Local, Wellesley Island Grown, Certified Organic
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Cross Island Farms was started in 2005 by Dani Baker and David Belding. After purchasing the 102 acre farmstead from the estate of Claude Harden, Dani and David became intrigued by the idea of making the land productive again, while being good stewards of the land and water resources entrusted to them. They initially contacted the Department of Environmental Conservation to learn about protecting the Class II wetlands on the property. Next they had a DEC Senior Forester tour the property and develop a Forest Stewardship Management Plan for the forested areas. Before we talk about what happened next, lets meet Dani and David.
Dani Baker grew up spending summers in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. She also tended the family garden, developing a love for the soil and a love for the beauty of nature. Dani believes in the importance of eating wholesome natural foods with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Spare time is spent hiking, cross country skiing, or in the seat of one of her many kayaks and canoes, interspersing aerobic paddling with nature photography.
David Belding grew up in northeast Ohio, near the birthplace of the Mother Earth News, and read it cover to cover from the first edition. His Aunt Maudy introduced him to vegetable gardening while he was still in elementary school. David’s dream was always to own an organic farm. In high school he did research papers on methane generators and geodesic domes, among other interests.
In the fall of 2005 Dani discovered a course at Cornell Cooperative Extension called “Building Your Small Farm Dream” and suggested that she and David take the class to get some ideas for making the farm productive again. Here’s what happened next, according to David.
“Dani works full time plus for the state and I have a full time business
off the farm. When we started the class we thought that maybe we would
plant a few cold hardy grape vines. Since taking the class (and still
doing our full time gigs) we have done the following on our farm: made
maple syrup for the first time (11 1/2 gallons) and sold it, planted 140
Christmas trees, had our first honey harvest from our bees and sold the
honey, planted, grew, and sold 3500 square feet of vegetables, planted
36 cold hardy grapevines of 11 varieties, opened and operated our road
side produce stand, planted raspberries, rhubarb, asparagus, cherries,
and apricots for future years' harvest, and picked and sold pears and
apples from trees already on our property. Oh, and we also got
certified organic on August 1st. We also purchased supplies to start
some Shiitake mushroom logs, but amazingly we have not yet found the
time to get those started! We also made piles of compost and prepared a
new field for expansion in 2007. Our contact with Cornell Cooperative
Extension has led us to attend numerous training sessions on production
and marketing for most of the crops listed above and many others as
well."
David & Dani at the farm stand. Click picture for a larger image.