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About Us
How It Started:
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. Then a hive of honeybees moved into the wall of a
farm outbuilding. Our friend David Martin convinced David Belding
to capture the bees and raise them for honey. We didn't realize it
at the time, but this was our first livestock! Before we talk about what happened next, lets meet Dani
and David. Top Of Page
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. Dani retired from her
psychologist position at the NYS Department of Corrections in 2007 to
devote full time to the farm. Top Of
Page
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 the joys of 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. David also owns an industrial
services business call CNC Services and wishes he did not have to leave
the farm. Top Of Page
Our First Season:
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 worked 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." Top Of Page
The Dogs:
Poco is the matriarch of our dog pack. An Australian Shepard
mix, she came to us from the dog pound. Poco loves to swim, sail
and canoe (for all of five minutes), play with her siblings, skijore,
herd motorcycles (Harleys are her favorite), and generally enjoy life.
Poco is getting up in years and is losing her hearing and sight, but not
her joie de vivre. She loves being on the farm, because she can go
in and out at will, and she is always on the wrong side of the door (so
she thinks!) Top Of Page
Gemini
came to us from a broken home. Her parents divorced, mom got
custody, and her new apartment didn't allow dogs.
Gemini is husky, chow, and German Shepard. Gemini is our
"procurer." She always knows where there is a supply of deer
bones, duck eggs, and other delectable goodies. Gemini perks up
when the coyotes sing at night; she thinks they are her pack mates
calling her home. Gemini loves to hunt for frogs, chase the pigs,
and sometimes skijore and dogsled. Top Of
Page
Snowtoes
came to us from the county dog shelter. His lineage is uncertain,
but we think he is a Belgian sheepdog mix. Snowtoes loves to have
his belly rubbed. He loves to chase squirrels and hunt for
muskrats. Snowtoes was our lead dog on the skijore and sled team
until a back injury ruined his sports career. Snowtoes loves to
cuddle by laying on top of you. This wouldn't be a problem,
except he weighs about 65 pounds. Top Of
Page
Splash Gordon, known as Splash for short, is the newest member
of our dog pack. We adopted Splash from a family on Fort Drum
after a new baby made him just too much to handle. Splash is a
bundle of energy, and very affectionate. As his name suggests,
Splash loves anything to do with water, especially swimming and
splashing. Splash is genuinely fascinated with the pigs; he never
misses a chance to go visit them. Splash is our new lead dog on
the skijore and dogsled team. He can't wait to start pulling.
When Splash is in harness while we are getting ready to start our run,
he gets so excited he jumps straight up in the air.
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The Kitties:
Panda
is old enough to have voted for Barack Obama; she turned 18 last July!
She came to David in June of 1990, tucked inside her mama's belly.
Panda is the official farm office cat. She doesn't like to go
downstairs, but if you present a lap upstairs in the farmhouse, Panda
will be on it!. Top Of Page
Gracie is our
newest cat. She is an inside/outside cat and is charged with
rodent control. Gracie is very sociable and loves her four canine
brothers and sisters. Gracie wants to make friends with Panda, but
Panda is not sure of this new whippersnapper.
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The Property: The property
consists of 102 acres on both sides of Cross Island Road on Wellesley
Island, in the Thousands Islands Region of the Saint Lawrence River in
Northern NY. Included on this property are extensive wetlands with
beaver ponds, forested areas with hardwood and softwood trees, fields
both open and brushy, rocky ridges featuring the classic Wellesley
Island pink granite, and the farmstead which includes the farmhouse,
garage, farmstand, and other farm structures.
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The
Wetlands consist of numerous beaver ponds on both
sides of the road. Some are currently active and others are
presently abandoned. The status of the ponds changes on a regular
basis, as the existing beavers eat all of the available trees and brush
and move on, and later other beavers (or perhaps the same beavers) move
in to an area where some brush has regrown or where they can access
trees and brush on the neighbor's property. About thirty acres of
this wetlands is NYS DEC Class II, which is the second highest
protection status in New York. We actively work with the DEC, NRCS,
and Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District to manage our
farm in a manner that preserves and enhances the natural values of these
wetlands. Top Of Page
The Woods consist of a variety of mixed
hardwood and softwood forest areas. Typical species include red
maple, sugar maple, hop-hornbeam (ironwood), birch, ash, cedar, white
pine, elm, apple, pear, cherry, grey dogwood, poplar, beech, and many
others. There are quite a number of old red and white oak trees
that probably date back to the eighteen hundreds. Certainly two
people cannot clasp their arms together around the trunks. These
oaks are mostly open grown, with large limbs right to the ground.
This means that they were most likely left for shade for the cattle when
the island was clear-cut in the 1800's.
We manage
our forests on a sustainable basis according to the Forest Stewardship
Management Plan, which was prepared by our DEC Master Forester, Glen
Roberts. Our goals include improving the forest for wildlife
habitat, recreational opportunities including hiking, skiing, and nature
photography, maple syrup production, firewood production, fence post and
other farm wood product production, and timber stand improvement.
We choose trees to be removed with an eye to the long-term improvement
of the forest, and try to do most logging in the winter, when it is
least intrusive and damaging to the remaining trees and other plant
life. Top Of Page
The Fields
consist
primarily of overgrown pastures and hayfields. As near as we can
tell, the last livestock (before we came here) left the farm in the
1960's or before. There is a huge amount of grey dogwood brush on
the property. We suspect it is there to such a large degree only
because it is very low on the preferred diets of deer and beavers.
We are working on selectively reclaiming fields for garden, pasture, and
other crops. In so doing we leave buffer areas to protect the
adjoining wetlands and also to provide continued wildlife habitat for
birds, reptiles, amphibians, and other creatures. This is
sometimes referred to as Farmscaping. It benefits the farm, as a
diverse ecosystem is a natural protection against major pest
infestations. We also really enjoy watching all of the natural
wildlife. Top Of Page
The Rocky Ridges-- Our farm is
surrounded to the northwest by rocky ridges that define the
property boundary with our neighbors, the Huntleys. Across the
road there are two additional rocky ridges entirely on our property.
Although this part of northern NY is known to be pretty flat, there is
over eighty feet elevation difference between the swamp floor and the
ridge tops. The native rock includes various quartz and granite,
including the native Wellesley Island pink granite, which is quite
beautiful. The two ridges run parallel and then join at their
north east ends to create a sort of box canyon effect, along with some
interesting micro-climates. Top Of Page
The Farmhouse
was started in the 1830's, and its not done yet! The main house is
constructed of double layers of two inch thick planks, run vertically.
They were probably cut from the old growth forest when the island was
clear cut in the early 1800's. The main basement and the well are
constructed from fieldstone. When you take the cap off the 27'
deep dug well and look inside, you feel like you should throw in a
quarter and make a wish. The farmstead sits on a two acre rise,
surrounded on three sides by a horseshoe-shaped moat of cattail-filled
wetlands. Although we are surrounded by wetlands, we rarely notice
problems with mosquitoes, as there is almost always a pleasant breeze.
The old settlers certainly understood the importance of site selection.
In the summertime we love to sit in the shade of the sugar maple trees
and enjoy the cool breezes. Top Of Page
Our Vision
is to build an ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable
farm, diversified in plant and animal life, that provides us with a
reasonable living, our community with healthy, wholesome food, the
environment with a good neighbor, and provides educational opportunities
for as many people as possible about how to produce organic,
sustainable, local, healthy food. We also want to be able to have
this vision and this farm continue long after we are gone.
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