Forts Ferry Farm
Farmer
Markets
About
Forts Ferry Farm founded in 2015 by a culinary driven husband and wife team, John Barker and Emma Hearst, both of whom are graduates of the Culinary Institute of America. We have a 23 acre farm in Latham, NY on which we grow over 300 varieties of vegetables, flowers and culinary herbs on 3 acres. We also have a small orchard that was started in 2022 and a small livestock program which currently consists of 65 laying hens, two pet steers and 10 hives of bees. While the farm itself is not organically certified, we don't use any chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers. Our value added products, such as hot sauces, salsas, chile powders, and frozen foods are made with many of the things we grow right here on the farm. It is our mission at Forts Ferry Farm to grow and create great food for our neighbors and our community in the Capital Region.
Programs and Partners
Production Practices
Use Only Organic Materials Integrated Pest Management Crop Rotation Cover Crops Low Till
We use manure based compost and organic materials such as composted leaf mulch, micro nutrients and minerals for fertilzation. We remove pests by hand if it looks like we could lose the crop, otherwise we use row covers and have a high tolerance for pests. We design our crop plan to encourage bio diversity and use lots of cover crops and leaf mulch.
Location
Latham, NY
Manager
I co-founded the farm with my wife in 2015. I head up the farm side of the business and she heads up the culinary and value added side of the business. Since 2015 we have grown from a 1 acre growing space to over 3 acres of growing space. We now have 3 full time, year round farm employees and typically one or two seasonal employees. Our Farm Manager, Ivana Zivkovic, is a graduate of Green Mountain College with a bachelors degree in sustainable agriculture and food production. Our Field Lead and Flower Specialist, Sarah Wallen, is also a Green Mountain College graduate with the same degree as Ivana. And Lastly, Julia Champagne, our full time field worker graduated from Cornell with a bachelors degree in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences. We all come together with our different educational and farming experiences to make Forts Ferry Farm the best that it can be.
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