Comments on: Farm and dairy tours near NYC

Question: Farm and dairy tours near NYC

HotPatatta — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:33:27 -0800

Where can I go to take a farm tour, pick fruit, or tour a dairy that is within a 2-hour drive of NYC?

I want to escape from the city for a day and get a taste of country life. I'd like to visit a dairy and see how cheeses are made, how milk is processed, and maybe even milk a cow. A small farm that's not so mechanized and massive would be ideal. If that's not possible, I want to visit an orchard, berry field, or vegetable farm and pick something. If both of those scenarios aren't possible, is there an animal farm I can visit?

By: schroedinger

schroedinger — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:50:36 -0800

Grass-fed, organic farms are more likely to have those kinds of experiences. You may want to check on EatWild or or LocalHarvest to see if there are any places near you that offer U-Pick or dairy farm tours.

Note that it's highly unlikely there will be U-Pick opportunities at this time of the year though, everything is out of season. Early summer (May, June) is when most farms start any U-Pick operations.

By: jeb

jeb — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:59:06 -0800

Stone barns in westchester

By: plastic_animals

plastic_animals — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:03:26 -0800

Bobolink Dairy has tours every Sunday.

By: MonkeyToes

MonkeyToes — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:07:04 -0800

Go look at Pick Your Own, which will probably have a few suggestions.

By: AlisonM

AlisonM — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:46:47 -0800

When berry-picking season comes around, I recommend Jones Family Farm in Shelton, CT. It's about an hour and 15 minute drive from whatever bridge you take (Triboro/RFK, Whitestone). I haven't been in a while, but my sister goes a few times every summer (for strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries), and always comes back with at least two of those big baskets, piled high after only a couple hours of effort. Go as early as you can in the day and wear sunblock. Have fun!

By: katie

katie — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:49:33 -0800

Seconding Bobolink! It's a great place.

By: zerbinetta

zerbinetta — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:01:00 -0800

We have friends who live near Terhune Orchard and we've been there nearly every time we've visited them. Take a look at their pick-your-own schedule here. You can also pet and feed some of the farm animals, buy fresh produce, baked goods, etc. in their shop, and stroll around the farm's walking trail. It's free to visit. You only have to pay for the food that you feed the animals and the fruit that you pick (and, of course, whatever you want to buy in the shop). They also have a bunch of events and classes you can attend throughout the year.

By: yellowcandy

yellowcandy — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:26:24 -0800

Another vote for Bobolink Dairy. It is also a stone's throw from a B&B I recommended recently here. Added bonus: It's an hour outside of NYC, not two.

By: cmgonzalez

cmgonzalez — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:39:04 -0800

Have you visited the Queens Farm Museum?

It's a working 47-acre farm, not a museum museum. And it's within the city.

By: dancinglamb

dancinglamb — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:45:36 -0800

Valley Shepherd Creamery in Chester, NJ is an awesome place to go spend the day. It's not huge, but they do tours about how they make sheep cheese, and you can go play with the baby lambs. :)

We were lucky enough to actually be taken around by the owner and hear how he got into the business. I was truly fascinated (and educated) by the entire process of how they choose the type of sheep, maintain the herd, produce their products, etc. To tell you the truth, I think I probably got more out of it than the kids did!

Altede Farms is a really nice pick-your-own farm that you have to pass to get to Valley Shepherd. We go there several times a year to pick strawberries, apples, etc. What's nice about them is that they also come to local Farmers Markets (well, so does Valley Shepard), so I know that I can support them even if I can't make the ride out to their locations.

Good luck and have fun!

By: dancinglamb

dancinglamb — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:52:14 -0800

That should be ALSTEDE (not Altede) Farms...

By: HotPatatta

HotPatatta — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:50:19 -0800

Great suggestions.

Just bought a ticket for Bobolink's cheese and bread making workshop this spring.

By: zippy

zippy — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:37:22 -0800

You can pick your own apples at Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel, Conn, but the season is over this year.

By: Upton O'Good

Upton O'Good — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:52:08 -0800

If you're going all the way down to Terhune, you may as well go to Stults Farm, which is nearby, and has better and cheaper (and more) pick-your-own-vegetables and berries. The orchards are picked by the farm, and aren't open to casual pickers, but the fruit is very nice.

I can't fault Terhune for its orchards, though--their pick-your-own apples are quite nice, and they have a cider press at the main farm on Cold Soil Road which is active in the fall if you're curious to see one running. The impression that I got is that, unlike Stults, most of their produce at their farmstand is brought from outside. (They say "other local farmers".)

If you're willing to push the driving distance a bit, the Pine Barrens in South Jersey are one of the biggest sources of blueberries in the US; you might investigate here and see if you're interested.