A single mom and her children continue a family tradition, keeping current with product trending in today's natural food marketplace.
Presented by Bill Bonecutter + Ann Dyal
Tonelwin Farm is a picturesque 188 acre dairy farm in Millbrook, New York, that has been in the Baldwin family for three generations since the 1930s. While dairies have been disappearing in the Hudson Valley, Liz Baldwin and her family have been able to preserve their farm and their lifestyle by recreating a dairy staple harvesting and selling raw milk.
Liz was raised in the city and, in looking for a summer job, learned the art of milking cows from family friends. She became a hired hand at Tonelwin and found she loved the the life, the cows and the farmer—soon becoming his wife. Some years later, Mr. Baldwin passed away, and Liz was left to run the farm and to support her family. She was determined to preserve the family's history on the property and find prosperity doing it, which brought her to the idea of selling raw milk, for which there's increasing demand.
Much of the original herd at the farm was sold, and the current Shunpike Dairy cows were acquired in 2009. They are a variety of breeds including Holsteins, Brown Swiss, Jersey and Ayshires; these being the optimum combination for the best milk. After several months of remodeling the milking room that was used for conventional dairying for decades, NYS granted its approvals and, in 2010, the dairy received its certification. The adventure of opening their doors to any and all that wanted to buy raw milk began.
Shunpike Dairy remains and continues the tradition of dairy farming and welcomes locals and visitors who can learn the art of milking, talk to the farmer, meet the cows, the calves, the pigs, the horse, dog and cats and experience life on the farm or just buy raw milk, which is always available. Listen below to learn more about this Hudson Valley institution:
Farm to Table Talk airs Mon-Weds-Fri at 12:30pm and Sunday at 8:00am on Pawling Public Radio
With the advent of tremendous interest in locavore lifestyles and sustainably-sourced cuisine, Millbrook agents Bill Bonecutter and Ann Dyal created
Farm To Table Talk, a public radio program educating and advocating artisan enterprise and mindful “agri-ventures” north of New York City.