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It’s all about connections! Pure Catskills helps our members make connections with local and downstate customers and wholesale buyers looking to purchase regionally grown and produced products, including high-quality, value-added products that permeate the Catskills. Pure Catskills helps local farms and businesses make connections to each other to create powerful collaborations. The combination of all of these efforts improves the economic viability of communities in the watershed.

Learn about some of our members in the videos below.

16th Annual Cauliflower Festival

The 16th Annual Cauliflower Festival in Margaretville, NY is one of the many events Pure Catskills sponsors throughout the region and year with a tent, and allows our members to vend for free or at a reduced cost. It is just one of the many benefits of being a Pure Catskills member.

Star Route Farm

Meet Pure Catskills members Walter Riesen and Tianna Kennedy of Star Route Farm and the 607 CSA in Charlotteville, NY. Tianna explains how forming a co-op with other Catskills farms to offer CSA shares has enabled their business to branch out and help keep agriculture a viable part of the region’s story.

Origins Cafe

Dana and Kristen Leonard, owners of Origins Café in Cooperstown, NY, share their journey to create a restaurant that sources seasonal and local food from Catskills farms. They love reducing their impact on the environment, sponsoring a youth food summit, and serving dishes where “every ingredient has a story.”

Windy Hill Goat Dairy

Barry Gaughan and his family run Windy Hill Goat Dairy in Cherry Valley, NY, producing goat milk and a wide variety of goat cheeses fresh from the Catskills. Their business has thrived by focusing on the growing demand for this niche market and bringing their homegrown products to Catskills farmers markets and events all over the region.

Buck Hill Farm

Pure Catskills member Sharon Collins of Buck Hill Farm in Jefferson, NY loves what she does for a living: running a pure maple syrup farm with her family. Over the years, Collins has grown the farm to put a maple “spin” on products such as pickled beets, granola, and popcorn…and offers a farm-to-table breakfast with seasonal Catskills food, all of which help keep residents and visitors alike connected to the land.

Barber’s Farm

Jacob and Sarah Cooper are the 6th generation family farmers at 160-year old Barber’s Farm in Middleburgh, NY. This Catskills farm honors its roots while also branching out into new ventures that celebrate Catskills mountain products, such as year-round growing, bedding plants and flowers, and a vodka distillery.

Breezy Meadows Farm

Maureen and Ken Pawlikowski keep things pure and simple at their joint Catskills farm ventures, Breezy Meadows Farm and Pawlikowski Sawmill in Otego, NY. Their beef cattle are naturally raised hormone-free and grain-free, spending their days grazing and lazing. The sawmill’s custom-cut lumber, beams, sawdust, and bark mulch are produced on site using local logs and sustainable methods.

Gunhouse Hill Alpacas

Pure Catskills members Diane and Matt Taylor make Gunhouse Hill Alpacas and The Little Alpaca Shop a true family effort, with their kids raising and halter-training the baby alpacas. In addition to selling their alpaca fleece and offering handmade alpaca products for sale, including yarn made from their own farm animals, the Taylors enjoy being part of the burgeoning agritourism activity in the Catskills.

The Heron

Step inside The Heron, the “no-gimmicks” Narrowsburg, NY restaurant where city transplants Paul Nanni and Marla Puccetti serve up dishes made with seasonal food sourced almost completely from Catskills farms. Their bar offers New York state ciders, spirits, beers, and wines, and a new private event space provides the setting for special gatherings.

Treadlight Farm

Matt Dell and Irene Berkowitz used the Watershed Agricultural Council’s Catskills FarmLink program, which connects farmers with available farmland, to find the perfect Bovina, NY site to grow over 200 varieties of flowers.  In addition to selling their flowers at Westchester County and Catskills farmers markets, Matt and Irene sell wholesale to New York City florists and design and provide flowers for weddings.

Wayside Cider

At Wayside Cider in Andes, NY, Alex Wilson and Irene Hussey blend out several varieties of ciders using local apples to create distinctly Catskills mountain products. For them, the exciting thing about the cider industry right now is that there’s so much room to experiment and make your own way – with the Catskills poised to become one of the top cider producing regions in the U.S.

Main Street Farm

Main Street Farm in Livingston Manor, NY actually represents many Catskills farms…in the form of a market offering a range of local products from farmers and food artisans. Owner Jon Westergreen and his staff also serve up fresh-fare breakfast and lunch, and are proud to provide their neighbors this extra Catskills mountain products distribution channel so close to home.

