Thirty Westchester County farmers and landowners braved frigid temperatures to gather at the Westchester Land Trust in Katonah earlier this week to network and discuss implementing a county farm-to-chef program.

Part of a series of "Local Land/Local Food" meetings the Land Trust is hosting to create a farmer's network and land match program for landowners and aspiring farmers, the assemblage of the county's agricultural stakeholders aims to promote agribusiness in Westchester.

"This grassroots organizing amongst farmers has not been done before," said Mimi Edelman, co-owner of I&Me Farm in Bedford Hills. "Farmers are busy people—it's tough to take time from the growing season to get together and discuss issues." 

She hopes these sessions, which she's helped to organize, will help area farmers work together to discuss common problems such as finding and training interns, obtaining product liability insurance and solving food distribution issues. 

Featured speakers included Todd Erling, executive director of Hudson Valley's Agribusiness Development Corporation, and Maryellen Sheehan from Mid-Hudson CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training).   

Erling works with farmers and restaurants throughout the Hudson Valley to support County Bounty, an online database that connects local agricultural producers and culinary businesses, a model that could be adapted for Westchester. But not all farmers here support the idea.

"It's a lot of legwork to get this going," said Rainbeau Ridge Farm owner Lisa Schwartz.  She questioned the value in an area where demand far outweighs the supply of fresh farmed food—her community agricultural partnership program sells out each year. 

But a farm-to-chef program could help raise production, answered Linsay Cochran, owner of Kitchawan Farm in Ossining. "A hundred years ago this county provided a lot more food than we do now and we're capable of doing more again.  This will help us reach a critical mass."

Annie Farrell, farmer and local food production consultant, suggested fine-tuning the Hudson Valley's template for local use. "It's so expensive to operate here; we could piggyback on other counties or even include Putnam, Rockland and Fairfield." 

Erling agreed, noting that though the "County Bounty" concept is currently divided into chapters, with Dutchess, Columbia and others operating their own organizations, a movement was underfoot to organize under a Hudson Valley County Bounty. 

Organizing a network of farmers is the most important component, stressed Erling. "If a farmer is sold out and a chef can't get local product, the confidence is lost. But if another farmer in the network can help supply it—the consumer is connected."

To that end, the Westchester Land Trust created an online group, WLT FarmNet, announced Eileen Hochberg, director of conservation outreach. She invited everyone  at the meeting to join and use it as a resource.

Maryellen Sheehan also invited the group to let her know if they were interested in bringing a CRAFT program to Westchester, noting that the Mid-Hudson chapter succeeded in rotating farming interns to many locations, which gave them broader knowledge of farming operations and practices.

The next meeting is Feb. 8 at the Westchester Land Trust and will feature a presentation by Glynwood, a Cold Spring-based organization dedicated to saving farming in the Northeast. The March meeting will bring a representative from Slow Food.

"We're at the beginning stages," said Edelman. As soon as the weather warms, the gatherings may shrink or even stop due to farming responsibilities.  But she thinks the discussions taking place now will be food for thought throughout the growing season. 

"We hope farmers can look up from the soil long enough to know they don't have to trailblaze it alone—we can partner our unique farms together for mutual benefit."

For more information, email Eileen Hochberg at Eileen@westchesterlandtrust.org.