Kate Farrar Wears Many Hats
By Jamie Marshall
Photographs by Rana Faure
It’s not easy to reach Kate Farrar during the growing season. Most days she’s out of the house by 6 am, tending to the numerous beds at Foxtrot Farm & Flowers in Stanfordville. Born with a green thumb and a love of horticulture, Farrar started her farm mid-pandemic. In just three years—a nanosecond in farm speak—she has developed a thriving business. She does seasonal flower CSAs, floral design for weddings and other events, and sells her blooms at the Millerton Farmers Market on Saturdays and through her online shop.
Farrar discovered her passion for flowers early on. Her parents loved to garden, and she spent as much time as possible working alongside her mother. “I cultivated a lot of skills, and I just remember most palpably the pleasure of being outdoors and of caring for and stewarding a piece of land.”
She practices regenerative farming, which means she puts as much back into the land as she takes out. She doesn’t believe in machines and does all the work by hand. “Eighty percent of the beds are dug by me and twenty percent by the goodwill of my friends,” she says. (Her sidekick Pepper, the mixed-breed farm dog, lends moral support.) The goal is to make the land more stable and healthier by planting not just what she wants—her cash crops—but also cover crops that help maintain the soil structure and make it more resilient and less susceptible to climate events.
Farrar even planted 250 native species outside the fence line, to create more habitat for native birds and insects. “To really feel and claim stewardship of the land—that’s the real excitement for me,” she says.
Farrar moved to the Hudson Valley in 2014 after a brief stint in British Columbia. She worked at Hardy Roots community farm in Germantown for four years, then moved to Stanfordville in April of 2020 with a friend. “We were looking for a home for him and a farm parcel for me,” Farrar recalls. He bought the five acres and historic barn for Farrar, and set up a payment plan. She took ownership in December 2021—something she never dreamed she’d be able to do.
She grows a variety of perennials and annuals, depending on the season. During a recent fall visit, the beds were thick with autumnal blooms: dahlias, heirloom chrysanthemums, snapdragons, lisianthus, and more. Most will find their way into CSA shares; others will adorn tables for weddings and dinners. In fact, one of those weddings is Farrar’s. She and her fiancé are getting married in early October; in anticipation of their wedding, they renovated the red barn last winter. Already it’s become a community hub offering weekly yoga classes, herbalist workshops, art exhibitions, and farm-to-table dinners. As for her upcoming nuptials, naturally she will do the flowers with the help of some friends. “I’m thinking about a narrow tablescape of flowers in bud vases, but TBD what inspiration will strike!”—foxtrotflowerfarms.com
