What’s Happening at North Amherst Community Farm? 

Simple Gifts Farm (SGF), the for-profit farm located at the community-owned North Amherst Community Farm (NACF), has been shuttered for the past 15 months after long-term farmers Jeremy Barker-Plotkin and David Tepfer took other jobs and were unable to find a buyer to continue the organic farm and its associated farm store, operated on land leased from NACF. Further efforts by NACF to find a buyer for the farm over the past year have also been unsuccessful.

In a recent email to supporters, NACF Board President Bruce Coldham explained the history and current situation at the farm. He wrote that NACF was created in 2006 to preserve one of the last working farms in North Amherst. Thanks to generous contributions from many residents, along with town and state support, this 30-acre farm is protected from commercial development in perpetuity. The 18-year partnership with Barker-Plotkin and Tepfer, resulted in the construction of a year-round farmstand, the renovation of the farmhouse, an active greenhouse and other buildings, an irrigation system, and much more.  Through their collective efforts, NACF and SGF formed a successful public-private partnership that promoted sustainable and organic farming methods, provided healthy farm products to the region, educated the community on food and farming issues, and helped preserve the agricultural heritage and character of the North Amherst Village Center.

In many ways, NACF’s efforts have been successful. Nevertheless, the continued financial viability of any small organic family farm struggling to survive in New England is threatened by the corporately controlled industrial food system. Two years ago, Barker-Plotkin and Tepfer, decided to sell their financial interest in the farm. For the past two years they have negotiated with several potential buyers, but at this point have been unsuccessful. SGF operated the farm and farmstand at a limited scale last year, but since both farmers have accepted other jobs, the farm is not currently in operation. NACF is now looking to make a decision about what happens next. 

The current situation is that NACF owns the land, and SGF owns the buildings and equipment. With no suitable buyer, one of the things the board is considering is that NACF could acquire the farm buildings from SGF and then look for a farming enterprise that  could lease the farm without first having to come up with a hefty down payment. This idea is in a formative stage, but has the advantage of giving NACF more control over how the land is used. It also has the promise of greatly expanding the number of prospective successor farmers.

NACF doesn’t currently have the financial wherewithal to purchase the buildings and equipment currently owned by SGF. However, it does have the remodeled and renovated farmhouse that could be rented to generate income. The original intent for the farmhouse was to serve as an affordable accommodation for farm workers. Renting the farmhouse at market rate would prevent this original purpose temporarily, but could serve the farm’s larger mission in the long run. The NACF board has not made any decisions regarding this idea but we think that it is worth exploring.

Coldham concluded, “We acknowledge that this news may be surprising to many of our most loyal supporters and Simple Gifts CSA customers.  We have been quiet for the past two years, while Simple Gifts was in negotiation with potential new farm managers.  But at this point, we felt we needed to share the situation with you, even as we have many still unanswered questions.  You should know that we are committed to the long-term vision of maintaining a working, organic farming operation in North Amherst.”