Crosswinds Farm Creamery Farm fresh cheese, pork, beef & eggs from the Finger Lakes
  • Home
  • Our Farm
  • Contact
  • Shop Now
  • Gifts
  • Beef & Pork CSA
  • "Fill Your Freezer" SPECIALS
  • Recipes
  • Retail Locations
  • Blog: The Dairy Diary
  • Industry
  • Treats for Your Sweetie!

Cheers to 20 Years!  (Part 1)

2/2/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Me & "Cream," one of my first Brown Swiss. Circa 2012
January 2023 marks 20 years since what you know today as Crosswinds Farm & Creamery officially began! Time sure flies, when you’re having fun and when you’re not – it’s been an evolution for sure. But do you know the story of how the family bringing the milk, cheese, and meat you enjoy each week came to be? Throughout the coming year, we’re going to bring it to life for you right here!

First, let me introduce myself – I’m Sarah! I’m the face you usually see in our market booth and the driving force behind this crazy adventure of a life our family has. One of our customers recently asked “you farm, you make cheese, you go to markets, you homeschool – you’re not really busy, are you?” Nope, not really! Those things are my life in a nutshell right now.

I grew up in the town of Catskill, on the Hudson River in eastern NY, where my family has farmed since 1680. How did I get here?

Looking back, it’s been a string of serendipitous connections that have made all the difference.

I fell in love with all things farming (especially big brown cows) earlier than I can remember. Greene County is not a strong agricultural area; there were only 2 working farms in my school district at the time. I was often singled out as a farm kid, but it was always something I was proud of. When I was 6, the whole 1st grade toured our farm, with the current county Dairy Princess assisting. I declared that someday I would be a dairy princess too!

The highlight of my summers growing up was showing our cows at county and state fairs, which is where I met other kids who were like me & loved farming just as much! At 16, I was the first Dairy Princess our county had had in 10 years. On a whim, I entered a scholarship competition with an interview component. One of the fellow competitors I met there would later be my college roommate, and the event connected me to the 4H dairy quiz bowl program in a neighboring county. We earned a trip to the state competition – held at Cornell – which also included a behind-the-scenes tour from a current student, which made me feel at home at a place that would otherwise have overwhelmed me.

Dairy quiz bowl took me to national competitions in Louisville and Columbus, all the while learning, and meeting more people whose life revolved around agriculture. After high school, I chose to come to Cornell for Animal Science, and then had an opportunity to complete an MS in Farm Business Management as well. In high school, my exposure to “business” was the DECA club which sold pencils and candy in the school store. At the time, I had no interest in selling pencils – the irony of now owning a retail store! When I got to Cornell, I was exposed to the world that is business and business management and realized that I loved working with numbers as much as animals. I chose to finish my masters because I knew once I left school to farm, I would never go back.
​
After teen years full of extracurricular activities (but NO basketball) and working on the farm, I was bored at college. So I took crazy course loads, worked multiple jobs, and tried not to get into too much trouble! I don’t think I ever seriously considered a career other than farming, though at the time I certainly did not foresee what our business would look like today. I defended my master’s thesis in December 2002 and started milking my own cows in January 2003!
Picture
Moving my cows to our first farm of our own, January 2003
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

     I'm half of the Crosswinds farmer duo bringing you farm fresh cheeses, beef, and pork from the heart of the Finger Lakes!  Stay tuned for our daily adventures growing a family & a farm, and food for your table. We welcome your questions & comments, but please keep them respectful! For the latest updates, please follow Crosswinds Farm & Creamery on Facebook or Instagram! 

    Archives

    February 2023
    March 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    April 2015

    Categories

    All
    Beef
    Cheese
    Dairy
    Farm Life
    Pork
    Recipes

    RSS Feed

Our Location

What Our Community Is Saying

"Hi guys! Heather here from The Piggery. I just wanted to tell you that I'm obsessed with your swiss cheese and eat it almost daily with our ham or turkey for a super tasty sandwich. Keep up the great work!!! I rave about it to my customers all the time!"
                - Heather Sanford
​                   Owner at The Piggery, Ithaca NY

Contact Us

​Subscribe

Join our mailing list today!
Join Now
  • Home
  • Our Farm
  • Contact
  • Shop Now
  • Gifts
  • Beef & Pork CSA
  • "Fill Your Freezer" SPECIALS
  • Recipes
  • Retail Locations
  • Blog: The Dairy Diary
  • Industry
  • Treats for Your Sweetie!