In the United States, it has never been easier to eat. No matter the season or location, one can enjoy a perfectly prepared meal, delivered directly to their doorstep - all with the swipe of a finger and all without leaving the couch. But many consumers may not give much thought as to what makes this not only feasible, but profitable.
The reality is, cheap and convenient food comes with a (perhaps unknown) cost.
Whether realized or not, the health and eating habits of everyday Americans are inextricably intertwined with global markets, multinational food conglomerates and by proxy, massive industrial agriculture.
In the more uncertain days of the COVID pandemic, when supermarket shelves began to empty and home freezers across the country began to stockpile, many families started to rethink how they got their food and, perhaps more importantly, if the food their families were eating was healthy. Locally, as families more closely examined what’s in their fridge and tried to avoid the crowds at the supermarket, the Willow Marsh Farm saw a big uptick in their customers.
The Willow Marsh Farm is a 132 acre farm located in the Town of Ballston. It’s been there since the 1840’s. Today, Willow Marsh is a fifth generation heirloom, owned and maintained by husband and wife duo Chuck and Sara Curtiss. They still do things the old fashioned way. Willow Marsh still uses a cultivating machine on their fields, they use no herbicides or pesticides anywhere on the property, and they spend the time and effort to purchase non-GMO feed for their Holstein and Jersey dairy cows. In return for their traditional approach they get some of the best beef and dairy products money can buy.
The products on offer at Willow Marsh are both simple and unique. The milk in their coolers is not pasteurized, it’s straight from the source, unadulterated and (speaking from experience) delicious. Willow Marsh has a special permit from the state to sell unpasteurized, or “raw” milk. “Around 2010,” said owner and head farmer Chuck Curtiss, “if we would sell 10 to 15 gallons of milk a day, I felt like I struck gold.” That was before their farm store was built, and he was selling gallons right out of his garage. “I never advertised, it was just a word of mouth kind of thing or driver’s passing by,” said Curtiss. He continued, “we were coming along steady and then came COVID. And that really got the attention of the general public and the lack of good health.” Customers were pulling up to the store, asking “how do I boost my immune system?” his wife, Sara Curtiss added, “and raw milk is something that comes up.”
Today, Willow Marsh has customers coming to them often sent by their nutritionists, doctors, and even chiropractors for their dairy products. Raw milk consumption has been a fairly recent topic circulating in some online health circles due to its perceived health benefits and bioavailability as opposed to its pasteurized counterpart. But an argument as to what version of dairy milk is superior is not the purpose here - or what Willow Marsh is really about. Chuck Curtiss just continues to do things as they did generations ago - before food in this country, well, changed. Before hundreds of thousands of small dairy farms disappeared, and before the onset of industrial chemical sprays - those once thought to be a revolution in agriculture - that eventually showed their true colors.
The products on sale at Willow Marsh have a certain feel. They feel traditional, artisanal, handcrafted - whole. From the beef, veal and pork that grazed around the farm, to the raw honey taken from the back fields, the products at Willow Marsh exemplify what it means to source locally, and eat organically. A label that, unfortunately today, can be bought and sold.
“Everything is global now and everything is sourced globally, but that - that’s changing,” said Mr. Curtiss. “There is kind of a renaissance happening. Many people from all walks of life are looking for a few acres here and there to grow something.” But Chuck never sees it as competition. He added, “the more farms and stores in the rural area, the more people we will draw from the big stores. Many people come into the farm store now and can get most of their food shopping done, and if we are missing something, another farm down the road may have it. This is what I preach, the more of us farming and selling products the better it will be - there is a lot of room.”
Graciously, Sara Curtiss is always in talks with local producers and is happy to sell the products of others at the farm store. From handcrafted BBQ sauces, homemade candy, candles to even jewelry. Willow Marsh supports over 50 other local vendors offering about 200 local products.
It’s important to note, though, that the future of farming in Saratoga County and in the US as a whole is uncertain. Especially for small family dairy farms. Many family farms are not continuing into the next generation. As a result, large processing companies, some multinational in scale, are taking advantage and buying out the operations. “Farmers are aging out,” said Sara Curtiss. “Many young people don’t see farming as a possible career path anymore, especially with the draw of making money online. And the work is not easy. It takes a special type of person to want to live this way.”
According to data from the USDA: Between 1970 and 2006, the number of farms with dairy cows fell steadily and sharply, from 648,000 operations in 1970 to 75,000 in 2006, or 88 percent. Total dairy cows fell from 12 million in 1970 to 9.1 million in 2006, so the average herd size rose from just 19 cows per farm in 1970 to 120 cows in 2006.
This trend has unfortunately just continued. Larger herd sizes means more crowded spaces for the cattle, and fewer family operations just simply means more mass-producing ones. Food production is not just consolidating in this country - it’s bordering on monopolizing. It’s easy to put a bumper sticker on a car that reads “No Farms, No Food.” It’s harder to drive off the beaten path and visit a farm, to talk with the farmer, and to thank him.
Fortunately, in an effort to uphold local farming in our community, the Town of Ballston established a purchase of development rights program (PDR). In the case of Willow Marsh, it means that the 132 acre farm must remain that way; it cannot be developed. According to the Town of Ballston, “ this will maintain community character, even while growth is occurring elsewhere in the town.” That means that Willow Marsh will remain as it was over 150 years ago: a farm.
For more information on Willow Marsh, the products they carry, or their upcoming events visit them at willow-marshfarmstore.com or on social media @willowmarshfarmstore. Or better yet, stop by for yourself. The farm store is located at 343 Hop City Road Ballston Spa, NY 12020 open Wednesday to Sunday.