On an August afternoon at Full Circus Farm in Pine Plains, children played near a brightly painted barn, and rows of fruit trees basked in the sunlight.
Mark Stonehill and Miriam Goler, who met in high school in New York City, arrived in the
Hudson Valley and started Full Circus Farm, their certified organic agricultural business, in 2014. Just over ten years and two children later, they have a thriving fruit tree nursery and a
greenhouse bursting with heritage tomatoes.
In the years between they raised an extensive range of crops and flowers and offered CSA
shares until the farm, which lies in a floodplain, was inundated and sustained extensive damage
in July 2023.
“You have to think long-term,” Goler said. “It’s not if it floods again — it’s when.”
In consultation with the Cornell Cooperative Extension and other experts, they pivoted to a business model that could better withstand future climate disruptions. The nursery — now at the heart of their operation — offers apple, pear, and Asian pear trees in the spring and fall, and potted fig trees year-round.
Full Circus still grows some vegetables in higher, less flood-prone areas. “We wish we could find someone — a wholesaler — interested in 20 or 30 bunches of kale a week,” Stonehill said. “Kale is such a resilient crop. But the nursery is where there is more energy and focus.”
Stonehill also works part-time at the North East Community Center’s after-school program in Millerton and helps at its food pantry. “I’ve always been interested in education,” he said. “Part of the pivot to the nursery is helping people take care of their trees.”
In addition to his nursery work, Stonehill has begun consulting for orchards and home gardeners. For years, he has led workshops across the Hudson Valley on pruning and fig tree care. “Figs are so good,” he said. “They are our most reliable tree fruit.”
Full Circus trees and produce now supply several local markets and restaurants, including TriCorner Market in Millerton; Peck’s Market, Champêtre, and the Refillery in Pine Plains; and Big Rock Market in Stanfordville. It also sells greenhouse-grown tomatoes in 4-pound flats (for cherry tomatoes) and 10-pound flats (for larger varieties).
Because of their change in focus, Stonehill and Goler had to end their CSA after nine years. “It was the way we built a community here – we miss it a lot,” Goler said. “But we have our weekends again. It’s a better balance with a family. The amount of risk with growing crops for a CSA is high. Farming is risky and often not that profitable. For the amount of time we poured into crop production, we did not want to be in that position again.”
In addition to his other work, Stonehill has begun consulting for orchards and home gardeners, while Goler is mentoring another farmer through the organic certification process. “The bookkeeping and record-keeping need to be done a certain way,” Goler said. “It’s a lot of paperwork.”
Today, the couple sees their business as stronger and more flexible.
“Our business is more resilient now,” Stonehill said. “We’ve moved our business to an area that can handle it when it floods.”
The couple leases the land they farm. While they once hoped to buy farmland of their own, they say affordability remains a challenge in the region. “It’s difficult for farmers in the Hudson Valley to find land that’s affordable,” Stonehill said.
“We love the Hudson Valley so much we want to stay,” Goler added.
The family, who has been living in a home on the flood-prone farm, recently received a life-changing offer from their landowner: a house on higher ground. They plan to move soon, a step they hope will secure both their family’s future and the farm’s.
