Triple Creek
Farm
Taghkanic, New York
“We believe that
quality brings you a good investment on your return,
it’s good for overall herd health and it’s good for the
bottom line. It’s good for making money. Quality is
number one around here. We keep our standards high, we
keep our barns clean, our cows clean, and we also
believe in cow comfort.”
~
Richard Skoda
 Triple Creek Farm is now
in its fourth generation, starting in 1922 when
Richard’s grandfather, John Skoda bought 40 acres of
land here in Taghkanic, New York in southern Columbian
County and began milking almost two dozen cows by hand.
“This is very much a family farm,” says Richard. “I’m
the overall manager and have been working here my whole
life since I was ten years old feeding the calves.”
Today the Skoda family manages over 750 acres, 500 acres
of which they own themselves, and grows three hundred
acres of corn, two hundred acres of soybeans, and hay
which they feed their herd of registered Holsteins.
The family faced hard times when their barn was
destroyed in a fire in 2006 and they lost their herd of
90 cattle. Never being ones to quit, the Skodas quickly
rebuilt and by March 2008 were back in action with a
brand new modernized barn and state of the art milking
parlor, where Richard’s wife, Melissa, manages the day
to day operations and helps to milk the cows. Their
three sons, Joshua, Ryan and Alexander all work at
Triple Creek. Josh joined his father right out of high
school and today is the equipment and field manager.
Ryan, the herd manager, graduated from SUNY Cobleskill
with a degree in dairy science. Alex remains in school
but works on evenings and weekends.
 For the past several years in a row, Triple Creek Farm
has received several quality milk awards, from both Agri-Mark
and the National Dairy Herd Information Association.
Triple Creek Farm is known for its high quality
standards and the Skodas are very particular about
keeping their cows clean, comfortable and happy. For
instance, they are big believers in the use of sand as
bedding, rather than hay or wood shavings, as it is
non-organic and does not breed bacteria. And that keeps
the cows’ somatic cell counts low which means cleaner
milk. It also provides excellent footing for the cows
and increases their ease of mobility.
“It costs a bit more and we have to replenish the sand
once a month because the cows work it out,” says
Richard. “But we believe we have better cow longevity
because of it.”
Triple Creek Farm is only one of two surviving dairy
farms in Taghkanic, New York today. Back in 1950 there
were 40 farms - the rest has been sold for development.
The Skodas have a strong belief in giving back to their
community and celebrate the family farm’s continued
success with an Octoberfest event on their farm every
fall, offering the public an opportunity to see where
the milk comes from and to try milking a cow for
themselves.
“Agriculture is still New York State’s number one
revenue generating business. We want people to remember
that.”
Awards and Notable
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