According to the American Farmland Trust, every minute, two acres of farmland in the United States are irretrievably lost. That’s 120 acres an hour, 2,880 acres a day, and more than one million acres each year. The loss of farmland in the Northeast is particularly extreme, especially in New Jersey, portions of western Massachusetts, and New York’s Hudson River Valley. Five Acre Farms is committed to protecting farmland by working with regional farmers to get high-quality products into the marketplace and by actively promoting other companies and organizations that share a similar mission.

A few sites to visit for more information: farmland.org (American Farmlnad Trust), osiny.org (Open Space Institute), Mainefarmlandtrust.org , Hudsonvalleyfresh.com, thefarmerscow.com

Five Acre Farms. Positively Local.

Today is the last day of National Dairy Month. Do you know the somatic cell count of the milk you’re drinking? What is somatic cell count you ask? Well, in the world of dairy, it’s one of our best indicators of quality: the lower the number, the higher the quality, the healthier the cow, the creamier the milk, the fresher the taste…we could go on, but you get the picture.

Most farmers in the northeast are happy to bid adieu to a tough spring. Too wet, too cold, then too hot, then too wet: nothing like a few weeks to change that. Apple farmers are cautiously optimistic about the Fall, but recognize that it was a little too wet and they had one too many hail storms to make autumn a banner season. First wave of strawberries has come. Blueberries are here. Sugar snap peas in full swing, as well as all salad greens. First zucchini sightings: Radishes abundant. Tomato crop looks to be solid but is a few weeks away. It’s probably gotten too hot for a disastrous blight this season. String beans are closing in. All winter squash has been planted.

Thank goodness it’s summer.

Farmers play an important role in society as, among many other things, stewards of our land. Because their farming practices directly impact the quality of our drinking water, these practices are directly relevant to all of us.

For those of us living or working in Metro New York, the best example of this direct link may be that we rely on the upstate watershed, home to several hundred farmers, for our water supply. So, it’s easy to see how supporting farms that practice sustainable and therefore water-protective agriculture is important to all of us and the way we live.

The good news is that, as consumers, we can do something for ourselves and the health and well-being of our families while at the same time promoting the collective good – buying products that are made using sustainable farming practices.

Five Acre Farms – Positively Local

Five Acre Farms was recently featured on edible Manhattan!   Click here to go over there and read the article– we also have a link in our “News” section!

Check us out at Fine Fare at 175 Clinton and 545 Grand Street. Get Local!

Psyched about cool poster in entry, too!

Very pleased to be at Big Deal Supermarket in the Bronx – 1018 Morris Park Avenue

MARCH 28, 2011

I bought a quart of your Fat Free
Local Milk and tried it out in my Nespresso frother.  And the foam is perfect!  I tried the milk both cold and warm, and
I particularly love the nutty sweetness of the flavor.  In a cappuccino it’s just about as wonderful as it gets.  And this
from someone who just returned from bell’Italia and had probably way too many macchiatos!

No editing on our part…and something we hear a lot about our skim milk!

Thanks for the kind words.

Our tribute to Bobby Womack! We are now available on 110th Street and Broadway at Westside Market.

Five Acre Farms – Positively Local

Senator Kirtsen Gillibrand announced today efforts to support New York Dairy Farms.

http://www.mpnnow.com/regional/x700959270/Gillibrand-today-announces-emergency-plan-to-boost-dairy-farms

However, the real message of today’s news is not that the government is stepping up to support farmers – it has tried hard to help for thirty years with scant result. The real message is that if we want any farms at all, it’s time to buy local. If we don’t buy local now, farms will just disappear: no farmland to protect, no reduction in food miles, and very little way to know your food source. In the last five years, New York State has lost 25 percent of its dairy farmers.

Five Acre Farms: Positively Local.