The Background
After years spent working in the banking and insurance industries Alessandro and Brent decided to do their part to save farms, one at a time, long before the ‘farm to table’ movement took place.
In 2004 they bought a farm in Anghiari, Tuscany, and bringing it back to life, focusing on raising goats and producing artisanal goat cheese. For that purpose they formed a cheese production and distribution company named ABCheese. Additionally they started collecting and pressing olives from their 450 tree olive grove. After 3 years they began concentrating on cheesemaking, and now, in its tenth year, cheese demand is stronger than ever. ABCheese continues to be under their management.
Restarting Lime Kiln Farm
In 2014 Alessandro and Brent thought it was time to bring back their hard-earned experience across the Atlantic and start a new farming and cheesemaking venture in the USA. The Hudson Valley was identified as the ideal location for Lime Kiln Farm, not only because of its climate and topography, but also because of its proximity to large cities (Albany, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia) where the farm to table movement is now well established.
In 2019 Brent and Alessandro decided to focus on raising sheep. They chose White Dorpers as the perfect breed for their plan and they started building up on a flock they introduced in 2015. In 2020 they have more than 200 sheep and they are fastly moving to a flock of 400, which is their goal.
The Farmhouse
Lime Kiln Farm is an 18th Century complex consisting of a stone house with a late federal clapboard wing, wood outbuildings, lime kiln and cemetery. This 1790 farmhouse was built by Thomas Houghtaling and son Peter. On site materials were used, hammer dressed limestone and rubble fieldstone. The principal outbuildings are of massive post-and-beam construction, many with wooden pins, mortise and tenon joints and braces. There have been interior structural changes to meet the needs of modern living, yet the original building fabrics remains intact.
The Barns
Limekiln Farm has two barn complexes: one attached to the main farmhouse and one on the northern side of the property, at the corner of Limekiln Road and Reservoir Road. Both barns were originally built in the early 1800’s and both barns were carefully restored by Brent and Alessandro in 2015 and 2019. Classic red and white American barns, the buildings have been included in National Registry of Historic Buildings.
The Land
Lime Kiln Farm is currently made of 414 acres, with a nice mix of pasture and woods. The land extends across the towns of West Coxsackie and New Baltimore, in the upper Hudson Valley between the Catskills (to the sounth) and the Adirondacks (to the east).