Glynwood Farm:  An Ecological Unit
by Ken Kleinpeter, Director of Farm & Facilities

The Farm is an ecological unit, a place where we constantly strive to better use our resources, where we intertwine the various enterprises in ways consistent with biological systems, which in turn create a more productive operation. 

Glynwood Farm’s heritage stretches back to the 1700s. For much of its history the farm specialized in dairy, and for some time milk from Glynwood was ferried crossed the Hudson River to supply the Military Academy at West Point.  Like most farms of its era, the Glynwood operation was also very diversified, producing beef, lamb, pork, eggs, fruit and vegetables, as well as milk.  

Today, as agriculture has become a key programmatic focus at Glynwood Center, the farm is being revitalized. Approximately 125 acres of Glynwood’s 225 acre site is available for farming. The heart of the new operation is pasture-based beef production, featuring Black Angus cattle which are being selected to thrive on pasture alone. As we build our herd, we will help raise the visibility of the Hudson Valley as a place that is ideally suited for the production of pasture-based meats, for which there is a rapidly expanding market. 

We also have a small herd of Ancient White Park cattle, a rare breed that produces a distinctive meat without any grain supplement. We are helping to save this breed whose history can be traced back nearly 2000 years. As we build the herd, we will develop a premium market for the beef, and sell breeding stock to other farmers in the Hudson Valley who would like to raise these beautiful cattle. The White Parks are genetically quite distinct from most modern breeds, so they are valuable for maintaining genetic diversity. 

The pastures and hayfields are organically managed using intensive rotational grazing, and are home to a small herd of sheep and a herd of Boer meat goats, which have been brought in to help control brushy invasive plants such as Multiflora Rose and Japanese Barberry on parts of the farm where mechanical mowing is not possible. 

Experimentation with the goats for brush control started last summer as we used portable, solar powered electric fence to enclose small areas of very overgrown old pastures. We have found that the goats happily devour most of the undesirable species, and have helped reclaim areas that were long overtaken. We are documenting our experience as we go forward and will share our knowledge with others as we learn. 

A flock of nearly 300 hens also has its place in the rotation. Some of the hens make their home in our new Mobile Henhouse which is built on wheels to allow for easy rotation to fresh grass, producing superior eggs that are in great demand in local restaurants and markets. Several breeds of chicken make up the flock, including the Araucana, which lay beautiful blue/green eggs. Our Rhode Island Reds produce dark brown colored eggs, and the White Leghorns’ white shelled eggs round out our “rainbow layers”. 

A small herd of Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs and pasture raised meat chickens round out the livestock operation at Glynwood. Many of the young piglets are sold to Mike zzi of Flying Pig Farm, the leading heritage breed pork producer in New York, if not the entire United States. We will also finish some pigs here at Glynwood for use by our caterers and for sale to the local community.

In 2006 Glynwood started a small CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) which has helped to again connect the farm with the local community. The market garden is being expanded so that the CSA can grow in the coming years. 

During the year, we also provide a series of hands-on training sessions on topics of interest to farmers who want to diversify and others with a more general interest. Workshops have included Beekeeping – Spring and Fall; Choosing and Caring for Fruit Trees and Fruit Tree Pruning. (If you would like to be on the list for notice of future training programs, please click here.) 

The spring shearing of the sheep also provides the centerpiece of Glynwood’s annual Spring Celebration.  Spinners, weavers and knitters demonstrate how the wool is spun, woven and knit.  Rodney Dow, a board member who also serves as Glynwood’s Master Beekeeper, provides an introduction to our hives.  Farm and garden tours and other special events complete the day.  (If you would like to be on the invitation list for next year’s event, click here.)  

To accommodate our growing livestock population and changes in equipment storage needs, we are planning to add a new livestock shelter/birthing area and storage facility.  We are currently examining the options of adding a wing to the existing barn, which is the way barns traditionally grew, or siting a new barn.  We are also exploring the possibility of developing new, programmatic uses for the existing barn.  A recent workshop with barn restorers, engineers and architects confirmed our assumption that the existing barn was probably build in the 1860s or 1870s.  All agreed that the space has a cathedral-like quality.  The mystery – which is yet to be solved – is why the barn was built on such a lofty scale.