FREEVILLE – The consumer has never been more aware of what goes into their bodies, said Tyler Beck, co-owner of Beck Farms. That’s why their farm focuses on transparency and innovation.
Brothers Tyler and Austin Beck of Beck Farms in Freeville and Virgil, have been awarded the 2025 Next Generation Farmer Award from the New York State Agricultural Society.
The fourth-generation, 2,000-cow dairy farm will soon expand, and also has a satellite farm, Alpine Dairy, in Virgil.
Tyler Beck said his recipe for a successful farm is simple: Treat the land well; treat the animals well; and treat the people well.
“It’s the result of all four generations coming together,” he said. “We can have pride in doing what grandpa did, but just in a different way.”
The award goes to a farm, new or established, that is farming in new and creative ways, said Ann Noble Shephard, executive secretary for the New York State Agricultural Society.
“For agriculture to be successful, growing products that are desirable, profitable and sustainable, a new generation of leadership needs to continue to step forward,” Shephard said. “They are new partners to the business, making innovative management changes in a competitive industry and leading a major expansion.”
Their promotion of dairy at a national level made them a new face of dairy for consumers, Shephard said.
Last spring, Vanessa Bayer, a longtime cast member of Saturday Night Live, spent a week at Beck Farms, learning about the dairy industry for her docu-series “Dairy Diaries,” which is streaming on the Roku Channel.
“They wanted to see how, in a sustainable way, we recycle and have a closed loop here on the farm,” Austin Beck said in May.
The closed-loop process includes using manure to grow feed. With more sustainable and innovative farming practices, producing a gallon of milk now requires 30% less water, 21% less land and a 19% smaller carbon footprint than it did in 2007, the news release says.
Another sustainable technology the farm uses is a SCR Heatime HR System, which Austin Beck describes as “Fitbit for cows.” It tracks cows’ activity, food intake, production and when they are in heat.
“There’s so much more interest now than there ever has been about local food, and where your food comes from, and knowing the whole story from how the food starts in the field to how it ends up on your plate,” Tyler Beck said. “The consumer seems to be more and more interested in learning the story of what they’re eating.”
Mark Modzeleski, a committee member for the award, appreciates how the Becks continue to do what their family has been doing, while growing it and making it better, he said.
“Generationally, what they’re not afraid to do is embrace technology and question the systems and processes that made their father and their grandfather successful,” Modzeleski said. “They’re continuing to be open and experimenting to be the best farms they can be.”
