next barn over farm

Former farm crew members

Edgar Foudray

Edgar is happy to be an apprentice farmer at Next Barn Over for the 2011 growing season. Edgar is a Fruit & Vegetable Crop major at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass. Farming is an important part of his family heritage and the cultural heritage of Massachusetts which Edgar intends to promote for the benefit of current and future generations of health-conscious New Englanders. Edgar's goals at Next Barn Over include serving as Seeding Assistant and developing his knowledge of annual vegetable crops, engaging with socially conscious members of the local farming community, and improving his cooperative work and trade skills through planning and completing on-farm projects. Edgar is looking forward to biting into juicy watermelons grown in our own Hadley fields.

 

~   ~   ~

Rich Gallo

Rich was locally grown in Boston Massachusetts, and planted in the fields of the Pioneer Valley. Here, a love of all things green and leafy sprouted in his heart, and he's been farming ever since. Rich has worked for Red Fire Farm and Hungry Ghost Bread, and is thrilled to be a member of the NBO crew. You will find him managing the pick your own patch by the barn, or driving our lovely new Farmall tractor among the fields of cover crops. Rich is looking forward to meeting our CSA members, picking pumpkins and a season full of laughter and sunshine.

 

~   ~   ~

Jasper Gardner

For Jasper, working outdoors has always been one of The Good Life's prerequisites- right up there with swimming holes and good books. So for the past few years Jasper has worked either on farms or as a field biology technician, choosing locations largely based on their proximity to good swimming holes and mind-blowing novels. Jasper first farmed in earnest at Food Bank Farm in 2005, and is happy to be returning to the Pioneer Valley to work alongside old friends, and for reasons mentioned above.

 

 

~   ~   ~

Mary Joelle Laforest

Mary is excited to be returning to the fertile soil of Western Mass. She has been living on Cape Cod for the past four years working with a small gardening/landscaping crew. While she enjoyed the work very much, her growing aspiration has been to join the sustainable and local food movement. She believes that all things start with good food... and usually end with a small piece of dark chocolate! As a novice apprenticing farmer, she is thankful for this opportunity to be involved with Next Barn Over for its debut season and especially looks forward to this endeavor amongst the vibrant community of the Pioneer Valley.

~   ~   ~

Sara McFadden

Sara started farming by mistake when the Farm Teacher job she held at Casey Farm in Rhode Island ended and a job as a farm hand on the crew at the same farm became available. It didn't take long for her to realize that she preferred the company of cauliflowers to that of adolescent children and gave up on pursuing a career as a social studies teacher to play in the dirt full time. Both jobs get messy at times, but you can't eat children and vegetables don't talk back. Sara spent last season apprenticing at the beautiful Marble Valley Farm, a 3 acre vegetable farm in northwest Connecticut.

~   ~   ~

Jaclyn Pryor

A recent transplant from Austin, Texas, Jaclyn comes to Next Barn Over with an interest in food, dirt, social justice, and manual labor. Prior to moving to the Valley, Jaclyn worked as an artist and educator, developing site-specific performance installations in public places. When not farming, Jaclyn teaches experimental performance and queer studies at Hampshire and Mount Holyoke Colleges.

 

 

~   ~   ~

Zemora Rose Tevah

Zemora worked as an intern with Henry Got Crops! CSA in Philly last summer. She learned about diversified vegetable production and came back to western MA with a strengthened interest in food justice, an appreciation for the immense amount of work that farming requires, and a new love of gazpacho. She currently studies globalization and agriculture down the road at Hampshire College and believes that community will ultimately triumph over capitalism. Zemora is really excited to work with the Next Barn Over crew this season!

 

 

~   ~   ~

Kristen Wilmer
Assistant Manager

Kristen started farming while taking a year off of college to work at a therapeutic farming community in Western MA. She was immediately hooked on a life of steady movement outdoors, farm-fresh food, and hard meaningful work alongside friends. Back in college she developed a stronger passion for global food justice and sustainability issues, and the creases in her hands never quite came clean again. Since then Kristen has worked on a variety of farms in PA, NY and MA and also spent several years working for the Northeast Sustainable Ag Research and Education program. She owns her own farmland in Easthampton and in the off-season you can find her growing and selling winter greens. She is excited to return to Next Barn Over this year to work with friends who share so many of the same values (along with good humor and a love of playing in the dirt!).

~   ~   ~

 

→ webwork courtesy of homemadejam.org ←