Ron Robbins established “Robbins Corn & Bulk Service” in
1979. He recognized the value of diversifying his agricultural operation to
ensure profitability and sustainability of the farm. Today, the crop operation
is known as Robbins Family Grain. Together with 15-20 employees, Ron, Nancy and
son Brian farm 7000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay, along with some
oats, barley, and rye.
Grain corn is sold to New York state mills for animal feed
as well as to the ethanol plant in Fulton, NY where it is made into ethanol and a byproduct called distillers, which are used also for animal feed.
Robbins Family Grain’s wheat is sold to mills in Pennsylvania,
where it is milled into flour for human and animal consumption. The stalk of
the wheat is baled into straw and sold to dairy farms across the state.
Our soybeans are sold for export. We haul them to the port
of Newark where they are loaded onto container ships and sent across the world
to Southeast Asia. There, soybeans are used for both human consumption and fish
and animal feed.
We bale hay for our cows’ own consumption and for sale to
New York state dairy farms. Robbins Family Grain also grows the haylage and corn silage
for North Harbor Dairy.
Robbins Family Grain utilizes the latest in agriculture and
crop technologies to produce more food, on less land. Precision agriculture is
an important part of operation: through soil mapping and prescriptions, we use
just the right amount of seeds, fertilizer and pesticides to grow crops
specific to that soil type, right down to the ½ inch. We also plant cover crops
to help prevent soil erosion and to restore nutrients to the soil. We are proud
to take advantage of the technology available to us to grow crops that are
better for the land and the environment as a whole.