Growing Grains

Monday, March 20th, 7pm EST

Register Here

Doug Crabtree, Vilicus Farms

Doug Crabtree and his wife Anna own and operate Vilicus Farms, a 12,500-acre certified organic dry-land farm growing 15 – 20 grain, pulse, broadleaf and oilseed crops annually. Having started the farm “from scratch,” they share a passion for beginning farmers.

Jay Goldmark, Stone House Grain

Jay Goldmark currently manages Stone House Farm in Hudson, NY for the Peggy McGrath Rockefeller Foundation. The farm grows organic corn, beans, peas, sunflowers, small grains, and lots of cover crops across 2,000 acres. Stone House also operates an on-farm feed mill that connects the grain fields to the local community of livestock farmers, bakers, distillers, and brewers.

Jay grew up farming on his family’s third generation 8,000-acre wheat and cattle ranch in eastern Washington State. He learned about the chemical properties of soil from his father, who is also a molecular biologist, and how to relate to the soil from his mother, who felt the spirit of the land the family farmed. After graduate school, he returned home to run the family ranch for eight years, transitioning to no-till practices and certifying 100 acres in organic grains, which opened the possibility to serve a local flour mill and feel connected as a grain farmer to the local community. In 2018, he moved to the Hudson Valley to help transition a 1500-acre farm owned by Peter and Jennifer Buffett to organic practices. Here he practiced innovative farming methods like relay cover cropping, crimping and no-till planting, while tracking soil health changes with researchers. Jay holds a BA in Philosophy from Whitman College and an MFA in Writing from Columbia University.

Questions? Contact Ariel: ariel@realorganicproject.org

Future sessions coming up in 2023: