Kingbird Farm – Berkshire, NY

Karma and Michael Glos and their daughter Rosemary raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW) beef cattle, laying hens, meat chickens, and ducks at Kingbird Farm in Berkshire, NY. Before starting Kingbird Farm, Karma and Michael both gardened extensively with their families growing up and then went on to apprentice with farmers. They purchased their current land in 1995 and ever since they’ve worked to build a diverse, productive, and sustainable family farm. Karma says, “It is very important to us that our farm be ecologically, financially, socially, and emotionally sustainable. We want to raise food in the very best way we can so we can feed the community around us.”

Kingbird is a very mixed farm of livestock, vegetables, herbs, and forest. All the animals are grazed on pasture. Their small herd of Highland cattle are bred to a Red Angus bull to produce hardy calves that are fed an entirely grass and forage-based diet. The laying flock is composed of Black Australorp hens and the duck flock are Pekins – both of which they have been breeding and raising on farm for several years. They also have been developing their own broiler chicken breed since 2011 and use this breed as well as Freedom Ranger chicks.

On their reasons for applying for Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW certification, Karma says, “We found the standards to be very strong and took it as a personal challenge to meet them.”

Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW products from Kingbird Farm are currently available by preorder, at the store on the farm, and the Ithaca Farmers Market, every Saturday from April to December. To keep up with what’s happening at Kingbird Farm, follow them on Facebook and Instagram or visit kingbirdfarm.com.