Roxbury Farm / Hudson Valley Farm Hub
Jean-Paul Courtens and Jody Bolluyt
Kinderhook, NY
SNAPSHOT QUESTIONS
When did you start your farm?
1990
What do you produce?
Vegetables, forage, beef, pork and lamb.
How big is your farm?
400 acres, 1100 full CSA shares, 600 fruit shares, 50 head of cattle, 50 ewes with 80 lambs, 3 sows with about 25 feeders, 230 acres in grass, 100 acres dedicated to vegetables, with half of this at any given time in production and the other half in green manures.
Where is it?
Kinderhook, NY (Columbia County)
What is your soil type and topography?
100 acres in Class 1 soil Occum (alluvial floodplain) and 150 acres in Class 2 soil Knickerbocker, Hoosick, Unadilla, and Scio ranging from a well-drained sandy soil to heavy silt loam with artificial drainage installed. 150 acres in prime farmland but either in severe floodplains or with elevations that prevent it from being tillable.
Do you lease, rent or own your land?
170 acres is owned (140 tillable divided between vegetables, green manures and hay, 30 in forest and wetland), 150 acres with a 99 year ground lease (40 tillable divided between vegetables green manure and hay, 80 in sod and 30 in forest), and 80 acres with short term leases (35 tillable with 15 in vegetables, 20 in severe flood plain and 10 in forest).
What are your markets?
CSA 85%, farmers market 10%, restaurants 5%.
IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS
What made you want to start your farm? What was your dream?
I wanted to farm since I quit college. It took me ten years to have the opportunity to do this. My dream was to create a place where equity and ecology would be equally addressed, as they are interrelated.
How were you involved in farming before you started your own farm?
I homesteaded for two years before returning to college and study biodynamic agriculture at a technical school. After graduation I managed two vegetable operations, one in Minnesota at a Camphill Village and the other at Hawthorne Valley Farm.
How did you secure land and capital for your farm?
I was able to rent land (that could immediately be certified organic) and buildings. I secured a loan with a local back with a family member co-signing and securing this. I had no capital when I started Roxbury Farm.
What problems did you run into in the planning stages?
None.
What did your farm look like in year one?
I raised 4 acres of vegetables for wholesale outlets primarily focusing on lettuce, microgreens and tomatoes.
What were some challenges that you didn’t expect to have and how did you deal with them?
Organic wholesaling was small and I dealt with small distributors. 1990 was the year that a large West Coast distributor aimed for monopoly on the East Coast, driving wholesale prices down by 65%. I quickly had to adapt my marketing strategy and switched from organic outlets to high-end restaurant wholesalers and institutions (the Omega Institute and the Culinary Institute).
What were some indicators in the beginning stages that made you optimistic for your farm’s success?
It was a hard year, we paid off the loan but the markets looked grim. Opening up the institutional market was a good thing and both the Omega and the CIA were pioneers in purchasing local and appreciating our quality and price.
What have been some landmark events in your farm’s development? (equipment purchases, strategic decision, markets, etc.)
In 1991 we developed a relationship with a group of eaters in NYC and started a CSA initiative that was followed by another in the Capital District.
Was there a point when you felt your farm became “established?”
Yes, by 1995 I was able to not have to work during the winter months as a carpenter or electrician to make ends meet.
How have your goals changed?
Not much, they have always been based on Social Threefolding, a philosophy towards social renewal from the perspective of anthroposophy.
How have you been successful? (financial, production, quality of life, etc.)
We do well — we have been able to purchase land, buildings, housing, livestock, and a fleet of equipment. We provide a living wage and housing to most of our employees. Having created systems on our farm has enabled me to pursue another lifelong dream which is to teach the next generation of farmers.
Who or what can you credit for your successes?
My mentors and formal education. But having said this I will take some credit by having the innate ability to be practical and systematic, that I have been honest and brought integrity to my work and work with others, that I was able to communicate my vision to others; that I collaborated with seemingly unlikely and likely partners, and that I never bothered saving money to buy a farm (and select high paying jobs unrelated to farming) but choosing good mentor farmers instead and focusing all my energy on trying to become excellent at farming and understanding the farming business.
What challenges does your farm face now and in the future?
CSA and farmers markets are in decline and we need to diversify our markets. Also with the food safety law being implemented we will need to make a sizable investment in a washing and packing facility.
Where do you see your farm in five years?
Pretty close to where we are today, with a few new market outlets, a new packing and storage facility. The farm will be managed no longer by me and Jody but by a management team to provide greater quality of life.
What advice would you give to beginning farmers?
Pretty much the same what my economics professor told us graduates by warning us to not worry too much about financing a farm and to refrain from trying to save up to buy one, as farming without employing good techniques and social skills is the best way to lose a lot of money in a short amount of time; to instead become good at what we like doing most, by becoming excellent at communicating our ideas to others, as money tends to flow to good ideas and good execution.
More on Roxbury Farm:
roxburyfarm.com
More on the Hudson Valley Farm Hub:
hvfarmhub.org
From the 2015 Young Farmers Preconference — “This Is How We Do It: Learning From Successful Farm Models.”
Originally published on March 14, 2016
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