Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture
Corporate brand
UnclaimedStone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture is a nonprofit farm, education center, and research organization focused on sustainable agriculture, local food systems, and farmer training.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture is a nonprofit farm and agricultural education and research organization in Pocantico Hills, New York. Its campus occupies approximately 80 acres of the former Pocantico Rockefeller estate and is surrounded on three sides by Rockefeller State Park Preserve. The center presents agriculture as an integrated ecological system, combining crop production, livestock husbandry, farmer education, public programs, research, and food-related cultural activity. The site originated as part of the Rockefeller family's agricultural landscape. In the 1930s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. commissioned a group of Norman-style stone barns for use as a dairy farm. The agricultural operation declined during the 1950s, after which the buildings were used primarily for storage. Agricultural activity returned in the 1970s when Margaret "Peggy" McGrath Rockefeller developed a cattle-breeding operation. After Peggy Rockefeller's death in 1996, David Rockefeller and his daughter Peggy Dulany helped establish Stone Barns Center as a memorial project. The center opened to the public in May 2004. Stone Barns operates as a four-season farm. Its crop operation uses roughly six acres for field and greenhouse production and grows hundreds of varieties throughout the year. A seven-year rotation system is used across field and greenhouse beds, while a minimally heated greenhouse extends seasonal production by making use of available sunlight. The farm avoids pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic chemical additives, relying instead on compost and soil-management practices. Compost is produced through the decomposition of manure, hay, and food scraps over an approximately six-month cycle. The livestock program includes cattle, chickens, sheep, pigs, goats, bees, and other animals suited to the local ecosystem. Cattle, chickens, sheep, and goats are managed through rotational grazing intended to support pasture health, biodiversity, and animal behavior. Bedding materials from sheep and pigs are composted and returned to the farm system. In 2018, the center began managing more than 300 acres of Rockefeller State Park Preserve, where it implemented multi-species grazing involving cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, hens, and ducks. The program also incorporated food by-products such as spent grain from a nearby brewery into pig foraging and waste-reduction practices. Education is central to the organization's identity. Stone Barns offers practical courses and workshops for farmers, teachers, gardeners, community-garden participants, food professionals, and members of the public. Topics include crop production, livestock management, pollination, soil, water, farm business, and regenerative agriculture. The center also hosts an apprenticeship program for emerging farm workers and established the Young Farmers Conference in 2008 to provide training, peer exchange, and encouragement for beginning farmers facing land-access and economic barriers. The campus is also home to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant operated by the Barber family. Opened in 2004, the restaurant developed a farm-to-table model that draws heavily on ingredients from Stone Barns fields and pastures while presenting contemporary cuisine. Although the restaurant and nonprofit center are distinct operations, they share the site and participate in related educational and culinary activities. Blue Hill staff have contributed to center programs, and the restaurant has helped make Stone Barns a prominent public example of the connection between farming, cooking, and regional food systems. Stone Barns has also contributed to agricultural and food-system publishing. In 2017, it published "Letters to a Young Farmer," a collection of essays and letters addressing the rewards, difficulties, economics, and social meaning of farming. The organization has received attention through food media and television, including the filming of an episode of the fifth season of "Top Chef" at the property. Its overall positioning combines demonstration farm, training institution, ecological stewardship project, and public-facing food destination rather than conventional agricultural product branding.
History
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture developed from the agricultural history of the Pocantico Rockefeller estate in Westchester County, New York. The property was part of the Rockefeller family's extensive estate and conservation landscape. In the 1930s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. commissioned a collection of Norman-style stone barns for a dairy operation. The buildings later lost their agricultural function and were used mainly for storage during the 1950s. Agriculture returned to the property in the 1970s when Margaret "Peggy" McGrath Rockefeller established a cattle-breeding operation. Her work restored a productive farming role to the site and helped shape the later vision of a working farm connected to education and public engagement. Peggy Rockefeller died in 1996. David Rockefeller and his daughter Peggy Dulany subsequently created Stone Barns Center as a memorial project. The creation of the center involved debate within the Rockefeller family. Some family members reportedly questioned the decision to separate part of land associated with the Rockefeller conservation legacy for a new charitable agricultural project. The presence of a commercial restaurant on the campus also generated internal disagreement. The project nevertheless proceeded, and Stone Barns opened to the public in May 2004. From its beginning, Stone Barns combined nonprofit education with an operating farm. The crop farm uses field and greenhouse space to produce hundreds of varieties throughout the year. Its agricultural model emphasizes seasonal production, crop rotation, soil health, composting, and the avoidance of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical additives. The livestock program raises animals adapted to the local environment and uses rotational grazing, pasture recovery, composted bedding, and other practices intended to align production with ecological processes. The 2004 opening of Blue Hill at Stone Barns created a closely connected culinary component. Operated by Dan, David, and Laureen Barber, the restaurant sources many ingredients from the center's fields and pastures and uses them in contemporary cuisine. Blue Hill personnel have also participated in Stone Barns educational activity. The restaurant made the farm visible to a wider culinary audience while the center provided a working agricultural context for the restaurant's approach. In 2008, Stone Barns added an on-site slaughterhouse for livestock used by Blue Hill. The facility was intended to avoid lengthy and costly transport to the nearest suitable slaughterhouse. That same year, the organization held the first Young Farmers Conference, establishing a recurring educational forum for beginning farmers. The conference addressed the practical and structural difficulties of entering agriculture, including limited access to land, capital, training, and younger entrants to the profession. Stone Barns expanded its educational role through apprenticeships and workshops for farmers, educators, gardeners, food professionals, and the general public. Instruction has included crop and livestock management as well as soil, water, pollination, business, and regenerative-agriculture topics. In 2017, the center published "Letters to a Young Farmer," an anthology of essays and letters about farming's economic, personal, ecological, and cultural dimensions. In 2018, the organization began managing more than 300 acres of Rockefeller State Park Preserve. Its first season involved multi-species intensive grazing, with cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, hens, and ducks using the preserve's land. Pigs also foraged on food waste and spent grain obtained from a nearby brewery, extending the center's interest in nutrient cycling and agricultural by-product use. Stone Barns has received exposure through food and popular media, including the filming of a fifth-season episode of "Top Chef" at the site. Blue Hill at Stone Barns received two Michelin stars in 2020. Taken together, the farm, education programs, research and demonstration activities, preserve management, publishing, and restaurant make Stone Barns a hybrid institution: part working farm, part training center, part conservation and food-systems project, and part culinary destination.
