Windrake Farm

09/26/2025

Boy did we need this rain! Hoping we get enough to encourage a little more growth on the pastures before the cold arrives. Meanwhile the pigs are enjoying the mud puddles, the cows are getting a break from the flies, and the puppies are decorating my floors and sofas with mud.
The last couple weeks of markets have just reminded me how grateful I am for this community. Thank you for letting us feed your families. But you feed me as well! You feed my spirit, my faith in the goodness in humanity, you keep me grounded in our local community. From my ever deepening friendships with my fellow vendors, from our regulars that come each week, thanking us for the work and love we put into our farm, sharing your successful recipes, and even just stopping by for a hug because your freezers are already full. To new customers trying grass based meats for the first time, like the lovely woman who looked like and said my name like my late grandmother, who took pictures of the market including this one, and stopped passersby to ask them to take pictures of her with their dogs, just living her best life. I love watching the parade of people from all backgrounds, holding hands with loved ones, bearing their market treasures, sharing this world with their kids, walking their pets, with the soundtrack of local music. There is absolutely nothing like the farmers market community. Thank You!! 🌈🥰🌱
Find us this weekend at the Gloversville Farmers Market and

09/19/2025

Our solar panel system is up and running as of today, which is so exciting! If you zoom in on the photo below, you can see the array of panels on our barn roof.
Salsa and Itzal, last babies of 2025, are doing well!
Carl and I spent the sunny week bringing in more hay. Which we are pretty much feeding directly to the cows because this drought has stopped the growth in our pastures. Such a strange and extreme year for weather! We really need the rain, but on the plus side, it’s looking like it will be a beautiful market weekend! Saturday at Gloversville Farmers Market and Sunday at 🌱 See you there! 💚

09/14/2025

Visiting Strudel and her day old heifer, Salsa 🥰

09/12/2025

Meanwhile back at the ranch:
Carl and I just got back from our annual respite in Aquinnah, Martha’s Vineyard. It was a wonderful 6 days of mostly resting on the beach. The boys took care of the home and farm while we were gone, and then they all left for a family wedding in Spain, the day after we returned. So now we have the whole place to ourselves, which is so unusual. Carl has held off on his construction work and been a full time farmer, which kinda makes it still feel like vacation, even though we are working all day. With this extended dry weather, we are getting in the last of the second cutting. And by we, I really mean Carl. With the round baler, as long as the weather and the equipment cooperates, he’s able to do it pretty much by himself. I only pulled a couple wagons and helped roll bales into the barn. Kind of amazing!
I’ll just share some pics from our travels and back home!
See ya this weekend at the Gloversville Farmers Market and 🥰🌈🌱

08/28/2025

Haying was a success, for the most part. I’m getting more confident with operating the tedder, so that may become my regular task. We had the whole family helping. Skyler raked the fields for 5 hours, Carl baled, Aric raked and loaded and unloaded bales, and Sawyer helped maneuver the bales into the cow stalls, so we could fit as many as possible. The square baler didn’t work properly so we had to use the round baler. Which is fine, but it meant improvising more storage space, because we don’t have a way to store them in the loft. We put the bales in the barn where the cows usually come in during bad winter weather. So basically we need to hope we are done feeding those bales before the harsh weather comes. It shouldn’t be a problem, with how fast they eat this delicious second cutting hay! The barn smells so good!
REMINDER!! We will be away the first weekend in September, so be sure to stock up this Labor Day weekend, at the Gloversville Farmers Market on Saturday and the on Sunday. We are fully restocked on all beef cuts- if you want to be sure I bring your favorite to market and it doesn’t sell out before you get there, place a preorder and get 10% off!

