Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center
Hilltop Hanover Farm is a bucolic 400-year old historic working farm in Yorktown Heights, Westchester County New York. This farm and historic land is also in a critical environmental area of the Croton Watershed, which supplies drinking water to Westchester County and NYC.
From the 1930’s to the early 1990’s the farm was a prize-winning dairy farm, home to Guernsey and champion Holstein cattle. However, by 1991, the breeding program for Hilltop Hanover Holsteins ceased and the entire herd, 123 head was sold at auction. When the herd was sold, there was tremendous pressure to convert the land into a condominium complex. However; with strong support from local residents, the County of Westchester purchased the 187 acres of the original 250 acre farm and surrounding woodlands in 2003. The County’s mission was to provide watershed protection, protect open space and preserve the area’s agricultural heritage.
In 2011, the non-profit organization The Friends of Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center, Inc. a 501 (c) (3) was established. Today the Friends conducts the farming and educational programming, in a cooperative public-private partnership with the County of Westchester.
Today the farm is a regional education center that offers programs on healthy and sustainable food production and teaches skills for small-scale suburban and urban farming techniques, illustrating sustainable living practices for the region and local communities.
The farm features demonstration models for backyard farming, rainwater harvesting, composting, and greenroof technology. Visitors can hike the farm's 3.5 miles of woodland trails, picnic on the farm grounds, purchase produce from our Farm Stand, or attend any of our numerous classes and lectures. Hilltop Hanover Farm offers tours, classes and field trips to school groups, garden clubs, and scout troops.