John King is one of those hale and hearty men that was born to be a farmer. He grew up on a farm outside of Oneonta, and his extended family owned a farm in Virginia. Today, John and his family own Royal Acres Farm in Middletown, as well as a stretch of the black dirt out in Pine Island.

Royal Acres is more than a farm, it’s also a Community Supported Agricultural Project (C.S.A.) where you can become a shareholder and receive a portion of the produce grown on a weekly basis. You can also find Royal Acres at many of the local farmers markets including the Village of Montgomery on Friday afternoons, the Newburgh Market on Friday, and Pine Bush Farmer’s Market on Saturday.

The joy of farming for King is that “it’s the type of business you can see,” he quips. “You plant, you water, you tend, it grows. Yes there’s weather and there are animals, but that’s part of it.” Clearly King enjoys working outside, and getting his three kids involved in the farm as well. You may catch his mother minding the store at his farm market booth as well.

“If you support local farmers,” King says, “local farmers stay in business. Quality and freshness don’t come cheap. Locally-grown food may cost less, but then again, it might not!” King confides. Many local farmers have expressed concern that people will often balk at the cost of produce in farm markets. Buyers are surprised that buying directly from a farm doesn’t always result in instant savings.

Actually, most of the produce in supermarkets is cheap because it’s imported from other countries like China. Farm workers are paid pennies to the dollars that our local farmers have to pay for labor. Plus, many countries have very lax environmental laws that allow crops to be saturated in pesticides that are illegal in the U.S.

“Farms stimulate the (local) economy in all sorts of ways. Farmers buy seed, supplies, machinery, tools, and equipment from local dealers.” They also employ local people, advertise locally, and support local nonprofits.  This keeps money flowing through the local economy longer, generating a “multiplier effect.” For every dollar you spend at a farm stand, it has the same economic impact as two dollars in the local community.

Visit Royal Acres Farm on Scotchtown-Collabar Road in Middletown, or call (845) 692-6719 to become a member of the C.S.A.

Thanks to Carrie Jacobson for her help on this column. Shawn Dell Joyce is an award-winning newspaper columnist and director of the Wallkill River School in Montgomery, NY. www.WallkillRiverSchool.com

Zucchini Bread (recipe courtesy of the King Family, reprinted from “Orange County Bounty” local foods cookbook written by and available at the Wallkill River School)

Ingredients:

2C shredded raw zucchini

2C sugar

1C cooking oil

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3C flour

1/4tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp clove

1 C chopped nuts

Optional:  ½ C raisins or chocolate chips

Combine sugar with oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. Mix dry ingredients and blend into mixture. Add nuts and optional ingredients. Pour into greased loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for an hour or more.

Shawn Dell Joyce is an author of Orange County Bounty local foods cookbook and director of the Wallkill River School in Montgomery.

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