State Senator Michelle Hinchey recently visited the Locust Grove Fruit Farm in Milton to present the Kent family with a resolution honoring their more than 200 years in operation and the dedication of seven generations to farming. The Kents have 100 acres under production with more than 90 varieties of apples, about 20 varieties of peaches and plums along with some tomatoes and vegetables, such as cucumbers and corn. They also produce regular and hard ciders and even concoct mixtures of their own, using concord grapes, cherries, quince, pears and pumpkins, “all with produce from the farm to create different ciders.”

Peggy Kent said 2020 was the actual 200th anniversary of the farm, but the pandemic prevented Sen. Hinchey from coming at that time.

“We appreciate that our legislators support agriculture and they recognize that being in business for that long is an accomplishment,” she said. “When you think about how farming has changed over the last 200 years and what it takes to persevere when it was much easier to get a job at IBM or when it was easier to sell your property for development when the market is great...What we saw during the pandemic is that we need to be growing food in this area and we need to stay viable so we need our legislators to understand that farming is not just an economic driver, but in terms of food safety and security, to have locally grown food is important. When New York City shut down for the pandemic we had a food crisis and it was farmers in this area who went down there. We never skipped a beat or missed a market; we were there on the streets during the worst of it, selling directly to the consumers in the city.”

Peggy said besides Manhattan, they also sell their produce at farmers markets in Westchester, Orange and Ulster counties.

Peggy said this direct to consumer strategy has advantages.

“I’m not trying to get into a grocery store chain and I have the ability to talk to the consumer and tell them this is very good this year, or these plums are European or a new variety of pluot,” she said. “When you maybe have some not quite perfect fruit because of challenges in the environment with the weather, our consumers may be a little more forgiving and understanding of that because you’re not trying to pass the grade to get on the stand at the grocery store.”

Peggy said she and her husband Chip get help running the farm from their son Sawyer, adding that his fiance Maddie runs the brewery and makes the cider.

“Yes, generation seven is rockin and rollin,” Peggy said.

Peggy said the manor house that sits on top of the hill, opposite the brewery, is the family homestead, where her mother-in-law, Helen, looks over the operation of the farm.

“She is 95 and we call her the commander. She’s very bright, God bless her, knows what’s going on, keeps track of us all and keeps us all in line,” Peggy said.

Peggy said they have recently been inviting different musicians to perform in the Brewery, such as the Damian Ecco Band, which has been very well received by the public.

Chip Kent said the original founder of the farm was Jonathan Kent, who married Merci Sands of the local Sands shipbuilding family.

“Jonathan was a carpenter and was working down at Sands dock for the shipbuilder and he married his daughter,” Chip said.

Hinchey said it is important to celebrate and honor the Locust Grove Fruit Farm.

“For me it’s even more exciting that it’s an agricultural business and a farm because the pressures in agriculture are extreme and to be able to make it that long, to stay in the family for seven generations and diversify, which is how they survive, is incredibly impressive and the family deserves all the recognition for being able to do that. Really, in the focus of where our food comes from, realizing that the Hudson Valley was the breadbasket of our country in the founding of our nation, we are shifting to be that again. Being able to support and work to highlight and lift up Locust Grove and the family members who have been dedicating generations of their lives to this work, is a great part of my job. I’m happy to be here and hopefully we can do even more so they can be in business for another 200 years.”