Farmer Dave

Farmer Dave was raised on Marsh Hill in Dracut, Massachusetts. He grew up working on the Brox Farm in Dracut learning the intricacies of New England farming from John Brox who had been tilling that land since the 1920s.

After graduating from college Farmer Dave served in the Peace Corps as a crop extensionist in Ecuador. In the Andes he taught organic agriculture and worked with farmers to improve their soil health, crop yields, irrigation systems, crop storage, animal health, and marketing methods. All these efforts bettered their families’ nutrition and livelihood. Since returning from Ecuador in 1997 he has been leasing the Brox Farm, growing a wider and wider array of fruits, vegetables and flowers.

In 2003 he was asked to offer his fresh products to a neighboring community and began also leasing the East Street Farm in Tewksbury. Working closely with those trying to preserve farmland for future agriculture, in 2006 he finally purchased his own farm in Dracut from the Leczynski family. This became known as Farmer Dave’s Dumaresq Farm, or simply “Farmer Dave’s.”

Clem

Clem remembers rising early in the morning as a youth, hours before school began to work with his brother to carry the banana and cacao from his family’s farm, bringing it to the local wholesale depot. He knows farming; he has always known farming.

Throughout his youth and his adult life Clem has been drawn to working with his hands, and working to cultivate and grow food. He’s had experiences of working both in Jamaica, and through the H2A program began working in the US in apple orchards in Maine and sugar cane fields in Florida. More recently he was a part of the team at Simone Farms in nearby Methuen, MA. For the past four years we have been fortunate to work with Clem at Farmer Dave’s.

As the field manager at Farmer Dave’s, Clem works with Dave and the rest of the team in the preparation of the fields, planting, harvesting, weeding and making sure the vegetables and fruit are growing well. He says the thing he enjoys most is watching the lettuce grow and size up. ‘It makes me feel good to see the food grow’. He also says there is nothing that compares to being able to work in the fields and have a snack harvested right from the ground. ‘Just pick it and wipe off the dirt a little and you’ve got breakfast.’

While he has had the opportunity to work in other professions, Clem knows he wouldn’t enjoy anything as much as he enjoys farming. He believes it doesn’t make sense to have work that you don’t enjoy doing. With Farmer Dave’s he has a great sense of satisfaction with his work, and says those he works with are like family.

Clem’s favorite vegetable is romaine lettuce and loves it steamed with garlic, scallions, onions and pepper. He insists it cooks just like spinach. He’ll also eat it in salad, but forgoes the traditional ceasar dressing for Italian dressing; “It’s the best one to use.”

Jenn

The question is not exactly what does Jenn do at Farmer Dave’s, but rather what doesn’t she do. Jenn’s main passion is garden design and working in the greenhouses on our flower nursery. Growing up in Dracut, she and her grandfather would work in his garden together, competing against each other for the best looking tomatoes. This childhood activity developed into a career when she began working for nurseries and greenhouses and then went on to study floraculture. She was hired four years ago to help manage all the seeding and growing done on the farm.

However, her job description also includes almost every area of the farm business: organizing and running some of the farmer’s markets, packing the CSA shares, and running the farm stands. Jenn says that the thing she loves most about this job is that it is always changing; with each new part of the season comes a new set of tasks and challenges. And she always meets those challenges with plenty of energy and a smile. When I asked about her favorite vegetable, she didn’t even blink: “Hands down, broccoli.”

Danala

Danala was born in St. Thomas, Jamaica. Since coming to the United States about four years ago, he has worked in Alabama, Cape Cod, Florida, and New York City. After marrying the daughter of our field manager (Clem), he moved to Massachusetts to work for Farmer Dave’s. Danala works hard out in the field, in the greenhouses and on the CSA crew. This year, he is responsible for the CSA Packing area, coordinating the washing, packing, and delivery of your CSA shares. It’s a big job, and Danala runs a tight ship.

Although he grew up farming and enjoys it, his passion is building furniture. You should see how excited he gets around woodworking machinery! His favorite vegetable is amaranth (or “Callaloo,” as they call it in Jamaica).

Bethany

Bethany, our CSA Manager, joined the Farmer Dave’s crew in February of 2010. She comes to us having experienced CSA operations in western Colorado and central Massachusetts.

After graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio with a degree in saxophone performance and spending two years as a CSA member and farmers market shopper in Chicago, she decided to leave her office job and turn her passion for CSA and growing great food into a career. She spent the 2007 season as an intern at the Cameron Place CSA in Palisade, Colorado, where she planted seeds, grew vegetables, staffed distribution sites and wrote the CSA newsletter. Then, in the spring of 2008, she moved to Westborough, Massachusetts where she served as the Assistant Farm Manager for Heirloom Harvest CSA.

