Reinventing a dairy farm

 

Willow Marsh Farm in Ballston, N.Y., had been a conventional dairy operation until a new generation of family owners began making cheese and Greek yogurt and shifted to retail sales of raw milk. Joan K. Lentini photo

 

By STACEY MORRIS
Contributing writer

BALLSTON, N.Y.

Despite its out-of-the-way location in the bucolic hills of southwestern Saratoga County, business was brisk and steady on a weekday morning at Willow Marsh Farm.

Customers walked through the large, wooden door of the farm store, with nearly all of them making a beeline for coolers holding the farm’s dairy products. Especially popular were the gallons and half-gallons of Willow Marsh’s signature bestseller: raw milk.

By noon, owner Chuck Curtiss was standing in front of the milk coolers with a flat pull-wagon carrying a new supply of just-bottled milk. A customer breezed in and eagerly headed to the wagon.

“They’re not labeled yet,” he pointed out.
“That’s OK, she said. “I’ll take one anyway.”
Chuck’s wife, Sara Curtiss, was running the cash register.
“That’s a pretty common reaction,” she said. “People love our milk.”

Also courtesy of the cows in residence at Willow Marsh are coolers filled with yogurt and various hard cheeses.

Willow Marsh’s farm store has been serving the community for 13 years, but the farm, now in its fifth generation, began as a homestead farm in the 1840s when the property’s original house was built. Eventually it grew into a prosperous dairy farm.

“Chuck’s dad raised dairy cows, many more than we have now,” Sara explained. “He sold milk to Stewart’s shops when they were first growing in this area.”

The father, also known as Chuck, never fully retired and still helps out with farm duties. But the younger Chuck bought the family business and decided 14 years ago to expand the retail offerings beyond milk with the addition of Greek yogurt and cheese.

The move proved well timed, Sara explained. Shortly afterward, Stewart’s stopped buying milk from Willow Marsh as the store chain opted to collect its milk from a smaller number of larger farms.

Then came the big leap for Willow Marsh: switching from pasteurized milk to raw. The change gave the farm a product with devoted fans — and one that isn’t available from other micro-dairies in the surrounding region.

Public health officials stress that pasteurization is still the best way to protect milk from illness-causing pathogens like E.coli, listeria and salmonella. But devotees of raw milk say pasteurization, which involves heating milk to high temperatures, also results in a loss of flavor, vitamin and protein levels and may make milk more difficult to digest. Some say pasteurized milk may even contribute to health problems such as allergies and asthma.

Sara Curtiss said the transition to on-the-farm raw milk sales was a smooth one.
“The regulations associated with holding a New York state raw milk permit are mainly about cleanliness and good sanitation,” she said. “We don’t see them as being a challenge to follow. Raw milk has been available for sale in New York state since 2013, but it can only be sold on the farm on which it’s produced.”

Producers are required to follow the state’s raw milk sales permit procedures, such as monthly inspections and testing for pathogens.

“The regulations are to protect the public from getting sick, and we have no problem with following them,” Curtiss said. “Chuck believes these are good habits all dairy farmers should be following regardless of whether they are selling raw milk or if it’s going someplace to be pasteurized.”

In addition to containing bio-available vitamins, minerals, amino acids and good gut bacteria, Curtiss said raw milk contains the enzyme needed to digest milk proteins.

“Our customers come in quite often to say they can drink our milk but not store-bought milk,” she said. “Many of them also say they’ve healed their gut issues, acne and psoriasis.”

Willow Marsh’s raw milk retails for $8 per gallon and $4.50 a half-gallon. The farm draws raw-milk consumers from Saratoga County and well beyond, with some driving two hours or more for Willow Marsh’s milk. Many find the store through word of mouth as well as from online sites such as data.org and realmilk.com, which offer location information on where to buy raw milk.

