COBLESKILL- This is the 30th year the Festival Farmers Market will be welcoming you to experience their vast and unique selection at The Gathering Place from July - October. Leading up to the beginning of their season, The Mountain Eagle has been lucky enough to get to interview the smiling faces you will see there so we can introduce you to them!
This week’s interview is with Erin and Steven Smith of Will-A-Way Farm, where they offer beef, chicken, chicken eggs, duck eggs, hay, produce, and baked goods.
The Smiths both work full-time jobs and partake in volunteer work in addition to running the Farm, which Erin said takes intentionality and, “Means early mornings and late nights, and not a lot of free time.” They hope that someday their grandchildren will want to continue their family business. “Will-A-Way Farm was started in 1972 by Richard and Deborah Smith as a dairy farm. After their retirement from farming, my husband Steven, inherited the name,” explained Erin. “Steven grew up on his parents’ dairy farm and had planned to continue in their footsteps, but after attending Cornell he decided to follow a different path. He still had a desire to work with cattle and saw an opportunity to do so by raising beef. Steven has a passion for carrying on his family tradition. He gets a sense of peace and purpose from taking care of the cattle that he just doesn't get from his job.”
Will-A-Way Farm added poultry and vegetables to their beef products after the Smiths married in 2019. To accommodate that growth, they moved from Carlisle to Duanesburg Road. Erin, “Enjoys caring for the animals and continuously learning new things. Her favorite part of the farm is watching the calves frolic and play in the pasture.” While the animals are a source of joy, they’re also a source of the hardest part of tending to the Farm for Erin, who quoted the saying, "Where there is livestock, there is dead stock." But in difficult times, the Smiths focus on the Farm’s name, Will-A-Way, because, “Where there's a Will there's a Way,” and continue to do what they consider their greatest achievement, which is offering high quality products that bring customers back again and again.
Offering baked goods has been a new addition this year after recently receiving their home processor exemption, and the Smiths continue to work on ways they can share Will-A-Way Farm with customers through experiences like "dig your own potatoes,” farm tours, visits to their on-site Farm Store, and vending.
Will-A-Way Farm first participated in the Festival Farmers Market by providing their beef and eggs for Linda Cross from Cripplebush Creek Farm to sell there. This will be the seventh year Will-A-Way Farm will have a table at the Market. They look forward to spending time with other Market vendors and regular customers each weekend who are like family to them, and they take pride in the Market’s long-running history in the community and diversified products. The vendors carefully coordinate to make sure no items at the Market are over-saturated, so Will-A-Way Farm will have a thoughtful selection available of their beef, chicken, duck eggs, chicken eggs, veggies, baked goods, and is always willing to give cooking tips; they will have recipes to hand out each week this year.
Will-A-Way Farm Store is open daily from 8 AM - 8 PM at 14653 Duanesburg Road in
Schoharie. You can call them at 315-219-7578 and follow them on Facebook by searching Will-A-Way Farm or Whisk Me Away Baking Co.
As weeks lead up to the official Festival Farmers Market season at The Gathering Place (127 Kenyon Road, Cobleskill) running every Saturday July 11- October 24 from 10 AM - 2 PM, we will continue spotlighting one vendor per week. So, keep your eyes peeled for next week’s Get To Know Your 30th Annual Festival Farmers Market Vendors headliner, and follow vendors online if you missed our previous features (of Van-Dale-Farms and Pig Out Cobleskill). Interested in vending at the Festival Farmers Market or Central Bridge Farmer’s Market? You can reach out to VanWormer at 518-852-0270.
Photos provided by Erin Smith of Will-A-Way Farm
