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Quail Hill Farm Welcomes New Director, Layton Guenther
Volunteers Planting Seeds in the Seedtrays in the Quail Hill Farm Greenhouse
March 10, 2020
The Peconic Land Trust is celebrating the 31st season of Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett – and welcomes Layton Guenther for their first full year as Director. Layton, a graduate of the prestigious UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) has been with the farm since the 2013 season as farm manager under the guidance of the farm’s long-time director, Scott Chaskey. In January 2019, Layton was promoted to Assistant Director and in July took the reins as Director.
“To say that I have big shoes to fill would be an understatement,” Layton says. “Luckily, I already have deep relationships with many in the South Fork’s farming community, and many members of Quail Hill Community Farm. I’m honored to get to deepen those relationships, and to help usher the farm into a new era.”
Prior to enrolling in the CASFS program in 2012, Layton spent four years at Red Fire Farm a 70-acre organic farm serving restaurants, farmers markets, farm stands and a 1,500 member CSA in Granby, Massachusetts in various positions.
In 2019, Layton was accepted into the inaugural cohort of The Seeding Power Fellowship: an innovative 18-month, cohort-based food justice fellowship program for non-profit leaders working across sectors to build momentum around a unified food movement in New York City, the lower Hudson Valley and Long Island. “With a focus on racial equity and social justice, this Fellowship will help me link Quail Hill Farm and the Peconic Land Trust with regional and local partners to better serve our community. I couldn’t be more honored and excited.”
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Quail Hill Farm's Director, Layton Guenther
Joining Layton at the farm this year are Farm Manager Brendan McMullan and Production Manager Dorian Payán. Both Brendan and Dorian are former Quail Hill Farm Apprentices: Brendan apprenticed with Quail Hill for the 2014 season and went on to apprentice and crew positions at a variety of farm operations including Pie Ranch in California and Treadlight Farm in Kerhonkson, NY. Dorian, also a graduate of the UC Santa Cruz program, was an Advanced Apprentice at Quail Hill Farm in 2019.
“One of the most rewarding elements of this work is getting to build strong relationships with beginning farmers. Dorian and Brendan are both extremely talented farmers, teachers and leaders in the food systems movement. We’re thrilled to welcome them both back to our fields in Amagansett!”
Founded in 1990, Quail Hill Farm is one of the first Community Supported Agriculture farms in New York State. Quail Hill’s unique model – where farm members harvest in the fields – provides members with a personal connection to their food.
On land donated to the Peconic Land Trust by Deborah Ann Light, a central part of our mission at Quail Hill is to educate the public concerning such issues as soil health, our seed supply, food security, and sustainable, organic farming practices.
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Quail Hill Farm's Farm Manager, Brendan McMullan
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Quail Hill Farm's Farm Production Manager, Dorian Payan
Summer and Winter Shares and Farmers Markets:
The Summer Share season begins in early June and goes through October. Farm members get to harvest on Tuesdays and Saturdays in the fields from over 500 varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruit, and flowers. A box share is also available.
New in 2020: Quail Hill Farm will offer a limited number of CSA Shares for pick up on Thursday afternoons at the Trust’s Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton.
Quail Hill Farm participates in the Sag Harbor Farmers Market on Saturdays beginning Memorial Day weekend. The farm also offers a Winter Share, beginning the week before Thanksgiving through February.
Additional information about the farm and CSA shares can be found at here.
Educational Programming
A core tenet of the farm is dedication to education.
Quail Hill Farm’s Advanced Apprentice Program: Designed to allow each member of the crew to experience every aspect of our farm management system, the advanced apprenticeshipis an ideal program for beginning farmers to hone their farm management skills and understanding of organic farm systems learning through the course of a full season on a diverse, multi-species fruit and vegetable farm. The program has trained over 120 apprentices since it began in 1990.
Public Programs: In addition to the educational programs listed below, the farm offers educational programming for school groups and children of all ages related to seeding, transplanting, and harvesting. A few of our upcoming public programs on the farm:
- March 28: Starting Seeds and Compost at the Farm
- April 18: Birdhouse Building Workshop
- May 16: Transplanting in the Fields
- August 11: Bees and the Beekeeper with Mary Woltz of Bees’ Needs
A complete list of events at Quail Hill Farm, as well as more events throughout the East End with the Peconic Land Trust, is available on our online calendar or by emailing events@peconiclandtrust.org.
Established in 1990, Quail Hill Farm is on 35 acres generously donated to the Trust by Deborah Ann Light in Amagansett, NY. Over the farm’s history, more than 120 farm apprentices have been trained – with many of those still engaged in farming today. Training apprentices and providing share members with informational resources on the issues of soil health, our seed supply, food security and sustainable, and organic farming practices is a central part of the farm’s mission. Each year, Quail Hill Farm signs onto the Northeast Organic Farming Association, New York (NOFA-NY) Farmer’s Pledge “to sustain the land in healthy condition for future generations.” For more information visit www.quailhillfarm.org.