After spending 2009 in the office at a wholesale greenhouse in Sudbury, she is delighted to join the crew at Farmer Dave’s. She loves the feeling of coming to a job that is so much in line with her values: fresh local healthy food, building community, and helping the planet. Bethany loves to cook with fresh produce and share ideas and recipes with CSA members. Her favorite vegetables depend on the time of year. Lettuce, broccoli, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and kabocha squash are amongst her top picks.

Ginger

Ginger is our Assistant CSA Manager and new addition to the Farmer Dave’s team in 2012.  She comes to us with a strong background in customer service in the pharmacy field.  Being a Farmer Dave’s CSA member for two years changed the way that she thought about where her food came from and what it really means to eat seasonally.  Having been a CSA member prior to joining Farmer Dave’s Ginger is able to relate to all of the aspects of membership and is eager to share recipes and tips with the other members.

Ginger helps Bethany in the office and answers member emails as well as helping Dave and the rest of the crew on the farm.  Ginger finds it difficult to name a favorite vegetable, because she loves them all.  She eagerly looks forward to winter squashes and aji dulce peppers every year.  Since she grew up in South Florida she uses sofrito (a sauce made with aji dulce peppers, onion, garlic, cilantro, tomato, and lime juice) in a lot of her cooking.

Enrique

Enrique Mauricio has worked at Farmer Dave’s for the past three seasons, making 2011 his fourth season at the farm. He can always be found with a smile on his face and a positive thing to say about any situation.

Originally from San Marcos, Guatemala, Enrique (or “Kiké,” as he is called for short) worked in both agriculture and construction before coming to the United States.

Here at Farmer Dave’s, Enrique does many things – from seeding in the greenhouses, to working in the fields, to harvesting vegetables, to washing and packing CSA shares, to keeping our farm stands stocked with ample displays of produce. When asked what his favorite type of work at the farm is, he had trouble thinking of his favorite thing: “es que me gusta todo,” he says, which translates to “the thing is, I like doing everything!” And his favorite vegetable? He loves to eat salads, which he makes with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and roasted meat.

Sergii

Sergii Shepil, who delivers CSA shares to Lanesville, Jamaica Plain, Union Square, Smith & Nephew, and Putnam Investments, has been an intern at Farmer Dave’s since May.  Sergii comes from Čerkasy, Ukraine, where he is a student at Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University, studying veterinary medicine. Before coming to New England, Sergii worked on a farm of another sort: a large pig farm in Denmark. “Pigs are crazy,” he says. “Dealing with vegetables is much easier!”

Sergii says he came to Farmer Dave’s because he wanted to get experience with vegetable farming. He says it relates to his interest in animal agriculture because learning to feed animals is critical. He also wants to improve his English skills, and learn about American culture. His favorite thing about working on the farm is meeting and speaking to all the different types of people from different places.

In Ukraine, Sergii likes to ride motorcycles and travel. While in Denmark, he also traveled around several other countries in the European Union, including France, the Netherlands, and Poland. He is happy to add the United States, and Boston in particular, to his list of places he’s traveled.

While he enjoys most of the vegetables grown at Farmer Dave’s, Sergii’s favorite is the corn. “It’s so sweet here!” he says.

Vova

Vova Deneha came to Farmer Dave’s from Shargorod, a town in central Ukraine. He attended the Podillya State Agrarian and Engineering Academy and in 2010 received his degree in Agronomy. In addition to his training in school, Vova worked on farms in Ukraine, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. He said he wanted to come to Farmer Dave’s to get experience in the country with the most highly developed agricultural system.

Vova’s favorite thing about the farm is the variety of people and vegetables. “This farm is special,” he says, “because it grows almost all types of vegetables.” In Sweden he worked in a greenhouse growing only cucumbers, in the UK he grew only lettuce, and in Ukraine he worked with primarily with grains and cereals.

In Vova’s free time, he enjoys playing ping pong, pool, and collecting coins from all places and times. Of all of the vegetables that Farmer Dave’s grows, Vova’s favorites are scallions, radishes, and peas-all of which go well in the salads he enjoys.

Jenya

Jenya is one of three interns from Ukraine who are spending their summer working at Farmer Dave’s. Jenya comes from Kirovograd, Ukraine, where he studied agronomy at the Kirovograd National Technical University. He is working here at Farmer Dave’s to obtain the real-world experience he needs to get his diploma. Last summer he worked at another farm in Nantucket.

