blue hill at stone barns

The Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture is a non-profit farm, educational center and restaurant in Westchester County, New York. It was created on 80 acres (320,000 m2) formerly belonging to the Rockefeller estate in Pocantico Hills by David Rockefeller and his daughter, Peggy Dulany. It is dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture, local food, and community-supported agriculture. Its proximity to New York City allows people who primarily live in urban and suburban settings to experience a working farm.

Stone Barns Center is also home to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant that offers guests contemporary cuisine using local ingredients, with an emphasis on produce from the farm at Stone Barns. Blue Hill staff also participate in the Stone Barns Center's education programs.

Stone Barns Center is a four-season operation, producing food even in deep winter in the minimally heated greenhouse. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Four Season Farm 3 Livestock 4 Blue Hill at Stone Barns Restaurant 5 Top Chef 6 See also 7 References 8 External links //

History

The land where the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture now sits was once part of the Rockefeller estate, which has existed in the Pocantico Hills area since the 1890s. The stone barns themselves were commissioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr. to be a dairy farm. [1] The Stone Barns complex fell into disuse during the 1950s, and was mainly used for storage. In the 1970s, agricultural activity resumed at Stone Barns when David Rockefeller's wife Peggy began a successful cattle breeding operation.

The Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture as it exists today was created by David Rockefeller, his daughter, Peggy Dulany, and their associate James Ford as a memorial for Peggy Rockefeller, who died in 1996. [2]. The Stone Barns Center opened to the public in May 2004.

Four Season Farm

The farm at Stone Barns is a four-season operation with about 6 acres (24,000 m2) used for vegetable production. It serves as an educational resource by illustrating land use that is environmentally, economically and culturally sustainable. The farmers use an intensively managed six-year rotation schedule in the field and greenhouse beds, preserving the soil and locking in important nutrients.

The farm grows 200 varieties of produce year-round, both in the outdoor fields and gardens and in the 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) minimally heated greenhouse that capitalizes on each season’s available sunlight. Among the crops suitable for the local soil and climate are rare varieties such as celtuse, suiho, hakurei turnips, New England Eight-Row Flint seed corn and finale fennel. The highly diversified crops allows farmers to hedge their bets against poor weather.

The farmers use no pesticides, herbicides or chemical additives. The primary amendment to the soil is a highly nutritious compost, often referred to as "black gold," made from leaves, grass clippings,