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.”
PINE PLAINS — The Pine Plains FFA Ag Fair brought a crowd to the high school on Church Street Saturday, Oct. 11.
Kicking off the day was the annual tractor pull, attracting a dedicated crowd that sat in bleachers and folding chairs for hours watching Allison-Chalmers, International Harvesters and John Deeres compete to pull the heaviest weights.
A large collection of food was on offer from the Pine Plains FFA and each one of the classes in the Pine Plains Central School District. The football team was selling pickles.
Stissing Mountain High School Principal Christopher Boyd enjoyed a dip in the dunk tank to raise money for the Pine Plains teachers’ union-sponsored scholarship.
Stissing Mountain High School Principal Christopher Boyd got dunked several times during his half-hour shift in the dunk tank. Proceeds from the throws benefitted the Photo by Nathan Miller
MILLERTON — Ten candidates for office in the Nov. 4 election will answer questions from Dutchess County voters at a candidate forum on Friday, Oct. 24, at the Annex at the NorthEast-Millerton Library located at 28 Century Blvd.
The forum, which is sponsored by the library, will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Candidates for local and county offices will answer questions from residents in attendance or from residents who have submitted questions in advance.
“We’re excited to keep the tradition of the candidate forum going,” said Rhiannon Leo-Jameson, director of the library. “Some years we can’t always get candidates together.”
This year’s forum will include:
Rachele Grieco Cole, a Democrat, and Chris Mayville, a Republican, who both are running uncontested for the North East Town Council;
Casey McCabe, a Democrat, also running uncontested for North East Justice.
Among Dutchess County races:
Tracy MacKenzie, who is endorsed by Republicans and Democrats, is running uncontested for Dutchess County Family Court Judge;
Kara Gerry, a Democrat, and Ned McLoughlin, a Republican, are in a contest for a Dutchess County Court judgeship currently held by McLoughlin.
Chris Drago, D-19, and Tonya Pulver, a Republican, are competing to represent Dutchess County’s19th District seat currently held by Drago.
Democratic incumbent Dan Aymar-Blair and Will Truitt, the Republican chair of the county legislature, are competing for the Dutchess County Comptroller position currently held by Aymar-Blair.
Leo-Jameson is encouraging questions for the candidates to be submitted in advance, which will not be revealed to candidates beforehand. Dutchess County residents may pose questions during the forum. To submit a question on the library’s website, go to the calendar at nemillertonlibrary.org and find the link in the Oct. 24calendar entries.
The format calls for opening statements from the candidates, followed by questions from residents, and candidates will be able to stay after the forum to answer questions personally.
The “Elusive Ki Shusui” koi were temporarily relocated into a tub before being returned to their home pond at Maxine Pietro’s annual koi harvest at Broccoli Hall Farm in Amenia on Friday, Oct. 10. Speaking of their yellowish beauty, Pietro is pictured pointing out that the fish are scaleless but for scales that grow along the “zipper” on each fish’s dorsal ridge. The koi in the photo are estimated to be 6 or 7 years old.
The North East Community Center's Early Learning Program uses the research-based Creative Curriculum, which features a flexible, play-based approach with lots of time outdoors.
MILLERTON — In its third year, the North East Community Center’s Early Learning Program has become a vibrant, nurturing space for children and an invaluable resource for families in Dutchess County, an area identified as a child care desert by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. There are openings in both the toddler and preschool rooms for children ages 18 months to five years.
The ELP follows what’s known as the Creative Curriculum, a research-based early childhood program that builds confidence, creativity and critical thinking through hands-on, project-based learning.
“Kids are natural explorers,” said Emily Redmond, Early Childhood Programs Director. “Oftentimes, they tell us what they need to learn, so we leave plenty of room to follow the child.”
Before joining NECC, Redmond spent 13 years at Washington Montessori School in Connecticut, working in both classroom and administrative roles.
She explained that the Creative Curriculum allows teachers to stay flexible and build on children’s natural curiosity. For instance, worms appearing on the playground after a rainstorm can spark endless questions, leading to unexpected learning opportunities in math, science and beyond.
Redmond noted that children in the ELP practice pre-writing skills, work with small manipulatives to build fine motor skills, immerse themselves in nature and hone social-emotional skills. All the while, NECC’s team of educators understand that play is central to early childhood development.
One thing that sets the ELP apart from other child care programs, Redmond said, is “the mythical Chef Lenny.” Lenny Sutton, NECC’s longtime food service coordinator, prepares multiple meals and snacks for the kids each day in the on-site commercial kitchen, often using locally sourced ingredients. Known for his colorful aprons and bubbly personality, he has even been spotted in the classroom playing a few songs on the guitar.
So beloved is Chef Lenny that some students incorporate his role into their own play at home, pretending to cook and serve just like him. “Not many child care programs have an on-site chef to prepare daily meals,” laughed Redmond.
The only thing more colorful or bubbly than Chef Lenny is the new classroom fish tank, a favorite feature that provides both a calming presence and learning opportunities. A lively mix of fish adds to the ambiance, including several types of goldfish, a student-favorite pictus catfish, one powder blue gourami, a halfmoon blue betta, two dalmatian mollies and more.
The ELP is fully licensed by New York State, allowing NECC to accept state subsidies and help families access financial assistance.
“We truly value all forms of diversity, including socioeconomic diversity, and as a hallmark of NECC’s mission we strive to eliminate barriers to accessing quality education,” said Redmond, noting that the organization’s Family Programs department can provide support throughout the application process, including bilingual assistance.
NECC’s Early Learning Program is a New York Office of Children and Family Services-licensed day care center located at 11 Park Street in Millerton. Contact emily@neccmillerton.org for more information.