Starry Ridge Farm
Local Food During Uncertain Times
by Doug La Rocque
A visit to Starry Ridge Farm in Petersburgh will make you think you have taken a trip back in time, to when farming was mostly done by hand with simple home fashioned tools, until you take a moment to sit down with Kolin Buzerak and Kat Ragone at their Fred Moon Road location.
The vegetables are grown on a hillside, along with beautiful wild flowers. Not too much flat land along the Taconic Ridge. You won’t see large amounts of the latest farm equipment, but Kolin and Kat are very much into researching what methods agricultural science has shown to produce the best and perhaps tastiest yields, organically of course. This along with a lot of old fashioned hard work.
For Kolin, it is also a return to the past. He tells The Eastwick Press his parents bought the farm many years ago, and in 2010, he opened his first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) business. That lasted for a few years, and then he got the urge to travel. It was on those travels he met Kat, and they returned to his roots to try their hand at a CSA again. So far, so good. Kolin tells us only a few spots remain for 2021.
Growing vegetables and berries is not the only component of their farm. Kolin and his brother Dave are also busy this time of year making maple syrup. Kat is looking forward to adding bouquets of her cut flowers to the mix. They are working on their apples trees (lots of them) from which the apples are mostly used in the production of hard cider. And, of course, there is Forsythia, their heifer calf. A significant part of our conversation centered around their six Randall cattle, which originated in Southern Vermont, but are one of the rarest American breeds and are critically endangered. Kolin and Kat hope their small starter heard will help to bring back the breed’s numbers, all while helping to manage their grasslands and make organic compost.
Spreading The Word
Again, their future plans are a mix of the old and new. The pair recently purchased an old delivery van which they are renovating and hope to use to take the bounty from their fields (vegetable, berries and flowers) to the city for sale.
They are even considering a time tested roadside stand. But they are not neophytes when it comes to digital marketing either. Their Facebook and Instagram sites are alive with pictures and updated frequently. They give a complete history, a layout of what is happening at Starry Ridge and a look at the farm’s future. And, of course, a full explanation of a CSA and how to join.
This interview was conducted on the first real warm sunny day in early spring, sitting on the deck of the couple’s cabin, enjoying the scenery and the peace a mountainside being tended to as nature would like brings to one’s soul. Perhaps it is time to let Kolin and Kat help bring the serenity of their farm to you.
To join the Starry Ridge Farm 2021 CSA:
Email: starryridgefarm@gmail.com
Phone: (508) 292-3800
Instagram: @starryridgefarm
Facebook: Starry Ridge Farm
Sign ups end April 15! Get your spot now!