Every farm…every family has a story. The story is only as great as the men and women who write it with their determination, passion and perseverance to build a legacy or to simply fulfill a dream. Shaul Farms is no different. The story for this Farm is simply a story of dreams, faith and hope.
The roots of Shaul Farms are deep in the Schoharie Valley. Present day Shaul Farms incorporates 1250 acres of tillable land and 800 acres of non-tillable land. The primary production focus of the Farm is producing high quality grain corn and fresh market vegetables. The Farm has the capability to grind and sell corn meal, store and sell 250,000 bushels of grain corn, maintain a retail road stand and sell fresh vegetables directly to local grocery stores chains.
The Shaul family story is rich and enmeshed deep in the fabric of local history in the Schoharie Valley, Herkimer, and Sharon Springs New York. The following story is most likely laced with inaccuracies as the story has been left to the interpretations of generations of storytellers. However, without those story-tellers, this story would have been long forgotten and lost to the sands of time.
This story, as I know it, is based on research necessary to reach the goal of completing applications for recognition of the Farm as a Century and Bicentennial Farm in New York State by the New York State Agriculture Society. These recognitions are honorary. The purpose of these awards is solely to recognize the longevity and legacy of New York families committed to agriculture. This story primarily follows the land transfers leading to the present day Shaul Farms, Inc. focusing on the land concentrated in the Schoharie Valley from Middleburgh to Fultonham, New York.
As members of farm families we are children of the land. We are born of and raised to honor the land. To my children as being a part of the next generation it is important for you to hear and understand this story. Still the families of your parents combine two very different yet intertwined legacies. These legacies speak to the land, while the other requires stewardship to humanity. These legacies come at a price and with great expectation. My Uncle Bernard was my family’s story teller and historian. He instilled the lesson and foundation of ‘before you can totally know where you are going you need to know from where you came.’ It is your choice how you learn to honor your family’s legacy and find your own life’s path.
Here lays the story three hundred years later…