The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
OPEN FARM DAY
Local farms highlight their products, animals, and service at the annual showcase
“People are starting to realize the importance of bison. They’re heritage animals.”
— Joseph Lazarsky, one of the owners of Empire Buffalo in Chittenango
CHITTENANGO, N.Y. » The 10th annual Open FarmDay had people cruising across Madison County to visit 38 farms looking to show off who they are, what they have and where they’re going.
The Open FarmDay showcase event has become an annual tradition made possible through the Agriculture Economic Development offerings at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Madison County and gives farmers a chance to interact with people beyond just the farmers market.
Joseph Lazarsky, one of the owners of Empire Buffalo in Chittenango, spent the day talking with folks about the history of bison in North America and its impact on history.
“There were 30 million bison when the white man showed up and we got them down to 1,000 by the turn of the century,” Lazarsky said. “There’s only about 400,000 to 500,000 in the coun-
try right now, but they were the protein that built this nation. They fed the railroad workers. Wild Bill Cody, Buffalo Bill, his first job was to kill 30 bison a day to feed the railroad workers. People are starting to realize the importance of bison. They’re heritage animals.”
Empire Buffalo started in 2010 when Lazarsky bought the property. His wife Aileen Randolph thought he was crazy. But after crunching the numbers, she found it could actually work. Now, it’s the sixth year Empire Buffalo has participated in Open Farm Day and lets folks see the bison, taste a bison burger and take some home with them.
“It’s a good time here at Empire Buffalo. We have music, good food and buffalo dancing around,” Lazarsky said. “It’s a rare thing for people to see buffalo this close, especially a herd like this. At a zoo, you see one or two, but here? You can see how they interact as a herd. Open Farm Day is a great edu-tainment event. People are entertained and educated.”
Jean and Dave Melton of Cazenovia learned about Empire Buffalo three years ago during Open Farm Day and have been customers since, getting meat when they can.
“Bison is so different. The texture, the grain, the taste and the fact it’s healthier. It’s really lean. I’ma deer hunter and I like it more than venison,” Dave said.
Empire Buffalowasn’t the Meltons’ only stop planned for the day.
Jean said she and Dave look forward to Open Farm Day every year and they planned on going to at least three other farms before the day ended; not just for the product or produce, but also what they can learn.
“It’s a learning experience. We have our own garden and make a lot of our own food. The knowledge we get talking to the farmers gives us good tips to do it ourselves and be as self sufficient aswe can,” Dave said. “We’ve learned a lot.”
Among the farms participating this year was Stone Brothers Farm and Greenhouse, a farmthat does a little bit of everything; from dairy and beef to their garden center and greenhouse. Patrons can stop by and pick up some fresh beef, produce, honey, maple syrup and more.
“The farm actually started in 1973 bymy father and uncle after they moved from Westboro, Mass. I started the greenhouse in 1988,” Tom Stone Jr. said.
Stone, with his brothers Joe, Charles and Andrew, run all 480 acres. “When we first started out, wewere wholesale growing bedding plants for Ames department stores and local Agways,” Stone said. “As they disappeared, we had empty greenhouse space. We were trying to figure out what to do with it and I had an interest in hydroponics. When we had to replace two of the older greenhouses, I decided to take the floor out of them and use the floors for vegetable production.”
The Stone Brothers use their greenhouses to grow year round, which can be challenging, Stone said. Trying to keep the greenhouses warm in the winter months year round does turn into quite a bit of expense. Stone Brothers primarily used wood heating to keep the greenhouses warm, but now use a combination wood and propane heating.
Stone Brothers has participated in Open Farm Day off and on for the last 10 years, but Stone said they usually do when they have new things to show.
“The vegetable greenhouse is new this year,” Stone said. “That’ll go into greens aswe get into winter. We’ll grow lettuce greens and spinach and we’re converting another greenhouse to do the same thing, except to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.”
Linda Salter, of DeRuyter, has been a patron of Stone Brothers for around three years and found it wonderful to walk around the greenhouse.
“It’s a big commitment to grow year round in this climate, but I’m sure they’ll be wonderful,” Salter said. “I try to buy local as much as I can. The Stone Brothers Farm has been coming to the farmers market in Hamilton and Cazenovia for the winter market and they have vegetables almost all year-round.”
Salter said she tends not to eat things she can’t buy locally and the idea of having fresh grown cucumbers and tomatoes all year round is something she finds appealing.
Salter has been a participant ofOpen FarmDay since the first one 10 years ago and she tries to prioritize farms that aren’t open every year and new participants.
“I keep coming back to Open Farm Day because of the contactwith peoplewho grow the food that makes us feel healthy,” Salter said. “In the last two years, I’ve changed our diet to healthy local food, mostly vegetables and farm raised beef and lamb. I feel so much better.”