DuMond Ag, LLC was established in 1980 as an Adirondack beef farm just outside of Saranac Lake, New York. After fighting frozen feed and frigid barns for five years, Eric and Marge DuMond decided that the soils of Central New York and Cayuga County offered a nice balance for productive crop farming and quality of life. In 1985, the DuMonds moved their family and farm to its current location in Union Springs. Starting with a barn of used equipment and unwavering optimism, the family was eager to enter the agriculture industry of Central New York.
DuMond
History
In the beginning
In the beginning, Eric and Marge farmed only in the evenings and on weekends. In addition to raising their two children, Todd and Erika, Eric worked full-time at his dentistry practice and Marge worked as a math teacher at Auburn High School. From the very first day of farming, and through the trials of both financial and market pressures, the DuMonds have relied on their strong work ethic and perseverance to make their family farm a success.
Next generation
Years passed, and Todd and Erika left for college, but Todd returned home in 2001 with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from MIT in hand. In 2003, he officially decided that agriculture was his career calling. That same year, Todd began the soybean roasting business, which is now recognized as one of the farm’s offshoot businesses, DuMond Grain. Under Todd’s management, the creation of DuMond Grain launched the rapid evolution of the business and Todd began buying crops from other farms to process and sell.
Growth and expansion
Simultaneously, Todd was growing DuMond Ag. Farmland was purchased throughout Cayuga County, increasing the farm’s acreage significantly. In 1980, DuMond Ag farmed approximately 125 acres of corn and soybeans. Since then, DuMond Ag has been on an aggressive growth curve and continues to increase steadily. In 2006, the farm increased its acreage to 1,500 and today, we farm over 6,000 acres.
While growing DuMond Ag and DuMond Grain, Todd realized it would be advantageous to have a trucking company to move the feed products and commodities. In 2010, DuMond Trucking was created to enhance local transportation for the farming community.
In mid-2014, after a few years of record commodity prices, Todd believed the commodity market was going to re-center at a lower point. This prompted him to expand the value-adding processing performed by DuMond Grain to corn to further ensure the stability and longevity of their operations. DuMond Grain processed its first corn in cornmeal in March 2015.
It’s the story of a family that continues to serve its customers through innovation and excellence, while never losing sight of the agricultural traditions and love for the rural lifestyle.
