by Deborah Trupin

Cooper’s Ark Farm, in Schoharie, is one of Honest Weight Food Coop’s egg suppliers. The eggs from Cooper’s Ark are from free-range hens, who eat grass, water, and grain with no chemicals or hormones. The farm typically has between 500 and 750 laying hens. But the 15½-acre farm along the Schoharie Creek is about more than just eggs and chickens.

While proprietors Phil and Pam Metzger also raise goats and pigs for meat (which they sell to individuals), they are also focusing on developing their farm as a destination for those who want to see and learn about farming. Pam Metzger remembers raising her children on Long Island and making trips upstate to see farms, but having to knock on random farm doors in order to do so. To make it easier for today’s children to see life on a farm, they have opened their farm to visitors.

The Metzgers are particularly excited about their latest undertaking. They recently received a grant from the New York State Agritourism Educational Program (part of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets) to develop a handicap-accessible hay ride. The farm visit at Cooper’s Ark begins with a hay ride to the barn, and Phil Metzger realized that people in wheelchairs or with other mobility problems were not able to participate. Pam Metzger noted that they have always been involved with handicapped children, so this seemed a logical project for them. They will construct a ramp to permit anyone to get onto the hay wagon and are also having road work done so that those riding on the wagon in a wheel chair will be safe and comfortable. The accessible hay ride should be available later this summer.

The Metzgers are recent "converts" to farming, having bought the farm about five years ago, moving up from Long Island, where Phil worked in construction. They are very enthusiastic about their enterprise and their animals. They emphasize that all their animals are friendly, so children can get close to them. In contrast to many places where people can feed the animals small amounts of pre-ground chemical-laden feed, at Coopers Ark Farm, visitors can purchase whole corn on the cob and then shell it and grind it themselves using old-time shellers and hand grinders. They also offer pony rides—through the woods, rather than in the typical hot, dusty ring. Phil also mentioned that the farm has several varieties of donkeys, llamas, hair sheep (which resemble llamas) and "lion-head" rabbits, a rare breed. From his excitement about the variety of the animals, there may well be some other types there in the near future.