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Updated: June 3, 2008, 9:22 pm	Share    Print    Email

The Halseys farm 100-acres in Water Mill, where the family has worked the lands since the early 18th century. In addition to the crops, the farm is also home to a Scottish Highlander cow, chickens, and a peacock. Pictured above, Billy Halsey. Photos by Mariah Quinn

Water Mill - When the four children of Ray and Peachy Halsey came back to Water Mill to work the family's farm in the 1970s after being scattered from California to New Hampshire and South America, Larry Halsey remembers being urged to consider his decision carefully. "You're always going to be broke and your backs are going to be tired," a friend warned him.

"Still true, isn't it?" his brother Billy offered wryly, as he listened to Larry tell the tale of The Green Thumb and its family ties.

A push to return to organic farming carries on under the tutelage of this 12th generation.

The four Halseys - Larry, Billy, and their sisters Johanna, known as Jo, and Patti - were hardly newcomers to the rigors of rural farming. Despite have taken time to travel and attend college, they admitted it's in their blood. "It's a way of life we embraced and when we were out in the world, we realized how good it was," Jo explained.

And so the four siblings all found their way back to the Water Mill and the 100-acres the family has been tending since 1700. Putting their own generational stamp on it, the foursome have transformed the production to an all-organic operation with a highly diversified group of crops. The Green Thumb Farmstand, which sits on Montauk Highway where it was originally planted by their father in the 1960s, is a long-standing testament to their farming heritage and fortitude, now selling an array of the 350 fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and plants that are grown on the farm.

Amidst the commercialism of the Hamptons, the idea of a family farm seems like a quaint holdover from the East End's past. However, the Halsey's 100-acre farm is a testament to the notion that the family farm can thrive in a world where vegetables are mostly bought in the supermarket and a farm is often a mammoth, corporate-owned operation. "We're really proud we're still here," Billy said.

The four children of Ray and Peach Halsey work the family farm in Water Mill: left to right, Larry, Billy, Jo, Jo's granddaughter Ava, Jo's daughter Heather, and Patti. "The farming is so deep-rooted," Jo said of the family.

Transforming The Farm
Ray and Peachy still live on the farm, their home close to those of Jo, Patti, and Larry. Billy is the only one who ventured off-site, living in nearby North Sea. The Halsey four have transformed their parents farm in much the same way as Ray and Peachy did a generation before, to adapt to a changing environment and community. Diversifying its sales to include a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which allows families in designated locations on Long Island and New York City to sign-up for weekly deliveries from the farm, Jo explains, "We decided we'd bring the farm to the people. It's grown and it's a connection to people who don't live in the area," she explained. Approximately 40 percent of the Halsey's crops go to the CSA programs, with another 30 percent to 40 percent being sold at the roadside farmstand.

Early crops get a start in the farm's greenhouse, where Patti and Jo can be found at the start of the season.

The biggest change made by the current generation of Halseys was the move to organic farming, a transition in the late 1970s prompted in part by an incident when Ray Halsey suffered a bout of pesticide poisoning as a result of the pesticides commonly used in treating the crops. The change required a lot of study, a learning curve that continues today. "You think it's going to be easy, but it's not," Larry explained, with major adjustments made in terms of the types of crops planted, as well as the methods used to control weeds and pests. By the mid-1980s, the farm was all organic, making it one of the first of its kind.

"I applaud my father for allowing us to farm organically," Jo said, adding, "Our farm was organic in the 1700s, the 1800s, and the early 1900s. So it was only a brief period when we weren't."

The Halseys said the changes they've instituted in the past 20 years are necessary adjustments made to keep pace with the evolution of the nature of farming. Including a rotation in crops, including the replacement of potatoes by fennel, kale, and arugula, in large part due to changing public demand, the Halseys have been quick to make the necessary adjustments - "a lot of the stuff we were the first on the block to have," Billy said.

"We've adapted to the market," he added. One thing has remained a constant, however - the focus on quality and the importance of family. "We produce a lot of good product, and we're happy to be doing it as a family," Larry said.

The Halseys raise more than 350 types of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and plants, all organically, at the farm. Approximately 40 percent of the crops are sold through Community Supported Agriculture programs.

A Farmer's Life
Things were in full swing at the farm a few days before Memorial Day, as Jo readied the farmstand for the expected influx of visitors over the holiday weekend. Patti was in the greenhouse, preparing a variety of crops for planting, working with Larry who coordinates the greenhouse and maintenance on the machinery. "It's been a late spring, so there's still a lot to be done," explained Billy, who oversees the fields.

Each day is different, with adjustments made for weather, soil conditions including the changing crops that need to be harvested and sold, all part of the "ebb and flow" of farming, Larry said. "You've got a lot of variables. The day always changes; it makes it interesting," Billy added. On a calm day, the crashing of the ocean waves can be heard on the farm, the salty breezes making "the vegetables more nutritious," Billy quipped.

Professional chef James Lartin, a regular at the farmstand, raved about the variety of vegetables available to customers.

The farm employs between 15 and 17 workers in the peak season, some of whom are family, and many whom "have been with us for a long, long time and I've got to tell you, it's not because of the pay," Jo joked. Business meetings are straightforward affairs. "We get together once a week and discuss farm issues and family problems. It works," she explained.

And it has worked - for more than three centuries. This Halsey family has worked the lands around Southampton, dating back to the 1640 arrival of Thomas Halsey, the patriarch of one of the original Southampton families. Jo said she hopes that a few of the next generation of Halseys, four of whom now work on the farm, will continue to carry on the tradition through this century. But the choice is theirs to make, just as it was for her and her siblings. "I really, really hope that several of the kids will find it in their blood and want to live and farm the land," she said. "But it is entirely up to them."

"We're hoping one or two will continue farming, so when we get to 80 we can do less," Larry added, smiling.

And so the seasons continue at the farm, the raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries ripening and being picked, the asparagus moving from field to table, the many types of lettuce cycling in and out of the bins at the farmstand. The Halseys know the cyclical nature of this life well - they are farmers through and through.

"The four of us all went away and never thought we'd come back," Jo added. "But farming is so deep-rooted. We all came back."

The Halseys continue to farm 100-acres in Water Mill on the same land their family has cultivated since the early 18th century.

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