Farm to Table Tour Visits

The Farm to Table Tour on Sunday made for a spectacularly beautiful day to be out in the Mohawk Valley. White puffy clouds, blues skies, and green fields all combined for wonderful views across the valley. A perfect day to visit local farms and learn more about the produce they offer the local community.

The Farm To Table Tour was first developed for Fulton and Montgomery County farms in 2022. Organizers from Dream Road Farm Store and the Plaid Farm Store have worked really hard to bring the it all together. The core idea continues with connecting consumers to the local farms for one day a year so people can see where their food comes from. Visitors have the opportunity to tour farms and learn more about local agriculture along with the farm families. We had the opportunity to meet folks from several local farms in Montgomery County.

Crum Creek Meats, St. Johnsville, NY

Farm to Table Tour 2023, Crum Creek CSA, Handy Hill Farm, St. Johnsville, NY

Our first stop was Crum Creek Meats in St.Johnsville, NY. Crum Creek is a Diary farm operated by Israel and Stacey Handy. They come from a long line of farmers being at least the eighth generation to work this farm.

Stacey and her daughter Elizabeth, and Yard Boss Brownie gave a tour to show us the the heifers and milking cows with a visit to the manger where the recently born calves were kept.

Crum Creek sells beef, pork and chicken, out of their farm store with preorders available through Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, subscriptions. More details and current pricing are available on their website.

New to the Farm Tour, Crum Creek, is happy to be part of it this year. “This is a way for the local people to realize that within driving distance, they can go buy fresh produce, fresh meat, and fresh dairy products. A lot of people call ahead we just meet them here to give them their orders.”

After the farm tour, folks are encouraged to call and place their meat orders and arrange for pickup. There’s almost always someone available at the farm store.

Sandy Handy reminded us that, “We have a website with a contact button and people can call me, text me, email me, people are welcome to stop by, but we’re not always around because we’re in the field.”

Damin Farm, St. Johnsville, NY

We next stopped in at Damin Farm in St. Johnsville. Damin Farm is a second generation farm raising beef, pork and chicken. They also grow seasonal vegetables. We met farmer Steve Damin and he’s been farming here since 1957.

During our visit, Steve, his daughter and grandson, were all on hand to greet visitors, answer questions and help folks make selections. They also offered some delicious Pastrami sandwiches which we couldn’t help but take back with us for lunch.

This was Steve Damin’s second year on the Farm Tour saying that, “We have beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, and processed foods. We’re open year round, usually from 7am to 5-6pm, seven days a week. If no one is in the store, just call the number on the door.”

Farm to Table Tour 2023, Damin Farm, St. Johnsville, NY

Steve is able to sell his products direct to consumers every day through the onsite farm store. The store is open everyday and customers can stop in any time to pick up what they need.

Hu-Hill Farm, Fort Plain, NY

Our third stop on the Farm to Table Tour was Hu-Hill Farm is an organic dairy farm specializing in grass-feed beef, pork, eggs, vegetables, and maple syrup, all made directly on the farm.

At Hu-Hill we got a walk through tour of the milking parlor, got to meet the young pigs and chickens, and were introduced to the goats.  Hu-Hill Farm has an onsite farm store which is open during the day and they are well stocked with meats, veggies, and other produce. A unique feature of the store is the big window that looks into the milking parlor. Visitors can watch the cows come in and the whole milking process while shopping.

Julia Hudyncia-Davis shared, “I am a part owner with my parents, Rob and Shirley Hudyncia, along with my brother and sister-in-law, Ryan and Megan Hudyncia. On our farm we milk a registered herd of Holstein cows, we sell our milk to Organic Valley. We have an organic grass-fed beef herd and an organic produce and garden greenhouse. At our farm store you’ll find everything to cuts of beef, cuts of pork, hot dogs, maple syrup, honey and seasonal produce.

Julia added that, “The Tour is a reverse Farmers’ Market, so we’re brining all of the people that would come to a traditional farmers’ market to our farms. I think we live in a special place in New York where we have a lot of people producing quality food out of their farms.”

Hu-Hill Farm, The Hudyncia Family, Dairy of Distinction, Fort Plain, NY

All of the farms we visited were welcoming and happy to see visitors and consumers ready to learn more about what they do and what they offer for fresh produce to local residents. This was just one special day to highlight our local farms. We left with plenty of meats, eggs and vegetables to enjoy. Honestly, we look forward to making a habit out of shopping for fresh produce at these and other farm stores located throughout the Mohawk Valley.