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Pastured purebred Wagyu born and raised on Hilltop Farm in Accord, NY. Farm pickup and tours📞 Join us as we launch our microdairy @kyserikecreamery
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#accordny#ulstercountyny#rondoutvalley#knowyourfarmer#knowyourfarmerknowyourfood#shakethehandthatfeedsyou#smallfarm#nofarmsnofood#knowfarmsknowfood#ulstercounty
Recent posts
It seemed about time to reintroduce ourselves! We are as different and the same as two people can get.🤔
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One prefers cats, the other prefers dogs, so we have one of each. One grew up with cows, the other was involved with horses (a hobby that is currently being actively thwarted by the other😢). One of us stayed and learned by absorbing knowledge by osmosis, the other went off into the world and learned that there’s no place better than here. One knows how to cane chairs, one knows how to fly airplanes. One reads the weather, the other reads books. One loves T-shirts with questionable sayings, one wears linen almost exclusively. One rode a motorcycle and was (and is) unbelievably cool, the other played the oboe.🤓 One of us has hair…😈
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We are both the result of country childhoods, the same church, mothers who instilled in us a passion for growing things and outstanding food, grandparents who taught us love of the outdoors and the skills to savor its bounty, 4-H, and the school of hard knocks. We are insatiably curious. We agree to disagree in (sometimes) politics and (often) giving children too much candy. We played organized sports at the same high school and farming is now our fitness program. We believe in hard work. Sunsets on the hill are our vacation and our happiest place. We are good stewards of the land. We are introverts who love people. Farming and food are our passion. Watching people savoring what we grow, raise & create satisfies us deep in our souls.
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Keep following along. We promise to be genuine, although sometimes that means there’s manure…
📸: @danellemanthey and @jimlafferty
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#knowyourfarmer #knowyourfarmerknowyourfood #knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom #knowwhereyourmeatcomesfrom #shakethehandthatfeedsyou #farmlifebestlife #upstatelife #smallfarm #ourfarmstory #ulstercounty #ulstercountyny #highfallsny #accordny #rondoutvalley #rondoutvalleyhighschool #hudsonvalley #eatlocalthinkglobal #supportlocalfarms #smallfarmbigheart #nofarmsnofood #knowfarmsknowfood
16 Jun 2022
It’s important to know where your food comes from. 🧑🏻🌾
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This is the farmer behind Catskill Wagyu, and Hilltop Farm. This is the man who loves his animals, who cares deeply for the land, who works harder than anyone I know. 💪🏻
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In case you haven’t met him yet, his name is Barton. He started this farm at the age of 18, when he purchased his land from his dairy farmer grandfather. He’s been building it ever since, first his house with his own two hands, then a few years later the barn, also with his own hands. The farm has seen several different variations in its time: replacement heifers for dairy, full-on dairy farm (40 cows), hay operation, and now specialty beef. There are other plans in the works, and let’s just say they’re delicious, and there’s nothing cheesy about them!😉🤐
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Through all the changes and stress farming can bring, Barton has been steadfast in his belief that small farms have a critically important role to play in modern agriculture. Most importantly this farm is part of a reemerging local agricultural economy, it feeds people who might not otherwise have access to local, sustainably grown food, and it contributes to a healthy natural environment. Food sourced from a small farm like ours is part of an ethical food system.🌏
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We believe it’s important to know where your food comes from. Barton is where it all begins. Shake his hand. And tell him thank you. He works hard so you can eat well.
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#shakethehandthatfeedsyou #knowyourfarmer #knowyourfarmerknowyourfood #nofarmsnofood #knowfarmsknowfood #locallygrownbeef #microdairy #thankyourfarmer #eatlocal #eatlocalthinkglobal #wagyufarm #smallfarm #upstatenyfarm #ulstercountyny #rondoutvalley #rondoutvalleygrowers #accordny #weworkhardsoyoudonthaveto #weonlydodelicious
13 Mar 2021
Let’s talk Wagyu. 🐃
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The sire of our Aiko (showing off for the camera here) was one of the foundation sires of the Wagyu breed in the US. In other words, he was one fancy bull. There are several different breeds/lines that make up the Wagyu heritage. Catskill Wagyu breeds from the Tajima line, which, in Japan, is known as Kobe beef.🇯🇵
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Our herd is a closed herd, meaning we do not purchase “feeders” or young livestock. Every Catskill Wagyu animal is bred, born, and raised here on Hilltop Farm. We practice artificial insemination, and we purchase the “genetic material” to do that, so we don’t have a bull in the pasture. 🌱
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Aiko is what is called an F1 in Wagyu lingo. Her breeding is 50% Tajima-50% Hereford. We chose Hereford as the cross because they’re similar in stature to Wagyu, and they’re calmer than the more commonly used Angus. Aiko has an identical twin sister. Their babies are F2’s so they’re 75% Wagyu. We’re breeding toward purebred Wagyu, which takes time and patience because Wagyu matures more slowly than other beef breeds. We are nearly there, which is very exciting!✨
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Wagyu is known as the red meat that’s good for you. In fact, it contains high levels of omega 3 & 6 fatty acids, similar to wild-caught salmon. Our cows are grass fed, and we finish them with grain, which enhances the marbling and flavor profile this breed is known for, and does nothing to change the nutritional value of the meat. 🥩
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This concludes your Wagyu lesson for the day! Stay tuned for more info, and feel free to ask us any questions via DM or in the comments. We love talking about this special breed!
