Monanfran Farm
Canastota, NY
Monanfran Farms is truly multigenerational and has remained a family farm for nearly 100 years and is owned by the Kelsey and Mills families . The third, fourth and fifth generations of the Kelsey family are all involved in the farm operations today. The dairy operation currently owns 190 lactating cows and 200 replacement calves and heifers. This farm is unique because of its long history associated with agriculture, its land location along the “Route 5 Corridor”, its open spaces, and its unique natural beauty.
Agriculture is the primary economic stimulus in Madison County, although encroachment on the farm’s fringes by development from the eastern suburbs of Syracuse, NY threatens to reduce open space and prime farm land. The Monanfran Farms homestead is located at the intersection of Jennings Road and NY Route 5, a location that is experiencing mounting private home development pressure, growing traffic issues, and a growing non-farm population. Monanfran Farms has been involved in both agriculture and the dairy industry for nearly a century. Monford and Anabel Kelsey started farming in 1919 with the current farmstead and 400 acres. The Kelsey and Mills families realized that the land needed to be preserved due to these encroachments and NYALT was happy to help.
Monanfran Farms has a long history of having some of the best heifers and has exported animals to China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hungary, South America, Mexico and Canada. Additionally, the farm has supplied heifers to the Dominican Republic for the Heifer International project. Consequently, Monanfran Farms is clearly an enterprise of distinction: multigenerations producing outstanding animals that are recognized throughout the world.
Monanfran Farms, Inc. is also the longest continuous shipper of milk to Queensboro Farm Products, Inc. in Canastota, NY. In 2013, the farm shipped 4,760,422 lbs of milk. Queensboro is a small processing plant that has been in the Miller family for over 100 years and is only 2 miles from Monanfran Farms. Queensboro has a distribution system that supplies dairy products to local schools, hospitals and other public venues.
