Farm Camping

Little Katie thrasher is learning something on the farm today. As she stands with a camp counselor they listen to Peanut the pony’s heartbeat, “Good job. Okay stand peanut. Tell her to stand. Stand. You ready to take a listen?

While Katie is learning about Peanut the pony’s heartbeat, she’s also learning about the “heart” it takes to run Springdale Farm in Ogden, New York. Located on 200 acres of Western New York farm ground, Springdale’s mission is educating visitors about exactly what it takes to keep a farm going. 

This part of the state is rich with farms, but like many areas of the U.S., people living in larger cities like Buffalo and Rochester have lost their connection with agriculture.

Heather Chasman is part of Heritage Christian Services which oversees the farm, “Most children today are at least three or four generations away from living on a farm.  Uh. I often ask our- you know, our school children that come in when we do our guided tours, raise your hand if anyone lives on a farm.  And I don't get too many hands that are raised. 

Now, if I asked, do- do your grandparents live on a farm, I might get one or two hands.” More than 40-thousand people visit Springdale each year…though school trips, day camps or just families stopping by on a warm summer afternoon. The farm is owned by the county of Monroe, New York.  

It features a petting zoo, crops like rye and barley, a flower garden, walking trails…and then there’s Ricky the ½ ton cheese-doodle eating pig. Heather says, “Ricky is about as gentle as a kitten because he was uhm actually born here and he was handled as a very small piglet, and he will still roll over on his back and let you pet his belly.  But he's too tough for meat, so he will always be safe here at Springdale Farm.”

One of the highlights of the farm is a high tech robotic milking machine; one of just a handful in the U.S.  Robert Colby is a dairy farmer whose cows are milked by the robotic milking machine. “Now this doesn’t hurt the cow at all. It actually gives her relief.”
    
His 60 dairy cows are kept here in space he rents from the farm, “So I rent the barn just like if I rented it from somebody else. The cows are mine, the feed bill's mine, the vets bills, my headache's mine.  And right- the milk check's mine when it's good.  The milk check's mine when it's not so good.  But- so hopefully I can turn a little profit on it and uh..- and give me some time to communicate with the general public. We're surrounded basically by an urban population.  The urban population wants to understand agriculture; they want to understand their food.”

The Mallaber family lives in nearby town.  Both children, Roan and Avery have attended Springdale farm camp. Dad, John Mallaber likes the atmosphere, ‘It’s just good for kids to have other things to do besides sports or just going to their local camp. It’s something different. This year he came with a bunch of friends as well, and they all had a really good time. And it’s just something different and educational.”

Someday Katie Thrasher will be old enough to attend Springdale’s kids’ camps.  But for now she has to learn about it from her older twin sisters Vicky and Lizzy. Vicky says, “I think the trick is taking good care of your animals. And realizing what they want. Like how your actions are.” Vicky and Lizzy spent time in the barnyard, but also had a wade in the nearby ravine. Very nice on a warm summer day. 
 
Educating non-farming folks about agriculture isn’t the only mission for Springdale Farms.  The Heritage Christian Services also provides rehabilitation for folks with developmental disabilities. The farm is one of eleven rehabilitation sites in the county where Heritage clients either volunteer or are employed.  Today two clients are greeting visitors to the petting zoo. 

Heather Chasman says, “So, it's really a- you know, a two-way uh... benefit for not only our residents that we serve being able to feel that they're part of uh... society and the community and are- are supporting it uhm... because they have a sense of ownership here at the farm as well, they're a part of what we do here, but, in addition, it's inclusion, it's showing the general public that these people can do useful things in society.” Robert Colby agrees, “It really becomes a win-win for all the partners involved.”

Interesting Ag Facts

Those learning about agriculture may be surprised to know that pumpkin was once considered a good way to get rid of freckles and treat snake bites. Americans eat almost ten times more broccoli than we did a generation ago. And did you know that lettuce is a member of the sunflower family!