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#wagyubeef #wagyu #hudsonvalley #hudsonvalleyny #ulstercounty #ulstercountyny #rondoutvalley #rondoutvalleygrowers #knowyourfood #knowyourfarmer #knowyourfarmerknowyourfood #eatlocal #nofarmsnofood #knowfarmsknowfood #weonlydodelicious #locallygrownbeef #accordny #pastureraisedbeef #catskills #smallfarm #upstateny
22 Aug 2020
They say the clothes make the man (or woman, as the case may be). This is us on a regular work day. These are the clothes we wear to do our farm work.👨🏼🌾👩🏼🌾
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We don’t have fancy shirts with an embroidered logo (although we do have ball caps for sale!). We don’t wear steam-formed cowboy hats, nor do we own them. We don’t work trade shows in custom-made cowboy boots. Well, we actually don’t do trade shows at all! We are too busy doing farm work…in our farm clothes.👨🏼🌾👩🏼🌾
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Our clothes get used hard. For him: heavy-duty pants and old shirts that’ve seen better days. For her: several pairs of rough-worn overalls (some fleece-lined for winter) with old shirts just like his. For both: well-worn muck boots that get changed out only after the holes in them become unbearable (we are both just about due).🫤
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If you come to the farm close to choretime this is exactly how you’ll find us. But here’s what the clothes do NOT mean: rough work clothes don’t mean our beef is of inferior quality. It’s quite the contrary. Our clothes don’t mean the milk we sell is unclean or less-than-superior. Our test results say the exact opposite. Our clothes simply mean we work hard to provide our community with the highest quality food.
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Don’t be deceived by what looks or sounds “fancy”. We raise high quality food for our community. Our beef can be found on tables from NYC restaurants to our own. We do it all ourselves: just the two of us (plus Don on Sundays🥰). We know and love every one of our cows. We love our community.💚
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What you see is what you get: delicious food produced on a real farm by two people who are about as real as we can get. No matter how that looks.🫶🏻
📸 @spinachdaddy
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#keepingitreal #workclothes #farmclothes #accordny #ulstercountyny
06 Nov 2026
Finally…💚
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Calving season 2026 came to a close today with Amy’s gorgeous bull calf. We saw her going off alone at sunset last night and knew she was in labor.🌅
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It got too dark and the pasture was too big to find her. It was *cold*, and Wagyu calves don’t handle cold well. We decided to let her be, and see what would happen.⏱️
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We did our morning chores in the dark, but as soon as it was light enough we both saw her, with a tiny little shadow skipping along beside her.🥹
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Armed with two sizes of calf coats we made our way through the rough pasture. Amy led us on a merry chase. Our cows know us, but they’re protective mothers. It always feels like an honor when they allow us to handle their babies.😊
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She finally stopped, and the first human hands to touch her baby were gentle, loving ones. We fitted the coats and used the smaller one; the little dude is nice and cozy in his bright blue jacket.💙
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That’s a wrap for calving season 2026, better late than never! Welcome to Hilltop Farm sweet little Gus!🥰
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#wagyucalf #lastcalf #goodjobmama #accordny #ulstercountyfarms
07 Oct 2026
Running errands in Ulster County, NY; stopped at a light, and this was the price of diesel fuel at the gas station on the corner.😳
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Basic economics: our machinery all runs on diesel fuel. We use our tractors to make the hay our cows eat, to run our skid steer that clears manure, moves huge round bales, plows snow, and even helps out a cow once in awhile. 🚜
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And more: we don’t keep a bull on our farm. Instead we do the *actual* AI: artificial insemination. The genetic material costs money. A cow is pregnant for 9 months. The subsequent calf is raised for the next 30 months (or more) right here on Hilltop Farm. Wagyu mature more slowly than other beef breeds. The front end inputs are high in the nearly 4 years before a steak reaches your plate, not including fuel. We truck our animals to the abattoir. We pay our butcher per lb. plus the USDA inspection fee per animal. All our expenses are up front (and huge) with no guarantee of a return by the time we can actually sell our beef. We don’t include our time in this equation; our time is, frankly, incalculable.🕰️
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We price our Wagyu beef based on how it looks after each harvest. But our prices only vary a few dollars per pound for fancier cuts, while things like ground beef and liver have remained the same price for years.🤝
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We believe in being fair with our pricing. We want as many people as possible to have access to the high quality protein we raise. We’ve absorbed the upward fluctuations in all the markets (commodities, fuel, machinery parts, hay supplies, etc) since we started selling direct to our community. We simply cannot absorb this.😟
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The price of food has increased everywhere. The primary reason is the cost of diesel fuel, which starts at the farm level and then trucking compounds the issue. Convenience has a price. We have one more harvest this year, with two steers heading out on Sunday. In a few weeks our freezers will be full again. The steers look amazing, and we have high hopes for the beef returned to us.🙏🏻
