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Mission: Our mission is to produce high-quality, nourishing farm products; to champion innovative environmental stewardship; and to share our legacy of place and family.
Vision: Thriving lands, teeming waters: nurtured lives.
Core Values: At Riverdale Farm, we believe that quality and integrity, and a relationship-focused approach with our animals, land, and community propel us to lead and collaborate; as well as innovate, educate, and inspire sustainability and viability.
History:
The Frisbee family has deep agricultural roots in Delhi and the surrounding area, dating from 1788, when Judge Gideon Frisbee acquired property for his home and farm. A veteran of the Revolutionary War, he was instrumental in the settling of Delhi and Delaware County.
Through the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, Frisbee descendants owned and farmed various properties in the Delhi area. Wyatt Frisbee purchased what is now Riverdale Farm in 1919, and operated a small dairy while developing the large farmhouse on the property into a boarding house and inn for summer guests.
In the 1950s, when milk was no longer picked up in milk cans, Wyatt sold his dairy cows and transitioned to raising beef animals. In the 1960s, Wyatt’s son, Willard, and Willard’s wife, Lucile, purchased the farm and the inn, eventually converting the inn to apartments. They maintained the small herd of Herefords, which served as inspiration for their grandchildren, Gideon and Chelsea, to purchase animals and begin small herds of their own.
In 2011, Willard and Lucile placed the farm under a conservation easement, protecting the land from future development while allowing it to continue as a farm and forest enterprise. The conservation easement protects water quality to ensure cleaner water for those who rely on the Catskill Watershed.
Actually, the Frisbee farm has a long history with the Watershed Agricultural Council. In 1997 Riverdale was enrolled in the Council's Small Farms Program. The family currently works with the Ag Council’s Forestry Program; Willard’s son, Ron is a qualified watershed forester who has written and implemented a forest management plan that supports both the family maple syrup business, fuel, and sawtimber enterprises. Riverdale’s maple syrup operation is a fourth generation tradition carried on in the farm’s original sap house, which sits next to the picturesque big, red, nineteenth century barn.
History in the Making:
Eight generations after Judge Frisbee began farming in the valley, the Frisbee family continues the agricultural legacy. Ron and his son, Gideon, operate the farm with the support of their wives, Susan and Liz. They raise beef cattle, pigs, and chickens. Liz has started a cut flower business on the farm called, Binnekill Flowers, and Chelsea moved back to Delhi in 2019 and married Marcus Johnson. They plan to live on the farm as well.
New to the farm within the last two years, and following our vision of innovation, collaboration, and sustainability, is a covered feed pad with a woodchip barnyard for the cows. This is one of the first of its kind in New York State and the family looks forward to sharing its benefits with the agricultural community as time goes on. In addition, a new saphouse was built across the road from the big, red barn with the help of SUNY Delhi Construction and Electrical program students. This saphouse will support a new wood-fired maple syrup evaporator; a walk-in refrigerator and freezer; and areas for a future commercial kitchen, educational workshops, and store. We look forward to sharing more details of these projects as we finish them!
The Frisbee family has worked together to develop a business plan for the farm and its enterprises, including a mission and vision for the farm moving forward. They also worked with the Watershed Ag Council's transition program to develop a transition plan for the farm. Through this work, Riverdale Farm was transitioned from Ron's ownership into an irrevocable trust. You can watch the Watershed Ag Council's video of the Frisbee's experience with this transition plan below. This is something the Frisbees are very proud of and hope it will be beneficial for future Frisbee generations.
Gideon and Liz's children, Wyatt, Porter, and Rosella, and Chelsea and Marcus' son, Tiyas, make up the 9th generation of Frisbees in Delhi!
Vision: Thriving lands, teeming waters: nurtured lives.
Core Values: At Riverdale Farm, we believe that quality and integrity, and a relationship-focused approach with our animals, land, and community propel us to lead and collaborate; as well as innovate, educate, and inspire sustainability and viability.
History:
The Frisbee family has deep agricultural roots in Delhi and the surrounding area, dating from 1788, when Judge Gideon Frisbee acquired property for his home and farm. A veteran of the Revolutionary War, he was instrumental in the settling of Delhi and Delaware County.
Through the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, Frisbee descendants owned and farmed various properties in the Delhi area. Wyatt Frisbee purchased what is now Riverdale Farm in 1919, and operated a small dairy while developing the large farmhouse on the property into a boarding house and inn for summer guests.
In the 1950s, when milk was no longer picked up in milk cans, Wyatt sold his dairy cows and transitioned to raising beef animals. In the 1960s, Wyatt’s son, Willard, and Willard’s wife, Lucile, purchased the farm and the inn, eventually converting the inn to apartments. They maintained the small herd of Herefords, which served as inspiration for their grandchildren, Gideon and Chelsea, to purchase animals and begin small herds of their own.
In 2011, Willard and Lucile placed the farm under a conservation easement, protecting the land from future development while allowing it to continue as a farm and forest enterprise. The conservation easement protects water quality to ensure cleaner water for those who rely on the Catskill Watershed.
Actually, the Frisbee farm has a long history with the Watershed Agricultural Council. In 1997 Riverdale was enrolled in the Council's Small Farms Program. The family currently works with the Ag Council’s Forestry Program; Willard’s son, Ron is a qualified watershed forester who has written and implemented a forest management plan that supports both the family maple syrup business, fuel, and sawtimber enterprises. Riverdale’s maple syrup operation is a fourth generation tradition carried on in the farm’s original sap house, which sits next to the picturesque big, red, nineteenth century barn.
History in the Making:
Eight generations after Judge Frisbee began farming in the valley, the Frisbee family continues the agricultural legacy. Ron and his son, Gideon, operate the farm with the support of their wives, Susan and Liz. They raise beef cattle, pigs, and chickens. Liz has started a cut flower business on the farm called, Binnekill Flowers, and Chelsea moved back to Delhi in 2019 and married Marcus Johnson. They plan to live on the farm as well.
New to the farm within the last two years, and following our vision of innovation, collaboration, and sustainability, is a covered feed pad with a woodchip barnyard for the cows. This is one of the first of its kind in New York State and the family looks forward to sharing its benefits with the agricultural community as time goes on. In addition, a new saphouse was built across the road from the big, red barn with the help of SUNY Delhi Construction and Electrical program students. This saphouse will support a new wood-fired maple syrup evaporator; a walk-in refrigerator and freezer; and areas for a future commercial kitchen, educational workshops, and store. We look forward to sharing more details of these projects as we finish them!
The Frisbee family has worked together to develop a business plan for the farm and its enterprises, including a mission and vision for the farm moving forward. They also worked with the Watershed Ag Council's transition program to develop a transition plan for the farm. Through this work, Riverdale Farm was transitioned from Ron's ownership into an irrevocable trust. You can watch the Watershed Ag Council's video of the Frisbee's experience with this transition plan below. This is something the Frisbees are very proud of and hope it will be beneficial for future Frisbee generations.
Gideon and Liz's children, Wyatt, Porter, and Rosella, and Chelsea and Marcus' son, Tiyas, make up the 9th generation of Frisbees in Delhi!
