said after the bottles are filled they are either sent to be cultured or sent to the cooler. The facility produces pasteurized fluid milk, kefir, buttermilk and butter and raw milk cheddar and jack cheeses. There will be samples of these items for people to try.

McGrath said the processing plant started in 2019 and his cousin milks 30 cows at the working farm. The farm also buys milk from six other farms for a total of 250 cows.

He said this will be the second year they will offer the tour. Last year, 60 people toured their facility and he is hopeful they get the same or more this year.

“It’s a great way to check out local businesses,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to experience small family farm businesses. New York state used to be a huge farming state. In the last 30 years, 70% of dairy farms have gone out of business. These small, family farms were the building blocks of the Central New York economy. We need more small farmers.”

Sweet corn is at its peak this time of year and there are several places along the tour that will have it for sale, including Tauzel Farms at 129 Muehl Road in Schenevus. Jody Marchese, who was manning the produce stand at the farm Monday afternoon, said there will be a farm tour, children’s activities, photo opportunities with calves and produce and beef will be for sale. The farm doesn’t use pesticides on its corn and sells it in 14-ear dozens. The farm started as a dairy farm in 1919, but now raises beef cattle and corn, she said. The other produce, milk, cheese and honey sold at the farmstand come from local farmers.

In addition to cows, visitors to different farms will be able to see bison, goats, sheep, pigs and alpacas. The produce offered at different farms include squash, blueberries, garlic, raspberries, zucchini and cucumbers.

A media release listed the following etiquette for everyone’s safety: Pets are not allowed on farms and visitors should remain in designated areas while on the farm. Visitors are encouraged to bring coolers or cooler bags for perishable items.

The farms will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For a map of participating farms, visit https://tinyurl.com/2nh8wxpn. The map includes direct links to the farm websites or social media sites and also lists several farmers markets, some which will take place on Saturday.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at [email protected] or 607-441-7221.

Staff Writer

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