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We value our customers (you!) greatly. Just know we are as concerned as you are.😔
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#farmeconomics #morethanmeetstheeye #smallfarmbusiness #accordny #buylocal
02 Oct 2026
Here’s to community🥂
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Every year @annesaxelbylegacyfund hosts the NYC food event of the year at Chelsea Market. It’s their annual fundraiser to raise funds to place apprentices on small farms across the nation, including ours.☺️
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It has become something we look forward to every year. It happened last week. This year we couldn’t go because we’ve been so very busy (we’re looking at you @kyserikecreamery ).🥛
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Today this swag was dropped on our front step by @thefranster (Franny) and Dani…we can’t thank you enough for these treasures from the event we’ve always attended together…thoughtful gifts that are a reminder of the community this farm has brought us: friends who are family, apprentices who’ve become like family, their families who are a part of ours…and most importantly ASLF, whose mission directly supports us in so many ways all year long.🥰
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Our apprentices have worked so hard on this farm. They did every job thrown at them, plus ones that weren’t. They became a part of this place. But the most important thing they’ve done is give us hope for the future of agriculture.👩🌾
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Please support the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund by donating to their general fund (link in bio!). Your donation will fund paid apprenticeships on small farms like ours. At the link in our bio you’ll also find a story about A Farm Apprentice about our first experience as a host farm.🤩
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No post would be complete without thanking our apprentices themselves: @kristenfromearth @charlottemaffie @ruiuby and @_violak . You young women are amazing. We miss you all. Come back soon!💚
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#farmapprenticeship #annesaxelbylegacyfund #supportsmallfarms #farmharder #givegivegive
26 Sep 2026
This is the start of Hilltop Farm.👨🌾
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Sometimes in order to appreciate a story you must go back to the very beginning. Barton purchased this land from his grandfather when he was just 18 years old. His grandpa held the mortgage, and this is the day they signed the papers.✍🏻
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The original acreage making up the current farm had been approved for a subdivision: 3-acre lots. Bart worked this ground beside his grandpa since he was little boy. He called The Burroughs Range view from the top of the hill by his own special name: “My Humps”. When the lower land was pasture he walked the cows back across the road at milking time. He ran these fields and woods with cousins and brothers. This land is as much a character in the tale of his youth as his family and friends.👨🏻🌾
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He couldn’t bear to see it developed. And he wanted to farm. So each month, when his mortgage payment was due, he handed his grandparents his check. And in return he got fed lunch cooked specially for him. He was working 3, sometimes 4 jobs to make that payment, build his house, and survive. He got no special favors.👨🏻🌾
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He started the house at 19, the barn 4 years later. He raised his young family, built an enviable herd of registered Holsteins, and stewarded the land. He taught his kids how to handle cows, and took them to the fair. He worked unbelievably hard.👨🏻🌾
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He rolled with the vagaries of life, but the constant has always been the solid ground on which he stands: the land.👨🏻🌾
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As times have changed Bart has changed with them. Catskill Wagyu was born out of hard decision making. When commercial dairying was no longer a wise financial decision, Bart (and me with him) pivoted.👨🏻🌾
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We will never be bigger. The land determines how many cows we keep. The beauty of what Bart has done here can be seen in the soil. It supports all the hay our cows eat, as well as spectacular surrounding woodlands, and our own garden patch.👨🏼🌾
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I often look at him and wonder how a young boy had the vision to build this. I guess it’s pretty simple: he thought he could so he did.👨🏼🌾
#shakethehandthatfeedsyou
13 Aug 2026
Snapshots of our purebred Wagyu beef in the wild and here at home. You can purchase all these cuts plus more from our farm store this weekend: hours are Thurs & Fri noon-4:00pm, Sat & Sun 10 am - 4 pm🥩
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We started selling retail from a freezer on our porch in 2017. In January 2020 we moved into our barn farm store. We hate to say it, but the timing was perfect.👌🏻
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We saw customers by appointment, each hour. We sold out in about two weekends of sales.🕰️
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When things went back to “normal” we opened our doors for general sales. The line of cars went out the farm lane almost to the road. We started to sell out of two steers of beef in one weekend. We couldn’t get appointments at the slaughterhouse, and we couldn’t keep up with demand.😬
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Then things started to level off. We were able to keep up, the processing bottleneck eased, and we got into the swing of things.🤌🏻
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Right now we are fully stocked, with another harvest coming up very quickly. Come snag some of these gorgeous cuts (and a few packs of our famous ground beef!) to help us clear out the freezers. We have bundles available so your grill will be put to full use before summertime ends!
