Threefold Farm in New York may be the oldest continuously operating biodynamic farm in the country
Just thirty miles from New York City, near Spring Valley, New York, lies what might be the oldest continuously operating biodynamic farm in the United States. Surrounded by miles of winding streets in tree-shaded suburbs, Threefold Community Farm is one of only five remaining working farms in Rockland County, New York. Urban schoolchildren love touring the farm’s vegetable plots and feeding the small herd of dairy cattle. “It’s nice to visit a real farm, one that’s not all rides and food!” one kid told a farm worker last summer.
Threefold Community Farm is part of a unique complex that is one of the main American centers for anthroposophy — a “spiritual science” that follows the teachings of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. In addition to the farm, this complex includes the Threefold Educational Foundation, the Pfeiffer Center, a Waldorf school, a school for special needs children, the Hungry Hollow food co-op, the Threefold Café, and an elder care village called the Fellowship Community.
Threefold’s proximity to the nation’s largest metropolis is no accident. Its history dates back to 1926, when a group of anthroposophists operating Threefold Vegetarian Restaurant in New York City wanted to find a good source of fresh, local vegetables. They purchased a thirty-acre parcel of land just outside of Spring Valley, New York, to be a farm and conference center.
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