When Nature & Small Family Agriculture Is a Gift to Us

By Brenda Shufelt

A small portion of the field across from the Barn at Miller’s Crossing, photo by author

Liquid Gold in a bottle, sold at the Barn at Miller’s Crossing

Recently, upon returning from vacation, my friend and neighbor Beth texted me: “Cape was good. Nice to be away but better to come back to this paradise!” And, newly returned, she was heading straight to see and photograph the beautiful field of sunflowers across from the Barn at Miller’s Crossing store on Route 217. She also works at the store and let me know that the sunflower oil from the local family-owned company that processes the oil is sold there. 

This particular field of sunflowers has become quite a sensation. Most of you reading this have probably visited the sunflowers by now! Cars are stopped along the roadside all day long as motorists, from far and wide, get out and take photos. I met a man from Cold Springs when I was at the farm store who came to photograph the field. These images are showing up all over social media and there are even memes with the field as a background; like this one of Bernie Sanders in mittens and a coat (the Bernie photo was originally taken at an event he was attending and it was used in many viral memes several years ago)!

Meme by a local member who prefers to be anonymous

And Glenn Wheeler, a local drone operator, has filmed the full field of 750,000 sunflowers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH_GcQ0xbO8 !! 

I asked Katie Smith, co-owner along with her husband Chris Cashen of the Farm (& the Barn) at Miller’s Crossing: “What’s the deal with the sunflower field?” She said that her farm is contracted to grow the sunflowers by a family that has a business, Fonte Puro, processing and selling sunflower oil. Miller’s Crossing and Fonte Puro have had this arrangement for a few years but the sunflower crop needs to be rotated in different fields so this is the first year they are along Route 217 in such a prominent place. A few years ago Fonte Puro had their own field on Fish & Game Road that also came to people’s attention for its beauty. Fonte Puro is a local (Claverack!) family-owned business and they have a special method for extracting the oil. They cold-press the oil which does not use deodorizing or chemicals in the process. Their cold-press method is from the region of Romania and Poland and that knowledge comes from their own family heritage. Cold-pressing keeps the taste of the sunflower seeds in the oil and, in fact, Hawthorne Valley uses this oil exclusively in their bread making. 

A sunflower head grown larger as the seeds mature, photo by author

So, let’s all collectively take a minute to just love our beautiful town; an area full of natural beauty and the agricultural beauty of small family farms. And, let’s patronize our local farmstands and farm stores as a means of supporting them, developing community and getting really excellent food!

 It takes a village; or at least the farmer, the sun, the soil, the sunflower and the bee! Photo by Lynda Akerman

This newsletter and all the work of the Climate Smart Claverack Committee is done by all volunteers who are engaged in securing a future for our town in which this beauty, this bounty is able to be protected, sustained and even expanded. If you are interested in volunteering or would like to know more about CSCCs initiatives email info@climatesmartclaverack.com