Submitted by Tom Andersen on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 4:01pm
Louisa, a Bedford native, thought becoming the accidental farmer might suit her and, with Mount Kisco resident Susie Heifetz offering volunteer help, went into business. The farmstand opened in mid-June.
“Considering that we don’t advertise, I’d say we do very well,” Louisa said. “But we would love to have more recognition. I want to figure out how to pull in the community but also how to give back.”
Louisa cultivates only about an acre and a half of Tanrackin (although she plans to expand next year). But most of the farm – 60 acres – is protected with conservation easements that Bob and Beth Mancini donated to Westchester Land Trust.
They make a small but important contribution to the movement toward eating more locally-grown food. In fact, Louisa said, for the people who stop at her farmstand, that’s paramount.
“Is it grown here – that’s the question that’s asked most,” she said.
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| Louisa Purcell at her farmstand, in September 2009. |
In its heyday 50 or so years ago, Tanrackin Farm in Bedford was noted for producing race horses.
The farm is still in horse country but these days it’s part of the burgeoning local food movement, producing not horses but tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, peppers, bush beans, scallions, squash, honey and eggs (about 6 dozen a day from 136 chickens, to be precise).
The operation started earlier this year when Robert Mancini, who owns the land and lives at Tanrackin with his family, suggested to his property manager, Louisa Purcell, that perhaps she’d like use his greenhouse, cultivate some of his acreage and open a farmstand on Guard Hill Road.
Louisa, a Bedford native, thought becoming the accidental farmer might suit her and, with Mount Kisco resident Susie Heifetz offering volunteer help, went into business. The farmstand opened in mid-June.
“Considering that we don’t advertise, I’d say we do very well,” Louisa said. “But we would love to have more recognition. I want to figure out how to pull in the community but also how to give back.”
Louisa cultivates only about an acre and a half of Tanrackin (although she plans to expand next year). But most of the farm – 60 acres – is protected with conservation easements that Bob and Beth Mancini donated to Westchester Land Trust.
The easements are flexible enough to protect the land from being subdivided while allowing it to be used for agriculture. Farmers are also operating on at least two other easements Westchester Land Trust holds – on Raymond Farm, which is up the road from Tanrackin, and on an easement donated by William Louis-Dreyfus, in the Croton Lake Road area of Bedford.
They make a small but important contribution to the movement toward eating more locally-grown food. In fact, Louisa said, for the people who stop at her farmstand, that’s paramount.
“Is it grown here – that’s the question that’s asked most,” she said.
To read a recent op-ed piece on sustainability by our executive director, Ben Spinelli, click here.