Karen Hoffman is Peaceful by Nature
"There was a guy in my office for years, who used to refer to people like me as hobby farmers. And it drove me crazy. One day I finally said, “You know what? These hobby farmers, if they are getting up every day, and taking care of animals, it's not a hobby. A hobby is something you do when you feel like doing it.”
Karen Hoffman started working for Cornell Cooperative Extension for a few years after grad school, and then began working for USDA-NRCS as an Animal Scientist to help dairy farmers convert to grazing more successfully. She is now the State Grazing Specialist for NY, although she still reminds folks that she's an animal scientist inside.
Her farming journey began in 2011 when she and her partner Jack decided to raise sheep and beef cattle and market their meat locally. They bought a small farm and started with 5 Dorset ewes that he already owned. Much of the land needed to be reclaimed, which they did with a lot of manual labor and animal impact.
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Karen Hoffman
CGO - Chief Grazing Officer
I grew up in the suburbs outside of Boston, MA and went to Cornell because I wanted to be an equine vet. I quickly figured out that that was going to be VERY difficult, so I switched my emphasis to dairy cattle management. Long story short, I ended up going to Penn State for my Master's degree and did research on supplemental feeding of grazing dairy cows. Who know I'd end up making a career out of that?? Not me for sure!
I started working for Cornell Cooperative Extension for a few years after grad school, and then began working for USDA-NRCS as an Animal Scientist to help dairy farmers convert to grazing more successfully. After many years of that and other people retiring, I'm now the State Grazing Specialist for NY, although I still remind folks that I'm an animal scientist inside.
My farming journey began in 2011 when my partner Jack and I decided we wanted to raise sheep and beef cattle and market our meat locally. We bought a small farm and started with 5 Dorset ewes that he already owned. Much of the land needed to be reclaimed, which we did with a lot of manual labor and animal impact. We reached a maximum number of 25 ewes in 2021, which became a challenging management size for us. I've been farming by myself since late 2021 when Jack decided to leave the farm, have downsized my animal numbers, and now have a high school student who helps me out a few times each week.
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