Location: Town of Mendon, Monroe County
Size: 202 acres
Description: Van Voorhis Farms grows corn, soybeans, and wheat on about 600 acres in southeast Henrietta. Steve and Jane Van Voorhis own the 200 acres parcel that is the farm’s base of operations and houses all of its infrastructure. The additional 400 acres are rented and located between Clover Street and Pinnacle Road, including the land recently purchased by Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
A typical year results in 180 bushels of corn per acre, 60 bushels of soybeans per acre, and 75 bushels of wheat per acre. All crops are sold at the local grain elevator. To maintain yields, the fields have been tiled and crops are rotated. In addition, Steve works with consultants to test the soils and apply fertilizer at a variable rate ensuring that he’s only applying what is needed.
Steve Van Voorhis is the sole operator with occasional assistance from his son. The farm is nearly all productive land with a small wooded wetland, providing easily worked large fields.
Steve has been active in the local agricultural community. He has served as president of the Monroe County Farm Bureau, is involved with the New York Corn and Soybean Growers Association, and served on the advisory committee for the Town of Henrietta’s Farmland Protection Plan.
History: Van Voorhis Farms has been in operation since 1903. Steve Van Voorhis is the 4th generation of the Van Voorhis family to farm the family’s land in Henrietta.
When the Town of Henrietta completed its Farmland Protection Plan in 2018, and included the recommendation to find ways to protect its remaining farmland, Steve reached out to Genesee Land Trust to have his farm considered for a NYSDAM Farmland Protection Implementation Grant