submitted by Donna Murray
Please join us for the Berlin-Berkshire Fall Foliage Grazing Tour on Saturday, October 5, from 10 am to 4 pm. Our first stop on the tour will be with Morgan Hartman of Black Queen Angus Farm in Berlin starting at 10 am.
Black Queen Angus Farm is a grass fed operation owned by Morgan Hartman and his family. The farm credits its success to the sunshine, green grass and clover, clean water and good, efficient Aberdeen-Angus cattle. Morgan has selected the foundation of the herd from breeders who believe as they do, that nature intended cattle to forage for a living. His cows raise their calves in the clean air of hilly pastures. They receive no grain, hormones or feed-through antibiotics. Morgan ensures the quality of his beef by taking great pride in how it’s raised.
The next stop on our tour is the Berlin Fire Hall at 12 pm to enjoy a delicious local foods lunch catered by Wild Oats Market of Williamstown, MA.
Our last stop will be at Cricket Creek Farm, a small grass based enterprise located in Williamstown at 1:30 pm. Nestled on the slopes of the Taconic hills, the farm consists of over 500 acres of rolling fields and woodlots, old apple orchards and sugarbush. The farm’s herd of 40 cows is made up of registered Brown Swiss and Jerseys. Cricket Creek Farm produces a variety of products for a diversified, year-round CSA. They are licensed to sell raw milk directly from the farm, with the remaining milk being made into artisanal cheese in their farmstead creamery. In addition they have a bakery, laying hens, raise grass fed beef and whey fed pork. Goods are sold through the farm store, the diversified year-round CSA, at local farmers markets and through various regional cheese shops, food co-ops, restaurants and other establishments.
The grazing tour is a drive yourself tour. For those who would like to car pool, we will arrive at Black Queen Angus Farm in Berlin at 4 pm.
The Berlin-Berkshire Fall Foliage Grazing Tour is sponsored by the Hudson Mohawk Resource Conservation and Development Council, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the NYS Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. The cost for tour and lunch is $20 per person. Please contact Donna Murray at 518-270-2668 for more information and to register.