 

Adding new facilities
The farm’s other dairy products include four varieties of Greek yogurt and several types of cheese, including Gouda, cheddar and cheese curds. The yogurts and cheeses are made with pasteurized milk, which, for the time being, requires twice-weekly transports to a pasteurization facility in Troy.

In the works are plans to convert newly constructed space behind the farm store into quarters for a creamery, commercial kitchen, cheese cave, and a laboratory space for testing purposes.
“We’re currently putting things in place to make sure the farm will be here for generations to come,” Curtiss said, adding that the couple will be applying for both loans and grants to make the production site a reality.

One thing the Curtisses want to avoid, however, is overworked milking cows. The farm currently has 22 cows.

“We don’t push our cows, especially when it’s this hot out,” Sara Curtiss said on one of the many days in July that neared or surpassed the 90-degree mark. “They don’t eat as much during hot weather, which means less milk is produced this time of year.”

When they do eat, the cows are fed a mixture of pasture grass, hay, alfalfa, and non-GMO corn — all grown on the farm — plus a grain mixture consisting of corn and mineral-rich distillers’ grains. She said what the cows eat has a direct impact on the quality of the milk produced, both in terms of flavor and nutrient-content.

“We also don’t spray our crops, so the purity of our feed is another thing that sets us apart from many other farms,” she added.

 

Beef, pork and local products
Chuck began selling pasture-raised beef and veal in 2010 from the herd of cattle kept on the property’s spacious south side. In addition, a small herd of Mangalitsa pigs that graze the property will yield pork chops and bacon for the farm store, but not until January. The heritage breed of pigs is known for yielding meat with a distinct flavor and high fat content, which Sara said is high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Beef products are expected to be back in stock in early August.
“Our meats are enjoyed so much by the community that we don’t produce enough to distribute,” Sara said. “They’re only available here, and we tend to run out. We’re trying to remedy that, but it takes years to grow a herd of cattle.”

The 132-acre farm also provides a home to Bertha’s Bees, an apiary run by Marquis Snyder. Snyder’s honey is sold locally, including at the farm store, which has become a cornucopia of wares crafted and produced by local farms, food producers and artisans.

The store’s wooden shelves brim with everything from hand-made bibs and baby blankets to locally made dog treats, local peanut butter from the Saratoga Peanut Butter Co., and Food Union Pickles made in Greenfield Center. One corner of the store is devoted to a display of 15 varieties of herbal teas — plus tinctures, balms and herbal salves — from Old Wisdom Wellness in Ballston Spa, and a line of sugar scrubs, body butters, and goat soaps made by Charlton Artisanal.

“Our mission is to support the community in body, mind and spirit,” Sara said. “Besides healthy food, we offer information on farming and gardening, as well as meditation, mindfulness and yoga classes.”

“I love selling at Willow Marsh,” said Jessica Marcy, owner of Old Wisdom Wellness. “As a vendor who sells in several places, they’re my biggest client, largely because Chuck and Sara have done a great job at building a community around their farm and offerings.

“Over the years I’ve had several iterations of my product line,” Marcy added. “Not everything has worked, and they’re great at helping me pivot and figure out the nitty-gritty details of running a handmade business.”

Tabatha McFee, owner of Charlton Artisanal, said her company wouldn’t be where it is without the Curtisses’ support.

“They were welcoming from the start, and Sara really encouraged me to expand my product line,” McFee said. “I like the way they promote local businesses and educate the community on different products, regularly boasting about other farmers, vendors and local businesses. You don’t often see that; usually it’s just a business promoting itself.”

And there’s been another bonus for McFee: a newfound love of Willow Marsh’s raw milk.
“I always thought raw milk was dangerous or would taste funny,” she said. “But through their social media education and in-store tasting they offered, we were hooked — and now we buy it weekly.”

 

Willow Marsh Farm will host a Garlic and Music Festival on the weekend of Oct. 12-13 at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds. For more information about the festival or the farm, including its classes and events, visit www.willow-marshfarmstore.com or call (518) 288-3347.