Our Family Farm & Community
The Robbins family has been farming in Sackets Harbor, NY for nearly 100 years. The family's farm was established by Ron's great grandparents, Samuel & Sarah Sutton. Their daughter Mary Sutton married Harold Robbins, whose family had a homestead on S. Massey St., just outside Watertown. Harold moved to the Sutton family's farm, and he and Mary, and later their sons Carl and George, continued to milk around 75 cows and grow corn and other crops for the dairy cows. The Robbins homestead on S. Massey St. is still farmed today. It includes the four corners of the S. Massey St. bridge that goes over I81. Carl and Artis had four children, Ron, Cherie, Patrick and Colleen.
George tragically and suddenly passed away in 1985 at age 40 from a heart attack, and Carl passed away in 2020 at the age of 83. Carl worked on the farm until the very day of the accident that claimed his life. He was the first one there at the morning, and the last one to leave at night.
In 1977, Ron married Nancy, a "city girl" from Watertown. In the early 80s, Ron diversified the farm from solely dairy to cash crops, such as corn and wheat, and a small trucking business. In 1986, Nancy established Old McDonald's Farm, and in 2001, the dairy farm expanded from the old 75-100 cow tie-stall barn to a 400 cow free-stall. The dairy was renamed North Harbor Dairy, as the family's several businesses split into their own separate entities. Today, together with their son Brian and daughter Julia, son-in-law Jake, and 50 plus employees, the Robbinses farm 8,000 acres of crops including corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, sweet corn and pumpkins (Robbins Family Grain), produce high quality milk from 1500 dairy cows (North Harbor Dairy), invite the public to visit a modern, working family farm (Old McDonald's Farm), raise beef (North Harbor Beef Co.), and haul the farm's own crops across the Northeast as well as contract for other agricultural companies through RFG Trucking.
Ron & Nancy's other son, Jeffery, is a 4th grade teacher and varsity boys basketball coach at Sackets Harbor School.
The farm family is now in it's 6th generation, with 6 grandkids who all enjoy working on the farm! What will the next 100 years bring for our family business....?