Hudson Valley Farmers are the backbone of this beautiful region.

Growing up in the city, I naively thought that farms were located elsewhere. I never imagined that the fruits and vegetables that I ate on a daily basis came from just a few hours from my home.

Even after going apple picking several times, I never really thought of those places as ‘farms’.

Why are Hudson Valley Farmers so important?

The list of Hudson Valley Farms seems endless.

Growing up in the city, I would have never imagined that there would be so many farms so close to the city.

From Main Street to the local farm market and farm stand, Hudson Valley farmers are both small farmers and large farmers.

From acres and acres of land to

An interview with several Hudson Valley Farmers

I will preface this by saying that I know Hudson Valley Farmers are very busy.

I contacted each fruit farm in the region and some declined to participate in my little interview or did not respond to me at all.

The list and responses below were happily accepted from several wonderful Hudson Valley Farms.

And without further ado, let’s find out more about the wonderful tradition of farming and being a Hudson Valley Farmer in the 21st century:

Chatham Berry Farm

• When did you open your business?
  • I started planting in 1982 so 39 years ago

• What makes you unique/special in your community?
  • we are a no pesticide farm  which mean no organic pesticides also , no herbicides fungicides, or insecticides.  we have many varities of strawberries which we pick from early june to early october. we have 2 greenhouses full of rasberries to start our season off early june picking and end our seasnon  late october picking, we have yellow, red, purple, black raspberries, we have blueberries that we start picking july 1 to mid september, we have red, white,pink currants, red, and white goosberries,  blackberries, and just planting some elderberries   we are full service garden center hanging baskets, and vegtable start you can think off, berry plants,150 types of herbs, and almost any flower you can come up with  annual or perennial
  • the store also has a full fledged meat and seafood department, whick makes their own sausages and etc, and a large commercial kitchen where we makes, soups, sauces salads etc.

• What do you offer for ‘u-pick’ experiences?  
  • blueberries, red and yellow and purple rasp, and blackberries are offered for u-pick deom july 1 to end of october

• When does your season typically run?
  • we are open year round   berry season starts end of may to almost nov 1st   If you are open all year long, then what do you offer during the typical ‘off-season’?  full  grocery store withmany organic and gluen free items, large meat and seafood department, local turkeys, at thanksgiving, local and regional meats, local eggs, and 100 Plus local cheeses and other dairy products, house plants galore  maybe if you have the time come a visit and a tour…check out the facebook page and instigram pages and the website  that will give yo a better idea on who and what we are

Oh and the Greenhouse Cidery  we make our own hard cider and have the cidery opening back the first weekend in may Yummy Food Kichen will be here about 3 to 4 nights a week and if covid loosens its grips a bvit  friday nights will hopefully be band nights again

As one of own slogans says…we are more than just berries…the other slogan is  your everyday farmers market   hope to here back from you

Fishkill Farms

• When did you open your business?
  • Fishkill farms was founded in 1913 by Henry Morgenthau Jr.  In addition to a fruit orchard, the farm was originally a dairy, chicken and vegetable farm. Over time, apples became the main focus, and by the 1950s, the farm was selling tens of thousands of bushels a year to local markets. When Henry passed away in the 1960s, the core of the farm operation, its barns and 270 acres of orchard, were passed on to his son, Robert Morgenthau. Over the years, Robert guided the orchard away from a wholesale operation toward a diversified farm. With manager Ray Morris, the farm began opening its doors to the public and allowing customers to pick their own fruit. They planted peaches, plums, cherries, pears, and berries to extend the pick-your-own season.  Ray retired in 1996. Without a successor to manage day-to-day operations, and facing a long decline in the profitability of New York State farming, Robert had no choice but to lease the orchard out to other growers. In 2008, the farm began to turn around again and see new opportunity. Eager to see the farm remain productive and vital for years to come, Robert and his son Josh decided to take the operation’s management back into the family again. Since then, Josh has overseen farm’s revival and has continued diversification while transitioning to organic practices. In 2016, the farm received organic certification through NOFA NY for its vegetables, berries, eggs, and around half of its apple orchards while the remainder of apples and stone fruit are Eco-Certified. 

