From Pasture to Plate: The Legacy of North Wind Farms

Suzanne Rajczi sits down with Russ and Amanda Brezinski of North Wind Farms in Tivoli, New York, a family-owned, vertically integrated livestock farm. Russ shares how the farm grew from his father’s 1982 start raising antibiotic-free poultry into a diversified operation with chickens, turkeys, cattle, pigs, lambs, goats, ducks, geese, guinea hens, and rabbits. They describe raising and processing poultry on-farm, turkey breeds and seasonal ordering, biosecurity practices, feed sourcing, and timelines for turkey and beef production. The conversation covers pasture rotation, soil health, farm size and herd numbers, winter challenges, labor shortages, processing and USDA inspection constraints, farmers’ market sales, customer education, and misconceptions about farming’s demands. They also discuss ties to the Dutchess County Fair, 4-H, and hopes to preserve farmland for future generations, including support for FFA.