Engelbert Farms Sells Organic Beef To GreenStar

By David Durrett – a current intern at GreenStar Food Co+op, David Durrett is a lifelong resident of Ithaca as well as a graduate of Ithaca College. He is a freelance reporter whose work has also appeared in Tompkins Weekly and The Ithaca Voice, among other publications. 

Engelbert Farms, one of the first New York farms to embrace the practice of organic farming, sells organic meat and produce to GreenStar.

The farm has been in the Engelbert family since 1848, when it started in Conklin before moving to Nichols in 1911 The current owners are the fifth generation to have run the farm since its move. Lisa Engelbert has been involved with the farm since she married into the family in 1980; she runs the farm store and manages the processing and vegetable growing schedule while her sons raise the animals, run the dairy and grow feed for the animals.

Engelbert Farms has been producing organically since 1981, when Kevin, who returned to the farm after graduating from college in 1979, noticed that something was wrong. He could not keep the animals healthy and was having trouble growing crops. He realized that the farm’s high use of chemicals had caused the problems, so he decided to go organic in 1980, and Engelbert Farms was certified organic in 1984.

Lisa described making the switch to organic farming as a “scary” decision because so few had done it before.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen,” Lisa said. “We were way ahead of the curve. There was nobody to turn to at that point, so you had to figure things out on your own. There was no precedent whatsoever.”

Despite her initial unease, Lisa said many customers are satisfied with the quality of Engelbert Farms’ beef, which she attributes to raising the cattle naturally and not rushing them to the slaughterhouse.

“We’ve had a lot of people say, once they tried our beef, that our beef tasted like beef is supposed to taste,”  Lisa said. “It’s what they remembered from when they were younger.”

The Engelberts have diversified their products over the years in order to support more families with their farm, such as by producing organic beef and putting a small store on their farm in 2009. They also sell organic cheese, organic vegetables and small amounts of organic grain, as well as baked goods, including breads, cookies, pies, and soups, among other items, identifying each ingredient for the goods they make for the sake of transparency.

Lisa described running the store as a fulfilling endeavor and said she likes getting to know her customers.

“It’s wonderful having that relationship with the people that are buying our product, and it’s a mutual trust,” Lisa said. “Our customers trust us and we trust them as well. It’s a beneficial situation between us.”

Five members of the Engelbert family- Kevin, Lisa, their sons and Lisa’s brother-in-law work on the farm, as do five or six other workers, a mixture of full- and part-time employees.

“I’d say we’re staffed where we need to be,” Lisa said. “Everyone works together to get what needs to be done, and there are enough people that there’s adequate time off for everybody involved. Everyone gets time off every week, so it’s a good situation.”

Despite this, Lisa said it can be hard work to run a dairy farm.

“Running a business is a challenge whether you have a lot of people or not,” Lisa said. “A dairy farm is particularly challenging, because it’s a hard industry, it’s a very hard lifestyle. You’re on call 24/7 365 days a year. The cows have to be milked every day.”

According to Lisa, rising costs pose difficulties for Engelbert Farms. The farm’s meat processing costs have increased twice in the last two years, once in July 2020 and again in November 2021. While the Engelberts made a pledge not to raise their prices through the end of the year 2021, they may soon have to raise their prices in order to cover their expenses.

“In other words, all of our costs are going up, but it’s hard to pass that on and get a higher price for the product that we’re providing,” Lisa said.

Lisa has been a customer at GreenStar for many years, but only began selling to them in 2007. After finding out that they did not have organic meat available, Lisa talked with an employee about selling meat to them, learning that at the time, no one had met the criteria for selling meat to GreenStar. A representative from GreenStar visited Engelbert Farm, and, finding that they met all of GreenStar’s criteria, began to buy its beef and later pork starting in 2007 or 2008.

“GreenStar has been a great, great customer, they’ve been a great partner in this,” Lisa said. “It’s one of those situations where I believe where they know they can count on us and we know that we can count on them.”

In addition to selling their wares at GreenStar and their farm’s store, the Engelberts also sell to Coltivare in Ithaca, Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg, Mainstreet Market in Trumansburg, and other establishments.

Lisa has high standards for her product, so she and her family offer the community products that she would eat.

“I want to know who’s producing what I bring to our store,” Lisa said, “I want to know it’s high quality, and if we won’t eat it ourselves, I won’t bring it into the store.”