A trip to Wm. H. Buckley is a journey into a different era. (In the best possible way).
Wm. H. Buckley Farm encompasses 300 acres in Upstate New York, and is home to grass-fed cows, pastured pigs, and free-range chicken and turkeys. Owner Mark Sacco bought the former dairy farm about a decade ago as an abandoned property, and he has been working hard ever since to restore it to its O.G. glory as a thriving, family-owned, independent farm that raises animals humanely, sustainably and in a way that not only respects, but improves, the land and community.
That means a laser-like focus on quality, instead of quantity. Skipping shortcuts like antibiotics and growth hormones, and GMO-laden feed in favor of good old-fashioned grass that came to define agriculture for much of the 20th century.
Mark also wanted to change what he saw as an ineffective economic farming and selling model. At Wm. H. Buckley, that means skipping the wholesale route and literally selling to the community. It means inviting neighbors and visitors to buy directly from the farm while also supplying local grocers, co-ops and health-food stores with pastured meat, poultry and eggs.
Mark has restored the existing farm and barn structures, including a heritage 1861 barn, while adding modern farm amenities, including an on-site store, butcher, smokehouse, piggery, poultry barn and café.
He also works with like-minded people in the agricultural space who are doing what they can to give back to community, while also producing an ecologically and economically responsible product that can be enjoyed.
That certainly fits the bill at Honesta Coffee, where our mission is to remove the filter between coffee farmers and coffee lovers. We serve up honestly, sustainably produced single-origin coffee that directly supports the women who grow it in Brazil. And because we import our coffee directly from farmers, they get a much higher wage than most coffee farmers.
We just landed in the U.S. a few months ago, and we have been reaching out to purveyors of high-quality food near our home base of Upstate New York and Vermont since our first coffee shipment entered port. We’ve been blown away by the welcome we’ve received, and when Mark asked us if we’d like to provide the coffee at his café on the weekend, our answer was fast, and certain: “Yes.”
Yes, we want to introduce Honesta Coffee’s organic single-origin female-farmed brew to more of you. Yes, we want to personally hand you that cup of coffee and answer all of your questions about the amazing women who grow and roast the coffee. And yes, we want to see the look on your face when you take your first sip, and enjoy the distinct, fruit-forward, sweet (even when black) flavor of our beans.
Would you like a cup? We hope you say “yes.” If so, you can find us every weekend at Wm. H. Buckley Farm, at 946 Saratoga Road, in Ballston Lake, N.Y.