New Store, Offices, Animals, Programs At Tilly Foster Farm

BREWSTER, NY — As Putnam County expands programs at Tilly Foster Farm, a lease for a retail store is set to be approved Wednesday during the Putnam County Legislature's last meeting for 2021.

The home decor business, Jar Worthy, opened Oct. 22 at the farm on Route 312.

The company is renting the first floor of Tilly Foster Building 7 at $800 a month.

According to the resolution before the legislature, the store will also sell goods produced by the county at the farm to "make its products accessible to the general public and to realize the financial benefits of its agricultural production."

The building is within the conservation easement with the Watershed Agricultural Council, and according to the resolution the county is pursuing the necessary change of use approval for the store as a rural enterprise.

The county's Nov. 24 update about Tilly Foster Farm didn't mention Jar Worthy, but did talk about many of the other changes and what's coming in 2022.

• Cornell Cooperative Extension created a Pollinator Pathway at the farm and has increased production in the newly expanded garden. The county opened a farm stand to the public this year, in addition to providing produce to the Tilly’s Table restaurant and to the lunch program at the county’s Office for Senior Resources.
• CCE helped secure a grant for a creamery and plans to use the commercial kitchen to jar vegetables and honey.
• An outdoor sculpture show was hosted by Collaborative Concepts.
• The county has partnered with Putnam Arts Council, which now has exclusive rights to display art in Tilly’s Table, the successful farm-to-market restaurant on the property. This arrangement helps promote local artists.
• Tilly’s Table began operating an event space in the barn. The space is so popular for weddings, bridal showers and more that all but two Saturdays in 2022 are already booked.
• To educate the next generation in sustainable practices, the county has partnered with Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES, creating an Animal Care program for high school students, and building a commercial kitchen that students in the Culinary Arts Program use.
• Historic images of Putnam County farms have been displayed at Tilly Foster and the farm was a stop on the recent self-guided history tour.
• The concert series brought more than 7,000 people to the farm.
• The Putnam County Tourism office relocated there in June and helped host the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week kick-off event at the restaurant in October.

“We knew this was going to be good when we started,” Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell said in the update. “But every year, it has just gotten better. There is so much energy and creative talent working here. Tilly is now a huge draw for tourism, and it establishes Putnam County as the gateway to the Hudson Valley with its embrace of all things farm-to-table, local, sustainable – all of which have become even more attractive during COVID.”

Coming in 2022:

• CCE will move into the Cantina, the red building just beyond the llamas and the farm stand, which visitors see when they pull into the farm. CCE is renovating the building at no cost to the county and will host its 4-H Youth, Master Gardener and other community programs there.
• The Putnam County Economic Development Corporation is working to bring film and television production to the site.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, county officials sent out an update about the new animals:

There are all sorts of new creatures – great and small – at the Tilly Foster Farm and Educational Institute.

In October, the farm welcomed Truman and Diesel, percheron horses that each weigh about 2,400 pounds and tower over their trainer. Some weeks later, a few baby Pygmy Goats took up residence at the farm. Then, in December, a couple of miniature donkeys joined the crowd.

“People from all over will bring their children to Tilly Foster Farm to learn about our new animals,” MaryEllen Odell, Putnam County Executive, said “Our new horses, goats and donkeys also serve as part of the Animal Care educational program we developed with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES. Three classes a day of students come to Tilly Foster Farm to learn how to train and care for our farm animals.”

The size difference among the farm’s newest residents isn’t the only distinction among them. They each have their own personality, said Lisa Walker the assistant farmer at Tilly Foster.

Truman and Diesel are Percheron, the gentle giant of horse breeds. As draft horses, they are known for their strength and stamina. Percheron are often seen pulling carriages or giving hayrides. The horses are on loan to the county by the Blumberg family of Brewster.

The baby Pygmy Goats, named Winter, Clarice and Tip Toe, were donated to the county by Muscoot Farm in Somers, where they were born in April. Pygmy Goats grow to about 65 pounds.

“They are incredibly playful and friendly,” Walker said. “They are the silly goats you see climbing on rocks and bucking and joking around. People do Yoga with Pygmy Goats. They’ll stand on your back nibble at you. They are very curious.”

The farm’s newest residents are Sardinian Donkeys named Darius and Dante. These are miniature donkeys whose breed hails from the island of Sardinia in Italy. They grow to between 30 and 50 inches tall.

Darius and Dante were donated to the county by Garrison residents Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, the founders of Magazzino Italian Art, the museum in Cold Spring. The couple donated the donkeys to Tilly Foster Farm for education purposes and for the public to view.

These donkeys have a long and storied lineage. Their ancestors came from Sardinia to Massachusetts in 1936. Then the pair of original donkeys were moved to Texas, where Chip and Voyle, each a parent of one of Tilly’s new donkeys, were born. Chip and Voyle arrived at Nancy and Giorgio’s farm in Cold Spring N.Y. in 1996.

Darius’s father is Chip and Dante’s mother is Voyle. The rest of the herd of donkeys can be visited at Magazzino.

Darius and Dante are still adjusting to their new surroundings, but will probably be ready to leave the barn and meet the public sometime in January, said Chris Ruthven, deputy commissioner of the Putnam County Parks Department.

“We wanted the public to see and interact with them,” Ruthven said. “They’re vocal animals and they’re fun for the kids to look at. They are known to protect other animals. I suspect they will be looking out for the Pygmy goats.”

Tilly Foster Farm and Educational Institute, on Route 312 in the Town of Southeast, is free and open to the public every day.

Editor's Note: The original version of this report stated that the Putnam County Legislature's end-of-year meeting was Dec. 21. It is Dec. 22.