The 96th annual Delaware County Farm Tour included a new stop this year, spotlighting a farm animal not often found in Upstate New York’s rolling fields and forests: rainbow trout.
Organized by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County, one of the tour’s three stops Monday, July 13 was a visit to Skytop Springs Fish Farm in Sidney Center. This year’s theme was Progressive Paths in Agriculture, aimed at showcasing farms building resiliency through innovation, stewardship and strategic decision making, according to a poster for the event.
“This farm has been one people have wanted to see for a few years, so we were delighted to be able to get them on the tour this year,” Desiree Keever said, positioned feet from a tank of trout. Keever, the ag issue leader for the Delaware CCE, said the owners were “very innovative and intentional in how they put the farm together,” building for longevity.
Michael Sellitti said the family-owned farm is only one of three in New York “that are producers and processors. So that makes us truly unique.” He later added that with a new waste capture system, the fish farm will be able to partially recycle water.
Sellitti said his family has owned the property where the farm now is for about 40 years. Moving from conception of the idea to farm trout to beginning sales took about 10 years, he said, and the business started selling in 2020. Sellitti said its final inspection was completed in February 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit “and we were like, ‘Oh boy, what do we do with all these fish we have ready?’ and that’s how we ended up at farmers markets,” Sellitti said. The markets are where he met many chefs and restaurant owners who would eventually buy wholesale from the fish farm, he said.
On Monday, about 30 people came down a hill to the facility, the second stop of the farm tour. The first stop was Elm Side Farm in Walton for beef production, and the third and final stop was Ritz Farm in Franklin for dairy production.
“It’s great to see everyone here,” Sellitti said while guests ate their lunch before the tour, adding that “we’re really excited” to open up to the public.
Visitors sampled trout grown on the property and watched as Sellitti filleted one. As he did, he said he wasn’t a professional chef but the skill comes with thousands of times practicing.
He then showed guests to the main attraction: several tanks and ponds for the trout, who darted around beneath the surface. Larger outside ponds were covered from the sun and fenced in with electric fences to keep away bears, as well as a “persistent” mink. Inside a building were some smaller tanks.
Sellitti said the most important part of growing the trout was ensuring high water quality. To avoid throwing off the careful balance, visitors were asked to clean their shoes off, hand sanitize and not touch the water.
He said a common saying is true: “maintain the water, and the fish will take care of themselves.”