Greg and I met as seniors at Hamilton College and have basically been inseparable ever since. A year after graduation, we moved to California together so he could start his PhD program in chemistry. From the outside looking in, he seemed pretty excited about a future career as a chemist.
When he was a little over 1/2 way through his program though, he called me up to say that he had a realization. It wasn’t a spur of the moment conversation. He wanted to be a farmer and made a point to say that he had given this a lot of thought….which in case you haven’t already noticed, is Greg’s M.O (He is literally the most thoughtful decision maker I’ve ever known).
I don’t think I will ever forget that moment. He had a safe and established career path as a chemist waiting for him, but he wanted to follow his calling and become an organic farmer instead. He wanted me to know that farming was going to be hard but that done right, we could make an honest living AND make a tangible difference in people’s lives and on the environment.
We haven’t turned back since. He went on to finish his PhD in record breaking time (4 yrs) knowing that as soon as he finished he would get right down to it learn all he could about organic farming. He went on after graduate school to farm for an additional three years at other organic farms in the Rochester area, all the while doing research and planning for what would eventually become Stonecrop Farm.
Life is so full of twists and turns. It’s amazing to look back at those critical moments when you could have turned left, and instead turned right… not knowing exactly where you would wind up.
We are just a few weeks away from starting our third summer season farming together and it feels like such a GIGANTIC milestone. Thank you all for the continued support and encouragement!
Your farmers,
Greg and Jenney