Location: Town of Williamson and Town of Ontario, Wayne County
Size: 498 acres
Description: On August 15th, 2024 the Field Craft Farm project (498 acres) was completed in Williamson and Ontario. The dairy farm is owned and operated by husband and wife Kiel and Theresa Craft. They plan to utilize the funds to secure more land and expand their operation. Field Craft Farms specializes in dairy and field crops such as corn, wheat, straw, soybeans, and hay.
Field Craft Farms LLC is a member of Dairy Farmers of America and the milk is marketed to Poly-O, Philadelphia Cream cheese, Hershey’s, Starbucks bottled Frappuccinos, and many other products, including milk sold by Hood. Since taking on the dairy, the farm operation has grown significantly and now employs eight full time employees.
History: Field Craft Farms LLC is a diversified farming operation that was formed in 2014 by David Craft along with his sons: Kiel and Nathan Craft. While the LLC is relatively new, the Craft’s have had their hands in agriculture for decades. David Craft is a third generation farmer who has been farming since he can remember. He worked alongside his grandfather and father as a small boy and went on to work full time on his uncle’s farm.
In 1992, David and his wife Gretchen bought Ridge Chapel Farms in Williamson, New York. At that time, their primary industry was raising beef cattle, field crops and custom harvesting. In addition to working on the farm, David was employed at an Agri-Chemical company and Gretchen raised their four children. She re-entered the workforce in 1995 at a local cold storage facility as an office manager. Kiel and Nathan worked with their parents, brother and sister to keep the farm moving forward. As a young adult, Kiel continued to work on the family farm. In 2011 he established his own custom harvesting business. Nathan also continued to work on the family farm in addition to working as a heavy equipment operator. In 2014, David, Nathan and Kiel pooled all of their assets and talents to form two LLC’s. Field Craft Farms LLC is where the business is run through and Craft Family Properties LLC is where all of the real estate is held.
At the inception of the LLCs, David, Nathan and Kiel focused on raising beef cattle, field crops, custom work and excavation. In 2017 longtime friends and dairy farmers Richard Eaton and David DeGroote made the decision to retire. Field Craft Farms made the leap into the dairy industry and purchased their entire herd of cattle and rented the dairy farm. Subsequently purchasing the dairy farm in 2018.