• What makes you unique/special in your community?
  • We’re proud to say that all of our vegetables, berries and farm-fresh eggs are certified organic, as well as one-third of our orchard. In fact, we’re one of the few farms to grow organic berries and apples for pick-your-own in the whole state! The remainder of our apples, stone fruit and pears are grown with an ecological approach and certified Eco Apple by Red Tomato. It’s an approach that’s close to organic and combines the best of modern farming and traditional techniques.
  • A whole lot of care and attention goes into growing our produce this way. From hanging pheromone ties to keep pests in our orchards at bay, to wood-chip mulching, or fine powdered clay which camouflages our fruit from insect pests, ecological farming is much more labor intensive. In the end, the rewards of protecting our eco-system and the (literal) fruits of this labor far outweigh the costs. Our farm is healthier, we use fewer fossil fuels, and we think the produce tastes better too!

• What do you offer for ‘u-pick’ experiences?
  • We grow a diverse array of pick-your-own fruits and veggies. Keep in mind, not every year is the same. Some crops thrive while others may fail or be very limited.
  • The list of seasonal PYO items is as follows:Certified Organic: Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, some apples, peas, kale, chard, collards, summer squash, tomatoes (cherry, heirloom, red & paste), eggplants, sweet & hot peppers, flowers, herbs, and winter squash/pumpkins.
  • Eco-certified or Ecollocically Grown: Cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, pears (Asian and European) and apples. 
  • We now require pre-paid pick-your-own packages to participate in PYO, which can be made on the pick-your-own page of our website when we have fruit & vegetables available to pick. 

• When does your season typically run? If you are open all year long, then what do you offer during the typical ‘off-season’?
  • The pick-your-own season kicks off in early June starting with our juicy organic strawberries in the spring, continues through the summer with eco-certified cherries and peaches as well as organic tomatoes and culminates with apples and pumpkins in the fall. We’re usually all out of pick-your-own items by the second week in November.

• Our Farm Store and the Treasury Cider Bar remain open throughout the year. During the holiday season, we take turkey, pie and harvest box orders for Thanksgiving. We also sell pre-cut Christmas Trees and host a Holiday Fair with Santa in attendance! The Treasury Cider Bar remains open for cider tastings, glasses and cheese plates. In addition to a Summer/Fall CSA, we host a Winter CSA program that continues December through February. 
  • You can also find us at our Farmers Markets! Carroll GardensGreenmarket in Brooklyn is every Sunday year-round and the TaSH Market is every Saturday from Memorial Day weekend to the weekend before Thanksgiving. 

Fix Bros Fruit Farm

• When did you open your business? 
  • Our business was established in 1899.  We are a 5th Generation Fruit Farm.

• What makes you unique/special in your community? 
  • Longevity and also we have Pick Your Own fruits available that are harder to find.  For example, we have the Black Sour Cherries, also known as English Morello. 

• What do you offer for ‘u-pick’ experiences? 
  • We offer a fair price for our fruit, Very nice Staff, and beautiful views as well as quality fruit.  During Apple season, we have a Hay Ride and Corn Maze (although could not do that last year due to COVID)  We have other products available like Honey, Maple Syrup and home made Jams (during apple time)

• When does your season typically run?
  • Our PYO Sweet Cherry season starts end of June.  From there we have Red Sours, Black Sours, Peaches then in September, Apples, Pears and Pumpkins.

• If you are open all year long, then what do you offer during the typical ‘off-season’? 
  • We are open during the seasons from End of June – Middle of October.

Halfway Acres

• When did you open your business?
  • in 2013 – we are a low key, small, family operated farmYou can read our story here www.HalfwayAcres.com

• What makes you unique/special in your community?
  • We are one of the very few, if not only, USDA Certified Organic U-Pick Blueberry Farms in Orange County. Strictly U-Pick and strictly blueberries.