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Scroll all the way to the end to see our Wagyu London broil (and a porterhouse from this latest harvest). Many of you turn up your noses, but don’t be deceived. It’s stellar. And we know because we eat what you don’t want!
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#purebredwagyu #smallfarming #ulstercountyny #rondoutvalley #accordny
06 Aug 2026
A birth story.💚
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Among all the long summer days filled with seemingly never-ending work, calving is a time to slow down, wait, watch…💚
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Bebe was a week overdue. We’ve been keeping track of her for a week longer than that. Today she wandered off alone, a sure sign she was calving.💚
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She laid down, stood up, wandered, went into the woods, came back to the barn for a snack, laid back down again…the flies annoyed her, but she was also kicking and nosing at her sides, obviously uncomfortable.💚
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We both looked away, busy with jobs in the barn and up on the hill. And then, a coo sounded from wayyyy down at the end of the pasture by the woods.💚
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An evening walk in the pasture is one of the most peaceful pursuits, especially in the company of cows. There, surrounded by her herd, was Bebe with her newborn calf, who was already up and nursing while she made soft, gentle coos. No matter how many times we witness this, it’s a miracle every single time.💚
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Welcome to Hilltop Farm, little boy Blue. You are a reminder of all the goodness of farming, in a summer when we almost forgot that most important fact.💚
#calvingseason #wagyucalf #pasturelife #accordny #smallfarmlife
20 Jul 2026
💚 Thank You, Deborah DeWan. 💚
Rebecca Collins 💓 pays tribute to Deborah DeWan in this edition of "Gimme the Dirt On"
For years, Deborah DeWan has been one of the Hudson Valley's greatest champions for farmers, farmland, and the communities that depend on them.
☘️Through her leadership, compassion, and unwavering commitment to agriculture, she's connected people, protected open space, and helped countless farmers find their voice. Her impact reaches far beyond the fields—it lives on in the relationships, collaborations, and stronger communities she helped cultivate. 🐄 👨🌾
On growing up in Long Island, Deborah explains:
"I grew up around great wealth, but the people I always connected to most were the ones who were the workers – the farmers, gardeners – the people who grew something.”
As Deborah begins her well-earned retirement, we join so many across the region in saying thank you for your remarkable years of service. Your legacy will continue to grow for generations to come.
🔗 Read the beautiful tribute to Deborah's extraordinary career at the LINK in our BIO
🌱 Thank you, Deborah. Wishing you every happiness in this next chapter.
📸 Courtesy of Deborah DeWan, Urana Kinlen and Rebecca Collins
INSIDE+OUT Upstate NY
👉 What to Do. Where to Go. Who to Know
03 Jul 2026
Our favorite day, the prettiest day.☀️
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1 - the gate opens
2 - out they come
3 - stretching those legs
4 - chasing the goose family
5 - leader of the pack
6 - more running
7 - settling in to enjoy the green stuff
8 - Cleo tucked away from the chaos
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This is our happiest day…this year it is tempered by a tough calving season. It’s pure joy to see them out there like this, cows living like they should. Now on to making the hay to feed them when it’s cold again.🌾
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#wholetthecowsout #happycows #themostwonderfuldayoftheyear #wagyufarm #pasturelife
17 May 2026
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