01. THE FARM
02. ANIMAL WORK
04. THE FARMER
01. THE FARM
02. ANIMAL WORK
04. THE FARMER
Moxie Ridge Farm is a small-scale farm located on 46 acres in the highlands of Argyle, NY. It was created with the intention to make food in the same way it was made by everyday people long before commercial agriculture and industrial food production.
With our small goat dairy, state licensed creamery, and rotationally grazed meat herds, we focus on pre-industrial practices in order to make food the way it might have tasted hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
This focus on historical food and ancestral farming traditions make our meats and cheeses truly exceptional. Creating a sense of place, or terroir, in the foods we produce is central to our philosophy, and every decision at Moxie Ridge from the pasture to the creamery takes this into consideration.
A huge part of discovering the terroir of Moxie Ridge is factoring in the balance of animals, people, and the land. By respecting this dynamic balance, we produce foods that not only contain the stories of a season, but are influenced and inspired by our relationships to each other.
We raise mostly Alpine goats in our closed dairy herd and milk them twice a day seasonally and many of the cheeses that we make with their milk are only available for a limited time throughout the year. We feed the whey from the cheesemaking process to our pigs living in fenced acreage in the woods. As Winter starts, they eat all the acorns and hickory nuts before they are processed at our local butcher.
Whenever possible, we use animals to accomplish our land management goals, whether that’s sod clearing and tilling with pigs, tick management with chickens, brush clearing with goats, or lawn mowing with sheep.
THE MOXIE RIDGE APPROACH
Based on cross-cultural herding traditions, research led by Temple Grandin, and Lee's years of experience with large herds, the behavior-based management style used at Moxie Ridge prioritizes the animals' natural preferences and comfort over human logic and convenience. This animal-centered approach results in a safer, healthier, and more playful environment for everyone involved.
It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are farming, learning, and gathering on the ancestral homelands of the Mohican people, who are the indigenous peoples of this land. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, today their community resides in Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to taking real action in building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.
We encourage everyone to learn about the Mohican Nation in their own words at the link below.
Lee Hennessy is the founder, farmer, and cheesemaker of Moxie Ridge Farm. He is a transgender man and a first-generation farmer with a passion for small farms, old ways, and, of course, goats.
At 33 after trying out a life of office jobs and city living, including 8 years in Los Angeles, Lee returned to upstate NY with the very specific dream of becoming a goat farmer and cheesemaker. Working in the barns of nationally-renowned goat dairies and small farms alike, he built his skills and his philosophy from these experiences.
With this foundation of labor, some excellent mentors, dwindling credit, and a lot of luck, he started Moxie Ridge Farm in March of 2017 on leased land in Argyle, NY.
TODAY
Since that first season of hand-milking 6 goats, he’s built a closed milking herd of 50+ does, created rotationally-grazed lamb and meat goat programs, completed a full creamery renovation, and has become an outspoken advocate for queer farmers.
PROJECTS
He has worked with American Farmland Trust, the Agricultural Stewardship Association, Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation, GrowNYC’s Farmer Assistance program, the Food Animal Concerns Trust, and the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center for grant projects on the farm.
SPEAKING
He has been a speaker for the National Farm Viability Conference, the New York Farm Viability Institute, Community Food Funders, and the Agricultural Viability Alliance.
OTHER WORK
Lee is an elected member of GrowNYC’s Farmer and Community Advisory Committee, and the founder and current chair of the FCAC's sub-committee on Food Equity. He is also the lead of the Transgender Farmer Cohort for Cultivemos (formerly FRSAN).
