Cooper's
Ark Farm
by Suzanne
Fisher
Cooper’s
Ark Farm, a local
family-owned farm which provides 60 to
120 dozen eggs to Honest Weight every week, is the creation of Phil and
Pam
Metzger, who moved from Long Island to the beautiful Schoharie Valley
in 1999. Never having farmed before, they fixed the barn and put in
fencing, then
bought 12 goats to begin their agricultural adventure. Six years later,
they
raise chickens, turkeys, pigs, rabbits, guineas and Muscovy
ducks. Ponies, llamas and peacocks also call Cooper’s Ark home.
Cooper’s Ark Farm produces eggs
from naturally fed, free-range chickens, naturally grown garlic
(seasonally for
sale at Honest Weight), and various meats by customer order. They
currently
have close to 600 chickens for laying eggs, 100 meat birds and 100
guinea hens,
all of whom are free-range and are raised without antibiotics,
chemicals, and
with feed containing no animal by-products. The most remarkable facet
of their
farm is that the public is invited to visit and experience it for
themselves. While
any customer (from Honest Weight or otherwise) is welcome to inspect
the farm
at any time to assure themselves of how eggs, meat and produce are
raised, the real
fun is taking a farm tour. The farm is open for tours, for a small fee,
from 9
am to 5 pm, seven days a week from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. The
tour
includes a hay ride and petting zoo. Last year the farm won a state
grant for
agritourism, which was used in part to make a hay wagon handicapped
accessible
and able to accommodate multiple wheel chairs.
Visitors
are invited to bring a lunch to their new picnic area, which seats up
to 25.
Farm mugs containing corn to feed the animals may be purchased, along
with
items such as maple syrup buckets, egg baskets and disposable cameras.
Short
pony trail rides are also available for children, and interaction with
the
animals is encouraged for young and old alike.
If
you would like to find out more about Cooper’s Ark Farm, check out
their web
site, www.coopersarkfarm.com,
where you will find an e-mail address and
phone number for questions, information and pictures from the farm, and
directions
from Albany.
If
you find yourself with some free time on a beautiful day, pack a picnic
and
head on out to Schoharie to visit with Pam and Phil — and tell them
where you
shop for groceries!
Back to index
|
CoopScoop Home
CoopScoop Archives
Behind the Scoop
Guidelines for Article
Submission
|
