Healthy Living Loves Local: Denison Farm

 

Denison Farm (Schaghticoke, NY)

Brian and Justine Denison have been farming for more than 25 years, and their farm in Schaghticoke  is also Certified Naturally Grown, producing more than 80 varieties of vegetables that are highly sought after at farmer’s markets in Troy and Saratoga and beyond.   Justine has said that “community-supported agriculture is less about service and more about partnership.  It becomes your farm… You’re invested in it on all levels.”

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This commitment to partnership became especially crucial with the arrival of high technology industry in nearby Malta, and consequential pressure from commercial and residential real estate developers.  The Denison’s obtained a conservational easement for their property – one which bars any future development of the land unrelated to farming – by successfully appealing to their many supporters.  One of these supporters was local Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, who said “We’re going to see a lot of pressure to sell out some of these farms, which is why it’s so vital that we protect them.  Some of the growth is good, [but] we have to balance that out and do the right thing.  It’s conscientious growth, but [we must] protect our way of life up here.”

Visit Healthy Living this week and you can taste the fabulous array of fresh harvested herbs, lettuces, arugula, and more from Denison Farm!!

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