Hello from Eight Mile Creek Farm, where we offer a world of
benefits to our fellow eaters in Albany County and beyond! Welcome to our new
blogging endeavor on the farm! Through this blog we hope to inform, educate,
and perhaps entertain our readers with accounts from the farm. In effect, much
like the farm itself, this blog will be a diversified (and perhaps organic) experience, offering news from the field, broader themes for
consideration regarding local organic farming and the like, and other useful
tips, recipes, and accounts of Eight Mile Creek Farm.
Eight
Mile Creek Farm is tucked away in the Helderberg Hills of Albany County,
snuggled up against a backdrop of the not so far Catskill Mountains. It resides
in the town of Westerlo to be exact. The farm takes its name from the creek
which runs through the back portion of the property, the Eight Mile Creek. The
Farm has been in operation since 2005, but the land this farm is managed upon
and the surrounding area has a rich agricultural history that goes back much
further! Pamela Schreiber McSweeney has revitalized the land which this farm
sits upon, and has worked tirelessly to restore it to a working farm as it had
been up until the 1950s. The original house and barns, which are still
incorporated into the Eight Mile Creek Farm operation, were erected in 1835 by
Dutch settlers. Like our farm today, the original
owners of this land practiced diversified forms of farming. The importance of
this land, this soil, is almost too great for words. We at Eight Mile Creek Farm believe
that the soil is the foundation of the farm. Soil health is constantly improved
upon. This is accomplished by rotation of livestock through the fields, cover
cropping, composting, crop rotations and soil testing. This makes for the
highest quality of grasses for our animals and the most nutrient dense
vegetables for our customers.
Pam has
successfully obtained, and continues to maintain, her USDA organic
certification, approved through the Northeast Organic Farming Association
(NOFA), providing quality and healthy foods for her customers as well as her
own family. Using methods such as cover cropping, composting, and crop/livestock
rotation, Eight Mile creek takes pride in its mission to restore and preserve
the health of the land and environment, in addition to providing healthy foods
to the surrounding communities.
Not
only health and environmentally conscious, Eight Mile Creek Farm is committed
to sustainable agricultural practices, focused on using nature as the model for
the farm and reducing purchased inputs. Sustainable food and agriculture,
according to Terma Costa (2010: 7), refers to "food and farming that
doesn't compromise the production capabilities or health of future generations.
Such systems take the natural world into consideration, and view the positive
health of the environment (soil, water, air, flora and fauna, mammals, etc.) as
critical to achieving a truly sustainable food system". So when you
purchase from our farm you can be assured that everything has been done in full
consciousness of the health and vitality of the environment, the animals of the
farm (as well as the wildlife that is teeming from the land's natural forest
growth), and those who come to enjoy our fine products!
There are many things you will find on this
farm, but equally important are the things you absolutely will not find in use.
Eight Mile Creek Farm does not use synthetic chemicals, pesticides, hormones,
medicated feeds, antibiotics, or unnatural practices for keeping livestock. Our
cows graze acres and acres of our fields, kept on rotational schedules to allow
natural re-growth of our fields. Our eggs are cage-free, and our chickens given
only the best quality waters and feed. And our pigs...well they get to be pigs!
With over 100 varieties of vegetables, melons, and herbs in our gardens in
addition to our certified organic beef, pork, chicken, and eggs, we invite you
to share in the bounty of this land and join our farm family!
Applications
for CSA share signups (or if you would simply like some further information on
the CSA contract) can be found at the Eight Mile Creek Farm official website at
http://eightmilecreekfarm.com. In addition, visit Pam at the Schenectady City Hall Farmer's
Market on Thursdays from 9-1:30, or purchase Eight Mile Creek Farm chicken and
eggs from Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany or the Niskyauna Consumers
Cooperative in Niskayuna. For an alternative farm to plate experience check out
the online farmers market, Farmie Market, where you can have Eight Mile Creek
Farm CSA shares delivered right to your door! But most of all, to show your
support for Eight Mile Creek Farm, visit the farm itself and start a healthy
dialogue! Visit our onsite Farm Store to
receive continued benefits of fresh produce, meats, and eggs that will be sure
to please and nourish you and everyone you share this alternative consumption
experience with!
Happy Eating!
* Refrences
Costa, Terma.
2010
Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat. Layton: Gibbs Smith.
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