• What do you offer for ‘u-pick’ experiences?
  • We offer a very clean, safe, affordable and truly organic u-pick experience that is spacious and feels more like you are picking berries in your friend’s backyard. than a large commercial farm. We use a reservation system that limits the amount of people coming onto the farm at any particular time. This ensures that those coming out to the farm will have plenty of berries to pick and the time, space and opportunity to experience nature without feeling overwhelmed by too many people. 

• When does your season typically run?
  • end of June and most of July – we have a short season – we are only open 4-5 weeks at the most. 

• If you are open all year long, then what do you offer during the typical ‘off-season’?
  • We are not open outside of blueberry season. There is a small window of opportunity to experience what we offer and only so many reservation spots 🙂

Love Apple Farm

We are open all year long…

7 days a week excluding major holidays: Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

• When did you open your business? What makes you unique/special in your community?
  • The farm has been a family destination since 1969 with a small zoo and playground area for the kids!

• When does your season typically run?
  • Upick Season is from late June to end of October–this is a major event for us and draws large crowds on the weekends.

Our farmer’s market boasts over 25 farming partners with local and organic fruit and vegetables. It should be noted that we follow CDC guidelines and expect all visitors and/or customers to wear face masks on our property (including outdoors).

Jenkins Lueken Farm

• When did you open your business?
  • Our business was started around 1940.

• What makes you unique/special in your community?
  • We grow fruits and vegetables and are open year round.

• What do you offer for ‘u-pick’ experiences?
  • We have strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples, peaches, pumpkins, grapes, and this year will be adding vegetables and flowers for u-pick.

• When does your season typically run?
  • June through October

• If you are open all year long, then what do you offer during the typical ‘off-season’?
  • After u-pick season we have all your Thanksgiving vegetable needs. We sell Christmas tree’s and wreaths. And we have Grass Fed Beef, many snacks, nuts, dried fruit, etc. Fruit Baskets. Jelly’s, local honey and syrup. And our own pressed cider. As well as cider doughnuts. We have a bakery with homemade apple pies, various other fruit pies, apple-raisin-walnut cake, brownies, cookies, and many varieties of bread. We have fruit and vegetables in the store year round. We have cider slushies spring through fall and hot cider in the fall and winter. We sell flowers and fruit tree’s in the spring and summer. We’re dog friendly.

Hurd’s Farm

• When did you open your business?
  • Susan Hurd started the pick your own business 27 years ago, but the Hurd family has been farming in Clintondale since 1894.

• What makes you unique/special in your community?
  • Our farm’s mission is to create unique outdoor farm experiences for families to come and make memories. Local families have been coming to our farm for generations and we have become part of their traditions. When creating our activities we want them to be fun for all ages as well as rooted in agriculture. We host discounted community days, a community trick or treating event and donate a tremendous amount of apples to our local food bank. Many of the local high school students come to our farm for their 1st job and then return each fall followed by their younger siblings. Our family is constantly researching innovative growing practices that are rooted in regenerative agriculture and sustainable solutions. 

• What do you offer for ‘u-pick’ experiences?
  • In the fall guests can come pick apples and pumpkins. We have over 24 varieties of apples and pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. Along with picking your own produce on our 120 acre farm there are activities the whole family will love, nature trails, a farm to table cafe and delicious hot apple cider donuts. One of our most popular kids activities is the cow train ride, and this year we are planning to add an apple bin train ride. 

• When does your season typically run?
  • The heart of our season is September & October, but we do have special events in the spring/summer along with private site rentals. Summer camps love to visit our farm because they have the place to themselves. 5. If you are open all year long, then what do you offer during the typical ‘off-season’? We are constantly thinking up new and exciting events. So far in 2021 we had a Meet the Easter Bunny event in April, Apple Blossom Festival in May and Baby Farm Animal with Photo Op Nature Trail is scheduled for June. We are also hosting Mommy and Me Summer Camp in July and August this year.

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