Our story
Luke Deikis & Cara Fraver
Quincy Farm is run by Luke Deikis and Cara Fraver, and Tucker the dog.
Luke grew up in southeast Michigan, near Ann Arbor, while Cara grew up in central Pennsylvania, just north of the Maryland border. We were both raised in agricultural communities, though not in farming families. We met in New York City in 2003.
For 5 years we lived together in Brooklyn, enjoying our small apartment and huge (for NYC) garden. At the time, we loved living in Brooklyn.
Luke worked as an electrician in the television industry, lighting TV shows, commercials, and promos. Cara worked for many years at Just Food, the non-profit that coordinates CSA's in New York City. She set up Just Food's Fresh Food For All program, which links farmers with food pantries and soup kitchens to make fresh, nutritious, locally grown food available to families in need. Prior to that, she organized a new CSA in Ravenswood, Queens, which evolved to become the thriving Hellgate CSA.
In 2007, we started trying to leave the city. We spent all our free time looking for land and teaching ourselves the difference between a big garden and a small farm, hoping to start out on our own and learn by doing. Luckily, sky-high real estate prices and what little good sense we had dissuaded us.
Luke grew up in southeast Michigan, near Ann Arbor, while Cara grew up in central Pennsylvania, just north of the Maryland border. We were both raised in agricultural communities, though not in farming families. We met in New York City in 2003.
For 5 years we lived together in Brooklyn, enjoying our small apartment and huge (for NYC) garden. At the time, we loved living in Brooklyn.
Luke worked as an electrician in the television industry, lighting TV shows, commercials, and promos. Cara worked for many years at Just Food, the non-profit that coordinates CSA's in New York City. She set up Just Food's Fresh Food For All program, which links farmers with food pantries and soup kitchens to make fresh, nutritious, locally grown food available to families in need. Prior to that, she organized a new CSA in Ravenswood, Queens, which evolved to become the thriving Hellgate CSA.
In 2007, we started trying to leave the city. We spent all our free time looking for land and teaching ourselves the difference between a big garden and a small farm, hoping to start out on our own and learn by doing. Luckily, sky-high real estate prices and what little good sense we had dissuaded us.
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In the spring of 2008, we moved to Columbia County to apprentice with Jean-Paul Courtens and Jody Bolluyt at Roxbury Farm. Roxbury was the first farm to deliver CSA vegetables to NYC back in 1991, and their 300+ acre farm now provides biodynamic veggies and meat to 1,200 families in New York.
We spent the 2009 growing season working for Benjamin Shute at Hearty Roots Farm. Hearty Roots is a model success story in the Hudson Valley, expanding in 5 years from only 30 members to now feed 500 families and provide a weekly 900lb soup kitchen delivery. In 2010, we were back at Roxbury, still tirelessly searching for land to start on our own. |
 Cara at Roxbury Farm, 2008. |
We were unwilling to start out somewhere without long-term tenure, but unable to purchase land where we want to farm. Our search had long ago moved from purchasing to include ground-leases and lease-to-own opportunities. We connected with preservation groups and land conservancies and spent every free day visiting properties and talking with landowners, hoping to find that one needle in a haystack that would allow us to finally put down our own roots. We saw dozens and dozens of properties, and though there were several attractive opportunities, there was nothing that was Just Right.
 The Wright family farm, now Quincy Farm. |
In June of 2010, we were visiting a friend who farms in Washington County and figured we'd visit some properties that were for sale. We'd generally given up the idea of purchasing land, but we were willing to try anything. As we pulled up to the Wright farm, we realized we might have found our glass slipper... If we could only afford it.
We began researching the property and contacting every organization we thought might possibly, maybe, be interested in our cause. We were hoping to convince someone else to buy the farm and lease it to us, but we were open to anything. |
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Fortunately, we found help in the form of two fantastic non-profits, the Open Space Institute and the Agricultural Stewardship Association. Working together, we were able to create a conservation easement on the land that will ensure it retains its agricultural value forever. This easement also lowered the purchase price of the land enough that, with a big stretch, we were able to purchase the Wright's property and continue its legacy as a successful family farm. We can't say thank you enough to OSI and ASA. Without them, this wouldn't be possible.
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We finally closed on the property in April of 2011, and sold at three fantastic local farmers' markets that season. Despite record spring flooding followed by Hurricane Irene in the fall, we had a good year, and even managed to get married on the farm after nine years of waiting!
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The 2012 growing season treated us well, and we supplied five markets and a newly-established CSA in Ballston Spa with great veggies. We expanded our production to accommodate three winter markets, and are excited to offer CSA shares to additional communities in 2013... We'd love to have you on board! Click the Contact Us or Newsletter link to get in touch, or the Where to find our veggies link to track us down. Thanks for reading!
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QuincyFarm@gmail.com (518) 290–0296 (you must dial 518 !) |
5 Wrights Rd Schaghticoke, NY 12154 |
