Grace Van Amburgh leads the 10-week old Clydesdale foal.

Paul and Phyllis Van Amburgh, who have been in the organic business for ten years have recently leased and relocated to a certified organic dairy in Sharon Springs, NY. After obtaining the dairy they are continuing their existing business of beef and pork. They are still expanding the farm and constantly making improvements with the herd’s genetics. They currently sell meat from their farm and are hoping to obtain certification to sell raw milk in the future.

The Van Amburgh’s farming experience originally began with draft horses about twelve years ago. They began to meet with farmers and work with organic dairy goats. Shortly after that they began operating Phyllis’s parents’ farm in Rennselaer which lasted for about five years. They made another move to Sprakers, NY, where they lived for four years raising grass fed beef, pork, vegetables and eggs; all organic. Phyllis commented that they have talked about adding an organic dairy for the past two years as a means of Paul becoming a full-time farmer. Previously he had worked both construction and on the farm while Phyllis managed the farm full-time while raising their three small children.

They came in contact with the owner of the organic dairy who was looking for someone new to lease it because the current lease holder was not adequately caring for the livestock. After careful consideration they decided to take the plunge. Phyllis comments that when they first arrived at the farm, last November, the thirty cows were showing signs of severe malnourishment. Throughout the winter they managed the dairy while still living and managing their farm in Sprakers. It was a difficult task as they still had to care for their young children. There was no hay readily available at the dairy; it all had to be purchased. To make matters more challenging, the pigs were farrowing at the Sprakers farm. However, they were able to fix all the problems and move to the dairy with their family and livestock in March. Since then they have bred back about two-thirds of the original herd and are planning to increase the milking herd to 45 by August.

In addition to the dairy, the Van Amburghs have 35 grass fed Devon steers for beef. They plan to increase to ten finished steers per year. 

Two Tamworth sows, one Gloucester Old Spot sow, one Large Black sow and a Tamworth boar are also kept on the farm for producing pork. They usually produce 80 offspring per year which are mostly sold young, but the Van Amburghs will accept preorders to have them finished. They are not planning on expanding their pork business for now. They previously had fifteen sows farrowing twice per year, but the cost of organic grain was too expensive to be cost efficient.

As there are no certified organic processing plants in the area, when the meat is processed it is not certified organic. The Van Amburghs send their meat to Nichol’s Meat Processing in Altamont, NY. The Van Amburghs work closely with the North East Livestock Processing Service to manage the processing of their meat. Phyllis said that NELPS, “has been great.” Much of the meat is sold to restaurants, but it is also always available for sale on the farm on a walk-in basis.

Paul explained that the cost of being organic is often overlooked. While organic milk is sold from a $25.75 base price, the cost of grain is three times higher. They plan to grow more of their own feed next year to minimize this cost. Currently, the Van Amburghs rent two other farms for feed. They bale their own hay and grow field peas, barley and oats. They get their organic grain from Summer Watson and New England Organic and an alfalfa mixture from the co-op in Herkimer. They sell their organic milk to Organic Valley out of Wisconsin. Pasture is the main source of feed on the Van Amburgh farm. Phyllis comments that, “The cows are doing really well…really well on pasture.” Since May they have only fed hay for ten days. They are working with Gerald Fry of Roseburg Arkansas to use pasture based genetics. In addition, the herd is on test with DHI to see what individual cows are producing the most milk. DHI comes to the farm once per month and makes various comparisons such as butter fat, cell count and solids within the herd. The cows have Friesen Holstein genetics.

For about three years, the Van Amburghs have kept two Clydesdale mares. One of them foaled about ten weeks ago. The drum horse foal, that will be sold soon, is crossed with a Gypsy Cob. They use the horses to spread manure and to ted hay. They are planning to breed the mare again.

The name of the farm, “Dharma Lea” is Sanskrit. “Dharma” means the essential nature of a thing and “lea” means grassy meadows. Several students volunteer on the farm such as Amy Trombecky who preps for milking daily, helps milk and cleans up. She also trains and works with the horses to spread manure. Lily Johnson and Kyle Myers have also been working on the farm since school ended. Phyllis comments that they are an incredible help as there is so much work to be done and three small children to care for. Their help will be even more appreciated in the near future as the Van Amburghs are expecting a new child in October.