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Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture facts for kids
| Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture | |
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Main building
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| Town/City | Pocantico Hills, New York |
| Coordinates | 41°06′14″N 73°49′44″W / 41.1039°N 73.828844°W |
| Established | 2004 |
| Area | 80 acres (320,000 m2) |
| Produces | Heirloom crops and heritage breeds of livestock |
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture is a non-profit farm and educational center located in Pocantico Hills, New York. The center was created on 80 acres (320,000 m2) formerly belonging to the Rockefeller estate. Stone Barns promotes sustainable agriculture, local food, and community-supported agriculture. Stone Barns is a four-season operation.
Stone Barns Center is also home to the Barber family's Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant that serves contemporary cuisine using local ingredients, with an emphasis on produce from the center's farm. Blue Hill staff also participate in the center's education programs.
Contents
History
Stone Barns' property was once part of Pocantico, the Rockefeller estate. The Norman-style stone barns were commissioned by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to be a dairy farm in the 1930s. The complex fell into disuse during the 1950s and was mainly used for storage. In the 1970s, agricultural activity resumed when David Rockefeller's wife Margaret "Peggy" McGrath began a successful cattle breeding operation.
Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture was created by David Rockefeller, his daughter Peggy Dulany, and their associate James Ford as a memorial for Margaret Rockefeller, who died in 1996. Stone Barns opened to the public in May 2004.
In 2008, Stone Barns opened its slaughterhouse to slaughter its livestock for plating at Blue Hill. Using their own slaughterhouse also eliminated the long and expensive drives to the closest one.
In 2017, Stone Barns published Letters to a Young Farmer, a compilation of essays and letters about the highs and lows of farming life, including Barbara Kingsolver, Bill McKibben, Michael Pollan, Temple Grandin, Wendell Berry, Rick Bayless, and Marion Nestle.
Farm
The farm at Stone Barns is a four-season operation with approximately 6 acres (24,000 m2) used for vegetable production. It uses a six-year rotation schedule in the field and greenhouse beds. The farm grows 200 varieties of produce year-round, both in the outdoor fields and gardens and in the 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) minimally heated greenhouse that capitalizes on each season’s available sunlight. Among the crops suitable for the local soil and climate are rare varieties such as celtuce, Kai-lan, hakurei turnips, New England Eight-Row Flint seed corn, and finale fennel. The farm uses no pesticides, herbicides or chemical additives, although compost is added to the soil for enrichment. The farm has a six-month composting cycle using manure, hay, and scraps from Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Livestock
Stone Barns raises chickens, turkeys, geese, sheep, pigs and bees suited to the local ecosystem. The livestock farmers try to raise animals in a manner consistent with the animals' evolutionary instincts. The chickens, turkeys, sheep and geese are raised on pastures kept healthy and productive through carefully managed rotational grazing. The sheep and pigs’ bedding packs are regularly turned and composted. Farmers who raise animals in this fashion are frequently called "grass farmers" because there is so much emphasis on the health of the pastures. Strategies for maintaining the pastures include intensive paddock management so the grazed area has ample time to recover and provide a natural refuge for birds and other wildlife, essential for the maintenance of ecological balance.
In 2018, Stone Barns began managing 300+ acres of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. The first season saw a multi-species intensive grazing program where pigs forage and consume food waste including spent grain from the Captain Lawrence brewery in Elmsford, New York. Cattle, sheep, goats, hens and ducks also graze the preserve's land.
Programs
Stone Barns offers a variety of programs for farmers, teachers and the public. Annually, the farm engages eight livestock and crops apprentices. The hands on training also includes courses on business, pollination, water and soil.
Young Farmers Conference
In 2008, Stone Barns held the first Young Farms Conference to provide inspiration and education for beginning farmers. With at least 30 percent of American farmers over 65 and only 6 percent under 35 and usually unable to purchase land, the conference aims to address farming on a smaller scale and training workshops.
Entrepreneurship Intensive for Farmers
Entrepreneurship Intensive for Farmers was founded in 2019 to teach farmers how to develop their entrepreneurial skills and integrate into their community.
Food Ed
Food Ed is an interdisciplinary curriculum that teaches high school students about the food system.
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
In spring of 2004, Blue Hill at Stone Barns opened at Stone Barns, pioneering farm-to-table dining which sources many ingredients from Stone Barns fields and pastures. In 2020, the restaurant received two stars from the Michelin Guide. Its owners, Dan, David and Laureen Barber, also own Blue Hill in New York City.
Media
Episode eight of Top Chef's fifth season was filmed at Stone Barns, where competing chefs used the restaurant's kitchen to prepare a meal for the farm's workers and their families.