LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/212613
Sustainable | LOCALadk do it in an European accent. Matt, with his long blonde hair harnessed Rambo style by a tribal print bandana, reaches for the sky and narrates the stretch with a Russian accent, replacing "the" and "da." The group giggles and raises their arms upwards. Like soccer players preparing for a game, they are a team. Each one of them important and unique in the operation of Essex Farm. They come from all over the country; California, Ohio, Arkansas and some from down the road and neighboring communities. From engineering to art schools, they are an intellectual, hard-working bunch of young agents for social change. After stretching, Kelsie and Amy head to the dairy, Cory gets ready for slaughter, Mark heads back to the office and Aubury grabs a bike from the rack. And there they go—human power of the 21st century. Mark is a tall man topping out at 6'6" with a mop of light curls he keeps tucked under a straw hat. He is a force of raw energy and ideas. Just standing next to him is inspiring. Mark grew up in the eastern Catskills after his parents abandoned a successful livelihood in New York City to become homesteaders. He earned a degree in Agricultural Science from Swarthmore College in 1994 and biked across the United States his senior year working on farms and studying different types of agriculture. In 2002, while running an organic farm in Pennsylvania, Mark met Kristin Kimball, an energetic writer from New York City who wanted to do a piece on his farm. It's a great love story—country boy captures the heart of city girl. And that's exactly what happened. In 2003, Mark and Kristin moved to Essex, NY, and started Essex Farm. Their goal was to run a year round, full diet, horse-powered Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. CSA programs began popping up in the United States during the 1980's, heavily influenced and inspired by European and Japanese agricultural practices. The basic concept of a CSA is that members pay at the beginning of the growing season for a share in the harvest. Currently, Essex Farm supplies 80 households (approximately 240 people) with grass-fed beef, pork, chicken, eggs, milk, grains, flour, herbs, maple syrup and a large variety of fruit and vegetables. Mark walks down to the barn and Jet, a shaggy black dog, follows him. "He's the farm ambassador," Mark smiles. The sun has burnt off the morning chill and the sky is a brilliant blue. The fields are alive with the rhythmic hum of insects. Mark talks about the challenges of being a farmer and the moral conflicts he has between horse power and tractors, sustainability verses time efficiency, the economy, human philosophy towards the environment, broken gear, the toll farming can take on the body and soul, how he wants to keep expanding the idea of sustainable community based agriculture he and Kristin started 10 years ago and balancing that with being a husband and father. Over the years, Essex Farm has grown exponentially and the mission has remained consistent. "We're trying to create something that does more good than harm," he explains. Mark hustles back to the farm house. He and Kristin have a lunch date with a few of their members. I stroll over to the dairy barn and poke my head in. I'm greeted by the familiar sweet musky smell of cow manure and the buzz of flies. The Jersey cows are in their stalls, compliantly mowing down on hay and swatting their tails as they wait to be milked. They have rich brown doe-like eyes with long lashes and short hair coats the range LOCALadk Magazine Fall into Winter 2013 41