08/24/2025

Ivette had her first calf while I was at market on Saturday. She’s a healthy quiet heifer we named Ivonne 🥰

08/22/2025

Tedding the fields of second cutting! Starting to feel more confident with this task! See you this weekend at the Gloversville Farmers Market on Saturday and Schenectady Greenmarket on Sunday! Rain or shine! But it’s OK if the rain waits until our hay is in the loft 🙏🏼🌈🥰

08/15/2025

Market News: This Saturday we will be at the Gloversville Farmers Market in the morning AND at the Harmony of Art Festival in Johnstown in the afternoon! The Festival begins at 10 AM, but we hope to be there 2-6 PM. Just in time to catch some of the great local musicians, including our own Sawyer Fredericks at 4:30. This is the third annual Harmony Of Art Festival and it is so much fun! Of course you can also find us on Sunday at the Schenectady Greenmarket 🌱🌈

08/08/2025

Some of you may have noticed we have a sale on our boneless pork loin chops right now. Last year we experimented with a new to us breed, Idaho Pasture Pigs. In addition to our regular breeds (mostly Duroc crosses) we raised 3 IPP’s. The breed is supposed to be gentler on pastures, grazing more than rooting. Anyway they were great pigs but very slow growing, and basically they grew small and they grew fat! lol! That said, the flavor is fabulous, just as good as our regular breeds, possibly because the IPP are a mix of Duroc, Berkshire, and Kune Kune, but also because they were raised on the same feed, water, and pastures as our others.
We are sold out of the bone in loin chops from our Duroc crosses, but we still have boneless loin chops from the IPP pigs. And they are small (in circumference, but sliced thick). And they have a high ratio of fat. Hence the discount. BUT they are INCREDIBLE! Here are a series of pics of preparing them for me and Carl. Rubbed with just coarse sea salt and cracked pepper, then seared on all sides in a very hot pan until brown and crispy, with an internal temp of around 160°. Amazing. Somewhat like fresh pork belly, but meatier. Ate every crispy flavorful bite! We will have them at market this weekend! See you at Gloversville Farmers Market on Saturday and on Sunday!

08/05/2025

We are so grateful to Schenectady Greenmarket for making it feasible for us and other vendors to accept SNAP. They taught us how to use the Fresh Incentives app and accept the Fresh Incentives card. They help SNAP recipients transfer funds to their cards, and they handle all the paperwork and submissions, and reimburse us with a check in the mail. I can’t tell you how much that helps busy farmers like us, and we are so grateful to be able to provide pasture raised meats to families operating on tighter budgets. In an effort to make these healthy clean meats more accessible, we also try to keep prices down on the less expensive cuts, like ground beef and roasts, and we offer 10% discounts on all purchases made with the Fresh Incentives card. Thank you to the Schenectady Greenmarket board, staff and volunteers for all the important Work they do for our community. And thank you to SNAP to Market for the feature!!

Say hello to Windrake Farm! They accept SNAP and offer 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised beef. Curious who else takes SNAP at your market? Visit nyfarmersmarket.com/snap-farmers-markets to find out!

08/01/2025

I’ll just share a bunch of photos from the week! We had a wonderful week, with visits from my mom and sister. We are also super excited to announce that Windrake Farm is going solar! The panels were installed on one of our barn’s roof, and the electrical hook up should be happening this coming week. We have long dreamed of having our electricity come from sustainable sources, in keeping with our commitment to our environment. While it’s unclear whether we will receive any of the federal incentives to help with the cost, the loan payment is not massively higher than what we already spend on electricity, so we are feeling really good about this decision! More about these pics in our weekly newsletter (link in bio).
See y’all this beautiful weekend at Gloversville Farmers Market and 🌈🌱☀️

04/12/2025

Last indoor market of the season! Also last chance to pick up a fresh ham roast or smoked ham roast for Easter, as there won’t be a market on Easter Sunday. Please shoot me an advance order today, so I have enough roasts with me tomorrow! As always, preorders get a 10% discount.
Here’s a customer picture of their beautiful presentation of one of our fresh ham roasts, with roasted potatoes. Yum!!
Outdoor starts April 27th! Find us right across the street from our usual location on Franklin St.