The farm growing tomorrow’s farmers

Clockwise from top left: Farmers Ris Lansing, Luca Dimambro, SG, co-founder D Rooney, Kyle Ellis, Rica Bryan, and Ainhoa Woodley at Rock Steady Farm in Millerton. Photo courtesy Rock Steady Farm
MILLERTON — Rock Steady Farm, a cooperative farm in Millerton, is exemplary within the agricultural landscape for many reasons, and its fundraising ability is one of them: In 2023, it raised $650,000, largely from grants.
The reason that it’s able to do this, said Maggie Cheney, Rock Steady farmer and co-founder, is that they approach farming not just as a business, but as an intersectional space — meaning that it tries to consider the full wide range of ways in which a farming business engages with the lives of local community members.
“We’re a nonprofit and a farm,” said Cheney. That means that “instead of just surviving, we’ve been able to shift to advocacy and systemic change,” which the cooperative accomplishes through educational and outreach programs.
When Cheney, D Rooney and Angela Defelice co-founded Rock Steady in December 2015, they adhered to a much more traditional model, Cheney said. “In the beginning years, we were really trying to kind of make it work,” they said. “We used to be basically 90% just farmers and producing food wholesale, going to markets, that kind of thing.”
But in the last four years, that has changed.
At Rock Steady, “community” extends beyond about locals and patrons: It’s also about the farmers.
Conducting surveys of Rock Steady alumni, said Cheney, “shifted us more in the direction of education work. Because we heard from our community that there is a gap” in the accessibility to learning how to farm.
It was a survey of the community of Rock Steady alumni, said Cheney, that shifted us more in the direction of education work. Because we heard from our community that there is a gap” in the accessibility to learning how to farm.
“For queer and trans farmers, and specifically queer and trans BIPOC farmers, there aren’t that many training programs on large-scale farms,” they said. “Rural spaces have not felt super welcoming” for those marginalized groups. “People have had abusive relationships with farm owners, myself included.”
At Rock Steady, would-be farmers who have been unwelcome or unsafe elsewhere can learn greenhouse skills, production skills — even basics like tractor driving — across a farming sectors.
Rock Steady’s emphasis on educational farming brought in 16 grants — not including outside of donors and family foundations — in 2023 alone. Its goal for 2024 is to match the $650,000 it was able to raise for the first time this year, a third again as much as it had raised in 2022.
Its most recent recognition was a $40,000 grant from Capital Impact Partners’ Co-op Innovation Awards. It will use the grant to further develop its Pollinate program, an immersive paid apprenticeship for queer, trans and farmers of color, which focuses on training new farmers in cooperative farming models.
It will also fund Rock Steady’s alumni support program “HIVE” and the first year of an incubator program in partnership with Wildseed, also based in Millerton, just up the road from Rock Steady.
It has also received grants from the North Star Fund, a social justice fund, and $125,000 from The Fund for Frontline Power, which describes itself as a “100% grassroots-governed fund supporting grassroots-led climate solutions.” Grants from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation supports food access work in Ancramdale in partnership with Ancramdale Neighbors Helping Neighbors Association, and a set of documentary shorts that amplify the voices of queer, trans farmers.
Cheney said that things really changed for Rock Steady when it “came out” as a farm. “We were like, ‘Whoa,’” said Cheney, “‘why are all these farmers talking to us from across the country? Why are there, like, farmers from the Balkans, South Africa, Nigeria, India reaching out to us?’ Because there weren’t that many out farms.”
For its first round of public-facing training programs, Rock Steady received 350 applications for eight spots. “And then we were like, ‘How can we not do this?’” said Cheney.
“The current food system is not working,” they said, pointing to what happened at farms across the country duri
ing COVID-19, when whole fields of food were getting composted because of labor shortages and transportation breakdowns. “I think we need as many creative approaches to growing food as possible, especially given climate change.”
And for that, they said, “there’s something to be said about the LGBTQ community and people of color, there’s like a sense of reciprocity and collaboration and because we’re marginalized people. When you’re marginalized, you often have to have a lot more creative solutions to problems because you’re the one who’s usually experiencing the worst of it, if that makes sense.
“A lot of us at Rock Steady have faced, like, housing insecurity, have faced food insecurity. We know what it feels like to stand in line at a food bank,” they said. That makes the farm incredibly well-equipped to actually serve those food banks. “We want that experience to be dignified, to have the highest quality food possible and to build relationships with those who are in that community.
“Not everyone can get it
in the same way. And I think the more farmers that we have who are from marginalized backgrounds, the healthier and more grounded our food system will be.”
As Rock Steady Farm continues to grow, its focus remains on fostering understanding and creating bridges. Its success in securing varied and significant grants not only highlights the effectiveness of its work but also paves the way for a more inclusive and just approach to agriculture and community building.
Cheney commented: “Rock Steady wants to communicate beyond those of our own identity. It’s important to engage with a diverse audience. Some identity politics can be harmful, and we see the change that can happen in communities when you build bridges.”
NOTICE OF DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS IS HEREBY GIVEN TO ALL ENROLLED DEMOCRATIC VOTERS OF THE TOWN OF PINE PLAINS THAT A MEETING OF SAID ENROLLED VOTERS WILL BE HELD ON
Sunday, the 13th day of July, 2025 at 3:00 PM at the Pine Plains Community Room located at 7775 S. Main St., 2nd floor, Town of Pine Plains, Dutchess County, New York for the purpose of selecting and nominating candidates for the following positions to be voted on at the General Election to be held on NOVEMBER 4, 2025:
Town Councilperson - 4 year term
Town Councilperson - 4 year term
Town Supervisor - 2 year Term
and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting. July 3, 2025.
Meeting called by Jim Petrie
Democratic Committee
Town of Pine Plains, NY
07-03-25
Congregational Church of Salisbury: opening for Church Administrator. Publicity, bookkeeping, office management, volunteer coordination. See full job description: salisburycongregationalchurch.org/jobs/. Please email resume and cover letter to jobs@salisburyucc.org.
Experienced Horse Equestrian: to train three-year-old white Persian Mare for trail riding. 860-364-0603.
Help wanted: Small Angus Farm seeks reliable help for cattle and horses. Duties include feeding, fence repair, machine repair. Will train the right person. 860-364-0603.
Sharon Congregational Church is seeking a pianist: to join our music team. We host a blended worship service; knowledge of traditional hymns is beneficial. The team practices once per week and on Sunday in preparation for our 10:30 worship. A stipend is available. call 860-364-5002 or e-mail PastorDawson06@yahoo.com.
The David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village is hiring: an Assistant Director/Youth Services Coordinator to start mid-August. The position is 28 hours a week. A full job description and how to apply can be found at huntlibrary.org/employment/.
Hector Pacay Service: House Remodeling, Landscaping, Lawn mowing, Garden mulch, Painting, Gutters, Pruning, Stump Grinding, Chipping, Tree work, Brush removal, Fence, Patio, Carpenter/decks, Masonry. Spring and Fall Cleanup. Commercial & Residential. Fully insured. 845-636-3212.
Private sale of selected furnishings/furniture: and household items from Ballyhack Farm in Cornwall. For more information please contact us on jbjb4859@gmail.com. Viewings by arrangement only.
FREE Sofa: matching Loveseat. Burgundy Plaid. 518-755-5565.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity. All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
Falls Village, CT
Two Families and One Enormous Tag Sale!:Saturday, July 5, 9-3. Furniture, Electronics, Collectibles, and much more! 76 Barnes Road, Falls Village.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.