Becker Farms celebrates 130th anniversary

GASPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) — Every day, Melinda Vizcarra walks and tends the grounds where past generations of her family planted their roots.

Vizcarra’s great grandparents opened Becker Farms in 1894. Just like the apples on the trees, the farm keeps growing every year.

Forty-five years ago, her and her husband decided to open the farm to the public. With the help of their children, they’ve expanded to include a winery, taste rooms with their own micro-brews and hard cider, and a community-supported agriculture program where people can buy a share of their harvest that includes fruits and vegetables. They now welcome thousands of visitors every year.

“In today’s farming the margins are very small,” Vizcarra said. “So you have to be large to be able to make it or you have to be small and different. And we weren’t large enough, and we enjoy the public and enjoyed the farm, and we thought it would be a way we could make a living from a small farm by offering it to the people.”

They’ve also transformed the original farm house into a market with homemade baked goods and use the original barn for educational classes. From slides and mazes, to meeting their farm animals, they encourage families to come see what their family has grown over the years. New this year is a train, a playground area and goat races.

“I think being in nature is good for your soul and good for your heart, and to do together with your family,” Vizcarra said.

They will offer a haunted hayride and corn maze the last two weekends of October. For more information on what they have to offer, click here.

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Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.

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