A better barter

Trading her work at SustainAbility in exchange for farmland and housing allowed Henson to incorporate TransGenerational Farm in 2019. During that time, she also journeyed weekly to NYC’s competitive Union Square market to sell the organic fruits and veggies she grew at SustainAbility Farm. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she withdrew from the market and successfully shifted her business model to local and downstate CSA deliveries.

Over the last few years, Henson cultivated a new barter relationship that was even more beneficial. This growing season, she is partnering with Arrowood Farms — a brewery, taproom, and outdoor venue in Accord that offers patrons the opportunity to stroll through its hop yard.

“One of my main inspirations behind farming in the Hudson Valley was to grow hops,” says Henson, who, during her Hudson Valley Farm Hub program, did a hop-growing research project and worked on Arrowood’s 2018 hop harvest. She attributes her fascination with the plant with their prolific nature: at the height of their growing, a hops plant can grow a foot per day.