Robson’s Christmas Tree Farm

Pure Catskills members Gary and MJ Robson of Robson’s Christmas Trees in Bovina, NY are proud to be a place for families to spend a fun day picking out an affordable, high-quality Christmas tree. The Watershed Agricultural Council helped the Robsons develop a long term plan to develop their forestland and maintain a sustainable logging operation.

Maple Shade Farm

At Maple Shade Farm in Delhi, NY, Jay and Abby Wilson’s main focus is raising Heritage breed Berkshire pigs, meat chickens and turkeys, and laying hens. But a thriving part of their business is agritourism, hosting farm tours and events as well as a large Catskills fall farm festival. The Wilsons have found a way to distribute their seasonal Catskills products, and products from 35 local farms and artisans, close to home by opening an on-site market and a satellite farm market in Margaretville, NY.

Majestic Farm

For Sara and Brett Budde of Majestic Farm in Mountain Dale, NY, one of the best parts of producing high quality pork, lamb, poultry, honey, and eggs fresh from the Catskills is to be able to feed their own community and be part of the thriving agricultural community of Pure Catskills. They’re committed to raising their animals in happy, healthy lives outdoors so customers can feel good about their choices.

Greenane Farms

Patrick and Thanya Rider operate Grenane Farms in Meredith, NY, where they combine American culture with that of Thanya’s Mexico City home into a unique blend of producing, processing, and presenting fresh Catskills food to their customers. They grow seasonal produce, meat, poultry, and eggs, and also sell jams, jellies, pies, empanadas, tamales and more, out of their commitment to provide wholesome food for their family and community.

Eminence Winery

At Eminence Road Farm Winery in Long Eddy, NY, Pure Catskills member Jennifer Clark and her husband Andrew take the simple approach to turning Finger Lakes grapes into wine, with only simple preservatives added. These city transplants grew their business with the help of Catskills farmers markets where they could get to know people and sell their wines directly.

Natural Contents Kitchen

Natural Contents Kitchen in Narrowsburg, NY is a community supported kitchen run by Danielle Gaebel and Jennifer Bitetto, who turn the bounty of Catskills farms into fresh-fare meals. At local Catskills farmers markets, Natural Contents Kitchen customers have the opportunity to taste healthy foods, try new things, and support local farmers.

Apple Pond Farm

Meet Sonja Hedlund, whose Apple Pond Farm in Calicoon Center, NY produces seasonal produce and breeding livestock fresh from the Catskills. One of their main missions is education, hosting Catskills farm events that introduce people to farming and encourage them to get involved in some way. Apple Pond Farm is also dedicated to renewable energy; they make their own electricity and help other farmers get grants to install solar panels on their property.

Pure Catskills Brand Launch

The new brand of Pure Catskills represents twenty years of pristine working landscapes of farms and forests…bringing clean water, good food, forest products, and a bounty of other Catskills mountain products.

Lucky Dog Food Hub

Richard Giles and Lucky Dog organic farm in Hamden, NY, act as a hub for other Catskills farms by transporting their products to NYC farmers markets and restaurants on a weekly basis. With the hub, Giles is able to fill a need on both ends and give his Catskills neighbors a larger customer base.

Chef Deanna

Is it possible to run a fully farm-to-table restaurant, using 100% locally sourced Catskills mountain products? It is for chef Deanna D’Angelo at the Hamden Inn in Hamden, NY, thanks to the Pure Catskills guide. Her relationships with Pure Catskills member farms lets her run the Hamden Inn like a farm itself, with fresh food that reflects the bounty of each season and the surrounding working landscapes.

Katrok Woodworks

Woodworker John Perrella of Katrok Woodworks in Grahamsville, NY has turned the rich forest resources of the Catskills into one-of-a-kind artisan products. Using the Catskills region’s wide variety of natural hardwood, Perrella creates hand-turned bowls, cutting boards, hiking staffs, kitchen tools, and more.

Berry Brook Farm

Patrick Hennebery and Eleanor Blakeslee embrace the small farm lifestyle at their Berry Brook Farm in Delancey, NY, and distribute their produce to their Catskills farmers markets, CSA shareholders, area restaurants, and local green grocers. Being part of the Pure Catskills community has helped open up their business to new growth opportunities.

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