North Fork Farmers Stories’ Presentation

Featured speakers include:

• The Sidor Family, who have farmed potatoes on Oregon Road in Mattituck since 1910. Third-generation farmers Martin and Carol Sidor moved to the homestead in 1973 and, in 2003, found an innovative way to reinvigorate the family farm — by turning their potatoes into chips, expanding from growing to processing their own product.
• The Schmitt Family, with over 170 years of farming history on Long Island. Today, they operate a 175-acre wholesale farm along with three retail farmstands, growing sweet corn, root vegetables, leafy greens, and cut and potted flowers. In recent years, they’ve expanded into prepared foods, including fresh, homemade horseradish and other specialty goods.
• Joann Zilnicki, a proud third-generation North Fork farmer, born and raised in Riverhead. She knew from a young age she would marry a farmer and raise her family on a farm. “Farming is hard work,” she says, “but it’s in my genes, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
• Anthony Scott, a lifelong East End resident and grandson of James R. Wilson, a Black farmer who spent 62 years in the East End farming industry. Anthony and his brothers were raised by their grandparents on the farm since birth. Anthony was part of the fabric of the day-to-day operations of the farm until his grandfather passed. He will share memories and experiences honoring his grandfather’s impact on local agriculture.
• Farrm Wine, founded by Rex and Connie Farr, pioneers of organic and biodynamic farming on Long Island. With no chemicals used on the farm since 1985, they became the first certified organic and biodynamically farmed vineyard on Long Island in 1990. Their vineyard, planted in 2005, includes Bordeaux varieties that reflect the unique terroir of the North Fork.