Farmers rejoice in a bountiful harvest

By Edie Johnson
CHESTER — Orange County farmers have had a banner year, by (almost) all accounts. The careful grooming of fields combined with some irrigation yielded record crops, despite sporadic rain in the southeastern part of the county. Today's big farms are prepared to deal with what comes with giant rolls of plastic, spring-fed ponds, and many lengths of irrigation tubing.

The "Cider Is In" sign is up at Mark and Carol Roe's Orchards in Blooming Grove, which has many filled apple baskets besides. Roe's is famous for its apples, and has more than 10 varieties. The apples are coming in extra sweet this year, thanks to the warm days and cool nights of late summer and early fall. The orchard also had a rush on peaches and pears, along with peppers, carrots, and other veggies. Pumpkins are up too, and prominently displayed. Pies soon will make their appearance.

The farm didn't need much in the way of irrigation, Mark said, because they were able to keep moisture in the ground by spreading plastic. Proceeding down Route 94 to Chester, Bob Conklin's Pine Hill Farm in Chester may have a few of their legendary tomatoes still available (the variety is extraordinary). The farm now offers community memberships, and this year offered lots of new organic produce, including mescalun and other lettuces, herbs, raspberries, blueberries, melons, corn, zucchini, and peas. the farm's Facebook page lets you know what's ready and how much is currently on the shelf. (This week it looks like pumpkin pie.) A large painted and hand carved sign adorns the new storefront.

'This year was it'
Chris and Eve Pawelski of Goshen said they've seen their best onion crop in 18 years — a harvest all the sweeter after suffering devastating losses in the floods of 2011. Pawelski said the crop was exceptional in both number and quality, so that in the usual time-consuming sorting process they hardly came across any seconds or rejects. He gave credit to good preparation of the black dirt fields and ditches in spring, a new leveling method they tried out this year, and of course good weather, which brought just enough rain.

When not tending his fields Chris is lobbying Congress, writing his blog, tweeting to more than over 5,000 followers, and marketed his new book "Mucklands, Farm Policy, Media, and the Strange Oddities of Semi Rural Life." His new Farm Root Organization is dedicated to promoting good farm policy (www.farmroot.org).

"Every year I would say 'Next year will be the year,'" he said. "Well, this year was it."

'They all did great'
Out on Route 208 in Campbell Hall, C. Rowe and Sons practically have their own city. Located on about 400 acres, they grow produce sold at their Station Road farm, and all over the county, stocking area farm markets with corn, broccoli, potatoes, garlic, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes and squash.

Which vegetables did best this year? "All of them," Chuck Rowe said. "They all did great."

The farm also grows massive amounts of hay and straw, sometimes putting away 20,000 bales each year. But hay was the one crop that did not fare as well this year. Dry spells in the eastern portion of the county prevented much of a second cutting and no third cutting. Yet, every bale is big and of consistently good quality.

The youngest of the Rowe brothers, Bobby, made horticulture his specialty. With several greenhouses and fields full of flowers for commercial sale, the new business is booming — always under the watchful eye of Charles Rowe Sr., now in his ninth decade, who still checks on things and greets visitors from his golf cart. Bob Sr. and Chuck keep costs down by maintaining much of their own massive machinery — more than 20 massive tractors, graders, and plows. Otherwise they are working the fields, or helping with the picking, sorting, and delivery. Like most farmers, they'll do whatever needs to be done, as long as there's light to do it.

Local food, all year 'round
Local farms are more likely to share now than ever before. When one farm starts to run low on a big season favorite, it will borrow from another.

And products that can be shared year 'round are showing up in stores like Late Bloom Farm on Route 207 between Hamptonburgh and Goshen, which stocks not only its own organically grown produce, but products from farms all over the valley, including homemade organic pasta and ravioli from Roscoe, and healthy meals and ingredients from new area suppliers. From maple syrup and raw honey produced on the farm, to free range eggs, grass fed beef, pork and chicken, home-made cheeses, gluten free baked goods, pickled, dried or jammed, Late Bloom Farm has it.

Their mantra is: "Know where your food comes from."