The 2025 Outstanding Young Farm Family was acknowledged during the 63rd annual Delaware County Dairy Dinner at the Andes Hotel last Friday. From left, are: Desiree Keever of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Wendy and Andrew Mattson, of Downsville, the outstanding young farmers and Paul Cerossaletti of the Cooperative Extension of Delaware County. The
the presentation was made by Barb Hanselman, chairman of the Delaware County Promotion Committee, who is standing just out of the picture.
By Liz Page
ANDES – It is always exciting to see who is Delaware County's newest Outstanding Young Farm Family, an award given each year at the Delaware County Dairy Dinner in cooperation with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County. This year's recipient is Andrew and Wendy Mattson of Harmonie Farms in Downsville. Andrew is the second generation to win this award, as his dad Mike and Uncle Mark were award recipients in 1988.
The presentation was made by Barb Hanselman, chairman of the Delaware County Dairy Promotion Committee with Paul Cerosalletti representing CCE.
The award is based on, as Hanselman said, "Everything that is good about farming." They are chosen by an anonymous committee based and must be progressive, business minded, have a positive attitude, serve their community and maintain a farmstead that supports a positive image to consumers.
The farm was started in 1958 by grandpa Harold on a vacant piece of land. The progression of purchases was made of three farms. The farm grew and progressed from tie stalls to free stalls and then a milking parlor. However, last year was the beginning of a new chapter as they built a new barn and installed robots.
"It was the culmination of years of thought, planning, COVID hiccups, expenses, and will. Today they milk 200 Holstein cows in their new facility- the cows present herd average is 24,768 of milk, 989 of fat, and 812 of protein. The cows average from 87 pounds per day to up over 90 since they moved into the new facility. They have access to loads of information with the robots, and they are still in the learning process of uncovering all of the info and data they have access to. They have used a heat detection system prior to the new barn, and the Lely system was compatible with that so that is important for reproduction. Herd health monitoring is so advanced with the robot system- they will get notified of a cow as being off— and will not be able to assess this using past procedures, but sure enough, in a few hours, you see that the robot was right. They crop over 400 acres- growing corn silage, alfalfa/fescue for the milking herd, and grass for the youngstock. In the past, they did some ground ear corn but as Mike says, cows keep eating more because they make more milk, so all the land they have is going to growing roughage to feed the herd. They are experimenting with using cover crops as a forage crop too. They tried some triticale and that worked well, and have tried some winter rye.
"Although their robots are state of the art, Andrew carries on the family tradition of liking older equipment that he can buy cheap if he can, fix up, and put to work. His love of working on equipment is perhaps some of the reason why he also has a trucking business in addition to being a dairy farmer. He hauls stone and equipment, and has a couple employees that work in the trucking and on the farm."
Andrew attended the police academy and was thinking about being a policeman. While at the academy he met his wife and despite not being a "farm girl" she understands and supports the commitment of a person who is described by many as a "go-getter".
They were married on the farm in July of 2017. Wendy works as a detective for DEP, and she is very much a part of what is needed for them to be a farm family. She is supportive of all that happens on the farm, and helps with what and where she is needed. They have two children that are the love of their lives- Otto is 4, and Linnea is 2.
"They are active in their community. The Mattsons have hosted Downsville school kids on their farm in June for "too many years to count". That catapulted Andrew into encouraging the Delaware County Farm Bureau, of whom he is a director for, to host a family discovery day at their farm in 2022. He is also president of the New York Snowmobile Association, participates in the Run The River Clean Up day where a bunch of people kayak and pick up trash around the river. He also promoted farming and trucking at the Career Day at Downsville Central School. He is very connected to his community.
His sister Katie shared this: Andrew stands as the unwavering torchbearer for our generation on the farm, a role deeply understood and appreciated by us all."
"These words reminded me so many years ago when I was a young farm wife of Andrew's grandma telling me that she hoped that her daughter in laws and grandchildren would not miss out on the opportunities of being a part of the farm, because there is so much to be learned as a part of it, and to feel connected. Mrs. Mattson's hope that her family would be connected to the farm is very much alive."
His mother also provided some very emotional insight into his personality and his perseverance and wanting to do everything to the best of his ability.
In his acceptance, he too was emotional, which he blamed on his mother. He said he was blessed to have the opportunity
"Eight of the nine days of work, we love farming,"said Mattson. "We wake up eery day and can't wait to go to work. I wouldn't want to do anything else." He feels fortunate he has a team of people who really understand what farming is. "I hope in 30 years I am her supporting one of my children or my nieces and nephews. We started with pail milkers and here we are. We took a big step and I am glad you all gave me this chance...they didn't have to do that. They chose to keep going."
And despite his wife growing up downstate, he said she gets it. “Thank you all for coming. This is very much appreciated."
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