This coming year, Central Bridge Farms will be partnering with a young florist to bring a new kind of growth to our high tunnel. She’ll be cultivating seasonal flowers that will be sold as bouquets in our on-farm store, giving customers another local product grown right here in Schoharie County.
This partnership is a simple but meaningful example of how small farms and businesses can support one another. The florist, a mother of two young boys, has been working to grow her business into a full-time operation. By providing her with access to our unused high tunnel, she can expand her growing season, increase production, and take the next step in building her local business; without the overhead of building new infrastructure.
For us, it’s an opportunity to make productive use of space that would have otherwise sat empty this year, while adding value to what we offer our community. Our customers will soon be able to pick up pasture-raised beef, pork, and poultry; and a bouquet of fresh, locally grown flowers, all in one stop.
We’re also excited for the chance to learn from her. While our background is rooted in livestock and pasture management, flower production is a new chapter for us. This collaboration allows us to broaden our agricultural knowledge, gain hands-on experience with specialty crops, and continue diversifying what our farm produces. It’s a reminder that even after generations of farming, there’s always something new to learn when you work alongside others who share the same passion for growing.
Partnerships like this strengthen the local economy and build resilience among small producers. When farms and small businesses work together, everyone benefits; from the farmers to the families who buy their products. It’s how rural communities grow stronger: one collaboration at a time.
We’re looking forward to sharing more updates as the first blooms appear in the high tunnel this spring and can’t wait to welcome these locally grown flowers to our farm store.