In addition to fulfilling his degree requirements, Jenya also decided to come to Farmer Dave’s to get hands-on experience with the various plants and trees that Farmer Dave grows. His family owns an agricultural company in Ukraine and he hopes to help the family business by learning more about planting and harvesting, dealing with plant diseases, and managing productive fields.

In Ukraine, Jenya enjoyed spending his free time playing soccer and “living dangerously.” He’s a thrill-seeker here at the farm as well, and has plans to go skydiving and bungee jumping later this summer. His favorite thing about working at the farm is getting to meet all of the people who come to farmers markets and our CSA pick-up locations: he not only gets to meet all kinds of friendly people, but he gets an opportunity to improve his English speaking skills as well. He says bok choy is his favorite vegetable right now, because it was new to him when he arrived in Dracut, and “Farmer Dave’s Bok Choy is enormous.”

Gibrán

Gibrán, originally from Mexico City, Mexico, has been here in Dracut since May. Gibrán is not only a hard worker, but a scholar as well. He recently received a degree in Agricultural Economics from La Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, and is planning on applying for Masters programs. He hopes to study Economics in graduate school and is applying to programs in Mexico, the U.S., and Europe.

Gibrán came to Farmer Dave’s because he recognized that he needed more “real world” experience in agricultural economics. The internship here at the farm is a great opportunity for him and fits in perfectly with his future plan to get his Masters degree. His favorite thing about working here so far is getting to know the other international interns. He says he not only has four new coworkers, but four new friends as well. His least favorite thing about working on the farm is the long hours-he doesn’t have much free time for his hobbies like reading about technology and politics and playing sports.

Gibrán’s favorite vegetable from Farmer Dave’s is the pea tendrils. “Pea tendrils are always the underdog veggie,” he says. “And you have to go with the underdog.”

Halan

Halan Valente came to Farmer Dave’s from the city of Paula Cândido, which is located in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. He is currently a student at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa.  He studies “cooperativismo,” which loosely translates to “cooperative studies,” or the type of business specific to farmer and producer cooperatives. He still has about two more years until he finishes his degree.

In the meantime, Halan decided to come to the United States and work at Farmer Dave’s to gain valuable experience, both for personal and professional reasons. He is extremely interested in learning about American culture and enriching his own knowledge of other parts of the world.

Halan’s favorite type of work to do at Farmer Dave’s is washing produce and packing the CSA shares. He also enjoys going to farmers markets, especially where some of the customers speak Spanish. Since his native language is Brazilian Portuguese, and he does not speak a lot of English, but can understand and be understood in Spanish, he finds that he can form a good connection with our customers when he can talk with them. While he would love to improve his English, he says that “whatever I’m learning, I’m happy!”

Halan’s favorite vegetables at Farmer Dave’s are the lettuce and all the squashes (zucchini, kousa, patty pan, or summer squash). He loves to sauté the squash with oil and a little garlic, and then add water and a little salt and pepper until it is tender.  In his free time, he loves all things associated with “the city life”: eating in restaurants, shopping, dancing and going to parties.

The Farm Crew

Have you ever wondered who actually cares for the crops in the fields? Who helps Dave and Clem with the transplanting, weeding, irrigation, harvesting, and all the other field work?

The farm crew consists of around 30 people who live year-round in the Merrimack Valley area, and we’re happy to say that the majority have worked at Farmer Dave’s for multiple seasons. Many are from families that have farmed for generations. They bring knowledge of different farming methods from their home countries, adding to the wealth of growing knowledge at Farmer Dave’s.

During the hottest part of the harvest season, they are the ones who arrive at 5 a.m. to pick lettuce before the heat of the day sets in. They are the ones who harvest in the pouring rain when necessary in order to have enough produce for the shares each day. Without their help, there is no way Farmer Dave’s could feed so many families each week.

We tip our hats to the farm crew, without whom Farmer Dave’s would not be possible!

The Farm Stand Crew

If you have ever been to either of our two farm stands, the Brox Farm Stand in Dracut and the East Street Farm Stand in Tewksbury, then you have probably met some of our hard working farm stand crew. At the peak of the season, we have around 10 people helping throughout the week. Some of these folks have been working for Farmer Dave’s every summer for years and others are with us for just here for their school break.

Diane, Susan, and Jenn are the old standbys who help keep operations running throughout the season each year. Each day (we’re open seven days a week during the peak harvest season!) the crew is here early to open the stand and late to close it down. They run the cash registers, stock the shelves, and husk the corn. And, of course, like most people on the farm, they aren’t always stuck in the stand. They work at the farmers markets, help out with the CSA, work in the greenhouses, and help out wherever else they’re needed.

Check back soon for more farmer biographies!