On a Monday morning in October, children run through the barnyard at Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont clutching bags for apple picking. Orchard owner Peter Ten Eyck describes the day before, with 6,000 visitors, as one of the "busiest days in the history of the farm." The farm receives more than 400,000 visitors every year.
For Ten Eyck, opening the farm's doors to the public offers financial benefits and more. "Having a place where people can observe and participate in the process of growing food is worth doing," he says. Sixty years ago there were more than 50 fruit farms in Albany County; today there are only two.
With his daughter Laurie in charge of retail sales, Ten Eyck can focus on the orchards. Working with Cornell University, he grows trial varieties of apples to study ways to reduce pesticide and fungicide spraying. One experimental apple, bred for disease resistance, likely will never reach the general public despite its appealing taste. "Chain stores only take certain kinds of apples," Ten Eyck says. "People should have the chance to decide."
Other parts of the farm could be a museum of apple history. Ten Eyck still grows 18th century varieties such as the Spitzenberg, a favorite apple of Thomas Jefferson. "I keep the historic varieties so that people can stay in touch with apples other than Red Delicious," he says, referring to the common Washington state apple sold in stores across the United States.
Peter Ten Eyck's grandfather started Indian Ladder Farms in 1914, taking the name from the nearby Indian Ladder Trail, thought to have been a Mohawk trade route. In 2001, Ten Eyck sold the development rights on Indian Ladder Farms to New York State, helping conserve farmland that also provides habitat for countless species of birds, reptiles and amphibians, as well as coyote, mink, weasels, otter, black bear and deer. "This area is teeming with wildlife, and the animals cross the farm to breed," says Ten Eyck.
Ten Eyck's farm provides a major part of the scenic overlook from Albany County's Thacher Park. By protecting Indian Ladder Farms, the state has created a large continuous strip of undeveloped land with a unique mix of park, nature preserve, protected farmland and state-owned wetland. |
|
 |
 |
|
| Altamont orchard owner Peter Ten Eyck and friend are always happy when customers come to the farm. |
|
