3842 NY 2, Cropseyville NY 12052

The land that hosts Laughing Earth has been in continuous agricultural production for at least 200 years. Just prior to our tenure here, it was Homestead Farms from 1993 until we bought the farm in 2016. During the Homestead Farms years, it took the general shape that it still has today, with a ~90-family summer CSA, pastured hens, broilers, pigs, and turkeys, and cut flowers. We have since increased the size of all of these ventures, at least modestly. In 2020 we will have 120 member families in the summer CSA, plus a 50-member spring share and 30 or so families for our winter share, around $10k in sales of cut flowers, about 2,500 broilers, 175 turkeys, 25 summer pigs, and 300 laying hens. We work to grow healthy food for people across all income levels in our community in a restorative, practical, and sustainable way.  We are also constantly working to improve the efficiency and profitability of our operations, testing out and discarding or expanding new ventures, and generally trying to find a way to farm that works for us, physically, mentally, and financially.

Our visit will include an overview of the farm with a deeper dive into those enterprises that are newer or that we have changed substantially since taking over. We will discuss marketing, holistic management techniques, and tools we use to determine if an enterprise will be financially feasible.