Dygert Farms in New York: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Dygert Farms in Palatine Bridge is a tricentennial dairy farm, with its farmhouse on the original 50 acres deeded to the family in 1723, and it won the 2023 New York AEM-Leopold Conservation Award. Robby and Shannon Dygert milk 270 cows, farm 650 acres and bottle their own milk at an on-farm creamery.
| Location | Palatine Bridge, Montgomery County, New York |
|---|---|
| Founded | Farmstead deeded to the family in 1723 |
| Sectors | Dairy; on-farm creamery; feed crops |
| Scale | 270-cow dairy on 650 owned and rented acres (2023 announcement) |
| Why it is elite | Tricentennial family farm; 2023 New York AEM-Leopold Conservation Award recipient |
| Ownership | Robby and Shannon Dygert, 12 generations of Dygerts on the land per the state |
| Official website | Farms.com profile of Dygert Farms and its creamery |
History of Dygert Farms
Robby Dygert follows 12 generations of Dygerts on this land. He and Shannon bought the family farm and their first 65 Holstein cows after marrying in 2009. The farm marked its 300th year in 2023, and its first conservation plan dates to 1962, covering crop rotations, contour strips, tile drainage and pasture renovation.
The Dygerts began the creamery to capture more of the value of their milk. Per farm press coverage, they started in 2015 buying and distributing milk locally and through home delivery, then began processing their own milk in 2021, helped by a USDA Farm Service Agency Farm Storage Facility Loan.
What Dygert Farms Grows and Raises
The herd of about 250 to 270 Holsteins is milked in a converted tie-stall barn that is now a double-eight parallel parlor, with cows housed in two freestall barns. Feed comes from 650 acres of owned and rented land in a five-year hay and four-year corn rotation, mostly no-till, with rye cover crops on 50 acres.
State-supported AEM projects funded a manure storage facility, a covered laneway between barnyards and a system to collect and treat silage leachate. Manure is applied by a custom applicator under a comprehensive nutrient management plan, and parlor wash water is stored and applied to fields. Strip-cropping has been used for decades.
The creamery sells whole, 2 percent and skim milk, chocolate milk, half and half, and seasonal items such as eggnog and maple-flavored milk. The farm won gold in the chocolate milk category at the state's 2023 Dairy Products Competition.
How Dygert Farms Makes Money
Bottled milk and dairy
The creamery sells in local grocery stores, farm stands, by home delivery and through the on-farm store, which keeps more of the retail margin than selling milk only into the commodity system.
Farm store products
The farm store and farm stands also carry local meat, cheese, baked goods, maple syrup and canned goods, per press coverage, which raises basket size for visitors.
Commodity milk and feed
The herd and 650 acres of cropland still underpin the operation; the milk that is not bottled is sold into the wider dairy market.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Dygert Farms
Processing can start small and grow: the Dygerts began by distributing other milk, built customers, then invested in processing. Low-interest FSA storage facility loans financed part of the expansion.
Tying a brand to 300 years of family history and to documented conservation practices gives a farm a story that grocery buyers and home-delivery customers can trust.
Dygert Farms has been in the same place since 1723, which means this barn has outlasted three centuries of weather, prices and well-meaning advice. At farm.FM, which collects farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, we think the only thing older than the farmhouse is the argument over whose turn it is to open the chocolate milk. Our respect for the gold medal is entirely sincere.
If the name is new to you, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site, with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers on the side. One of its regular writers keeps a whole archive of stories like that.
How to Contact Dygert Farms
Website: https://www.farms.com/news/family-diversifies-tricentennial-dairy-farm-243701.aspx
Contact details as published online, November 2026. No street address, phone or email for the operation was found in the sources reviewed; confirm before traveling or placing orders.
Dygert Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Dygert Farms award announcement - State announcement of the 2023 AEM-Leopold winner
- Farms.com: family diversifies tricentennial dairy farm - Independent coverage of the creamery
- NY Agricultural Environmental Management - State conservation program
- Leopold Conservation Award program - Sand County Foundation award page
- 2022 Census of Agriculture, New York - NASS state profile
Dygert Farms FAQ
Where is Dygert Farms?
In Palatine Bridge, Montgomery County, New York.
How old is Dygert Farms?
The farmhouse sits on the original 50 acres deeded to the family in 1723, and the farm celebrated 300 years in 2023.
What does Dygert Farms sell?
Bottled milk including chocolate milk, half and half and seasonal items, plus local products at its farm store.
How can I contact Dygert Farms?
No address, phone or website was found in the sources reviewed. Visit Montgomery County listings or the Farms.com profile linked above.
Dygert Farms shows how a 300-year-old dairy can add a creamery and stay conservation-minded. See the New York farms guide for more about the state's dairy economy.