Catskill Wagyu at Hilltop Farm is a small family farm in New York's Hudson Valley. They use sustainable farming practices to work as they raise pastured Wagyu beef. Every one of their 50 cows were bred, born and raised on Hilltop Farm. They maintain a group of 6 dairy cows, a connection to Barton's history as a lifelong dairy farmer. These are the animals who will provide milk for their "in progress" creamery, where they plan to sell raw milk, and Becky's pasteurized fresh and raw aged cheeses. The home farm comprises 56 acres, including the farmhouse and barns Barton built himself starting at the age of 18. Leased neighborhood acreage combined with the home farm grows the grass hay they feed their cows exclusively.

They will have American Bresse chicken and eggs available for sale in spring 2023 as they expand their value-added product line. They feel that this heirloom breed, whose genetics originate in France, are a good complement to our Japanese Wagyu, also an heirloom breed. They are a farm located in an area where gentrification accompanied by development pressure is huge, so it is critically important to them to advocate for farmland preservation, creative succession planning for the aging farmer population, and small farms as highly prized community resources.

An Apprentice at Hilltop Farm will participate in every step of raising a Wagyu beef steer: learning about artificial insemination, assisting with calving season, caring for newborn calves, making hay for feed, learning manure management and soil health, daily feeding and general animal care, loading and delivering steers to harvest, collecting meat from the butcher, and marketing and selling the meat to customers in the farm store. Additionally, interns will have the opportunity to learn how to milk and care for dairy cows as they participate in building out the creamery, as well as make small-batch farmstead cheeses.