- 2020
Blue Hill at Stone Barns receives two Michelin stars
[1]The affiliated restaurant received a two-star Michelin rating.
- 2018
Preserve grazing partnership begins
[1]Stone Barns began managing more than 300 acres of Rockefeller State Park Preserve for multi-species grazing.
- 2017
Publication of Letters to a Young Farmer
[1]Stone Barns published a collection addressing the challenges and possibilities of contemporary farming.
- 2008
On-site slaughterhouse opens
[1]Stone Barns began processing its livestock on site for use at Blue Hill, reducing external transport requirements.
- 2008
First Young Farmers Conference
[1]The center established its conference for beginning farmers and agricultural knowledge exchange.
- 2004
Stone Barns opens to the public
[1]The nonprofit center began public operations as a farm, education center, and sustainable-agriculture project.
- 2004
Blue Hill at Stone Barns begins operations
[1]The Barber family's farm-linked restaurant opened on the Stone Barns property.
- 1970
Agricultural activity resumes
[1]Margaret McGrath Rockefeller restarted agricultural activity through a cattle-breeding operation.
- 1930
Rockefeller dairy barns are commissioned
[1]John D. Rockefeller Jr. commissioned the Norman-style stone barns as part of a dairy operation on the Pocantico estate.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit demonstration farm and learning center that connects regenerative and sustainable agriculture with farmer education, ecological stewardship, regional food systems, and culinary practice.
Farm produce
Seasonal crops
The crop farm produces approximately 300 varieties of vegetables, herbs, grains, and other plants across outdoor fields, gardens, and a minimally heated greenhouse. Production operates year-round and includes uncommon or heritage varieties such as celtuce, Kai-lan, hakurei turnips, New England Eight-Row Flint corn, and finale fennel. Crop planning follows a long rotation cycle designed to support soil fertility and reduce dependence on chemical inputs.
Livestock and animal agriculture
Pasture-raised livestock
Stone Barns raises cattle, chickens, sheep, pigs, goats, and bees using practices adapted to the local ecosystem. Rotational grazing, pasture recovery, composted bedding, and attention to animal behavior are central to the system. The animals support both the farm's agricultural demonstration work and food production associated with Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Education and training
Agricultural education programs
The center provides hands-on training for farmers, teachers, gardeners, food professionals, and the public. Courses and workshops cover crop production, livestock, soil, water, pollination, farm business, and regenerative agriculture. The programs are designed to connect practical skills with broader questions about resilient food systems and ecological stewardship.
Agricultural conference · 2008
Young Farmers Conference
Established in 2008, the Young Farmers Conference provides educational sessions, networking, and encouragement for people entering or developing careers in farming. Its rationale includes the age imbalance in American agriculture and the difficulty younger farmers face in acquiring land and capital. The program emphasizes practical, smaller-scale, and ecologically oriented farming.
Restaurant · 2004
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Blue Hill at Stone Barns is the affiliated restaurant operated by the Barber family on the center's campus. It serves contemporary cuisine built around local and seasonal ingredients, including produce and livestock from Stone Barns. The restaurant functions as a public culinary expression of the site's farm-to-table and ingredient-centered philosophy.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Young Farmers Conference
United States
Stone Barns created the conference to support beginning farmers through practical education, peer exchange, and discussion of barriers such as land access, financing, and limited professional pathways.
Outcome. The conference became a recurring component of the center's farmer-education work.
- Farm and garden workshops
United States · Hudson Valley
Hands-on workshops introduce participants to crop and livestock practices, soil, water, pollination, composting, and regenerative agriculture.
Outcome. The workshops extend Stone Barns' educational mission beyond professional farmers to educators, community gardeners, industry participants, and the wider public.
Brand decisions
2018
Expand grazing into Rockefeller State Park PreserveStrategyBackground
The center sought to apply its pasture-management and multi-species agricultural approach across a larger landscape.
Action taken
Stone Barns began managing more than 300 acres of the preserve and introduced intensive grazing by multiple livestock species.
Aftermath
The partnership expanded the geographic scope of the center's demonstration and land-stewardship work.
2008
Adopt an on-site slaughterhouseStrategyBackground
Stone Barns needed a practical way to process livestock raised for the affiliated restaurant without sending animals on long and costly journeys to the nearest suitable facility.
Action taken
The center opened a slaughterhouse on the property for livestock used by Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Aftermath
The arrangement integrated livestock production and restaurant supply more closely and reduced transport distance.
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