Meet the Farm
Nestled atop one of the highest points in Erie County in a region that averages 150 inches of snow a year, Snowy Brook Farm was founded in the year 2020 as the brainchild of Amy and Zachary Barkley. The farm aims for environmental and social sustainability, while providing quality products to meet the needs of folks in Upstate NY and beyond!
Check out our farm throughout the seasons, in the photos below! Click to enlarge.
Meet the Farmers
“Chickens are piles of joy wrapped in a fluffy bundle of feathers.”
Amy Barkley is the CEO of Snowy Brook Farm. One day as a child in the early 2000s, her family brought an old, bulky computer into the house with internet capabilities, and the first thing she did was to make an email account under the username “chickengirl”. Now, armed with a Masters degree from Penn State in Animal Science, focusing in Poultry Science, Amy is a woman who truly loves, cares, and obsesses about poultry. Though the dream of owning her own farm originally seemed out-of-reach, an unexpected opportunity arose, and with it she founded Snowy Brook Farm under the mantra of sharing her love of these feathered companions with the rest of society. Hard-working, determined, and maybe just a touch overambitious, Amy spends every day thinking about how she can improve the lives of chickens everywhere, and redefines what it means to be “one of the flock”.
“Maybe we can break even if we have our chickens be the official sponsor of Home Depot gift card sleeves.”
Zach Barkley is the husband of the CEO and has the honor of holding the esteemed title, “Farmer’s Apprentice”. A climate scientist by trade, Zach’s knowledge of farming may be somewhat lacking, but he’s learning more every day under the tutelage of the CEO. His impressive wit and technical prowess make his skillset ideal for restarting routers and writing descriptive paragraphs on the company website.
Meet the Animals
Egg, Pudge, and Bird
These three cats are guardians of the house, food bowl, and outdoors respectively. Each plays a pivotal role in maintaining balance on the farm. They are the only animals on our farm that appreciate a good belly rub.
Chickens
While most of our birds are sold for others to enjoy, we keep a small laying flock around the house tin addition to our breeders to provide us with fresh eggs and cause mischief throughout the day. A parent should never play favorites, but the 5 above are definitely our favorites
Goosey!
In Spring 2020, we purchased a flock of Classic Roman geese with the intention of having a number of them to start a breeding flock to offer goslings for sale in the spring of 2021. As fate would have it, the hatchery had a problem with their hatch, and we ended up with a lovable pasture pet. Over the summer, Goosey worked his way through the ranks and is now the protector of Home Flock, our menagerie of favorite chickens.