Stonewood Farm welcomes new staff members

MILLBROOK —  At Stonewood Farm, with stark buildings against gray skies, there seems to be a promise of spring, greenery and growth. Some trees are wrapped against the cold in burlap, and one hydroponic greenhouse is currently growing spinach and other vegetables.

Ken Holzberg and Tom Kopfensteiner purchased the farm in 2000, and it is 100% organic. While they do have chickens that lay eggs,  the concentration is on fruits, vegetables, and an array of greenery and flowers.

Stonewood Farm hired Paul Stermer as advancement director just over a month ago. He is responsible for securing funding, both private and public, to further the programs at Stonewood Farm. This is to support the many volunteers, donors and others, and to act as liaison to the board of directors.

Having grown up in Michigan on a small livestock farm, Stermer graduated from the University of Michigan, earning a degree in creative writing. He began working as a journalist, editor and author. He concentrated on food justice in his endeavors in working for nonprofits, and has been instrumental in creating farmer’s markets in underserved neighborhoods. He has brought about a commercial kitchen/incubator for low-income women, and has helped to bring food security and affordable housing to thousands in New York, as well as seeking to improve the food in public schools and to bring about changes in food policies in schools.

Stermer also aided in starting a citywide community garden program, provided business support to fledgling farmers across the Northeast, and has helped to develop many anti-racism initiatives. His family in Michigan in now into its third generation of farming.

In January, Stermer and Stonewood Farm announced the hiring of new farm managers Samantha Kronyak and Jeremy LeClair. They will be overseeing the production of herbs, flowers and fruits from planting to harvest. They served as managers for the past few years on Eliot Coleman’s Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine, so they are not new to farming. In fact, LeClair grew up on a farm, and they met in college at Rhode Island University.

Kronyak and LeClair, who live on the farm, will also be responsible for managing the wholesale and retail sales of the produce. Their responsibilities also include ensuring soil health through organic and sustainable practices.

Kronyak was once part of the farm crew of the Casey Farm in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, and served as a pesticide researcher for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. Earning a degree in wildlife conservation, she was a park ranger for the National Park Service in Medora, North Dakota.

LeClair worked for Talaria, a hydroponic grower in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as Farming Turtles, an organic microgreens farm in Exeter, Rhode Island. In West Kingston, Rhode Island, he was lead mushroom grower for the Rhode Island Mushroom Company, having earned his degree in plant sciences/sustainable crop production.

These three longtime farmers, in a recent tour of the farm, were quick to point out that they use natural products; approved manure, compost, and methods such as crop rotation. They cover the crops, and use animal and plant materials to enrich the soil to build a healthy soil base and prevent weeds, pests and disease. They reuse their own products — leaves from the previous season, wood chips from Stonewood’s own trees — to mulch the beds. They never use herbicides, pesticides, synthetic chemicals or fossil fuel-derived fertilizers.

Some future plans include the hiring of a culinary chef, who will teach the art of organic cooking, arrange for fundraising dinners, and possibly provide meals to visitors to the farm. There will also be a plant sale around Mother’s Day in May.

Located at 110 Bangall Road, Stonewood is certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Real Organic Project. For more information about the farm, go to -stonewooddny.org, or call 845-677-6972.