Who's Who at Old Friends Farm?
A little about ourselves and the friendly people
you may meet at our stand.
Casey Steinberg
Casey is a co-owner of Old Friends Farm. His steady work energy and multi-tasking skills are an essential part of the farm. Casey can often be seen at markets, and seems more and more energized with each long day he works. He loves producing food & flowers and facilitating customer connections with the farm. His excellent office, marketing and growing skills are a key part to our business.
Not only is he a great farmer, Casey is a singer, musician, dancer, and all-around socialite. He is enamored with the time of day when the sun sinks low in the sky and illuminates the sides of the trees with warm, yellow light.
Missy Bahret
Missy is a co-owner of Old Friends Farm. Missy enjoys growing delicious and nutritious food for people and feels passionate about providing a local, Organic source for flower customers. She recently got a staple-less stapler, which neatly cuts and tucks the papers, keeping the pages together using its own means. Looking at it one day, Missy realized that it best summed up her role on the farm- whether its overall farm management, leading the crew, bringing in the harvest, making bouquets- she's facilitating the workings of the farm by cultivating the synergy of its parts.
Missy and Phillip especially love creating meals with food from the farm. She has a special place in her heart for the chickens, spoils them to no end and loves to 'talk chicken' when she finds another chicken fan.
Phillip Sherwood-Berndt
Phillip is the farms' full-time steady, and makes Missy extra smile-y. He helps in all aspects of the farm, and particularly manages our salad harvests and seeding, deliveries, mans our Northampton Market stand, and makes sure the chicks and the chickens are on fresh pasture each week. Phillip is quick to brighten up even the rainiest day with a smile, people visit him at market just to hear his laugh bubble over. Although his dream of milking cows again will not subside until it is actualized, Phillip is currently materializing his artistic skills with a children's picture book (check out his art here) and focusing his farming interests on Old Friends veggies and flowers. The Art of Farming, the Fart of Arming, the Farming of Art... it is all part of Phillip's reality, making him a joy to be around.
You may very well see Phillip on the tractor with a pencil behind his ear, or at his drawing desk with dirt under his nails. He is a true Farming Artist.
Mary Jean and Roland Bahret
Missy's folks, Mary Jean and Roland, are our quintessential behind-the-scenes workers. From being the Label Masters for each and every bag and flower sleeve; to carpentry projects; to sewing projects; to computer work; to greenhouse work; to overall farm help- the farm wouldn't run the way it does without their endless energy and skills. |  |
Many people are curious about our farm name. Here's the story...
The farm is named in honor of Mary and Dana Snyder, of South Amherst, for their admirable friendship for many, many decades- to each other, to the people around them, and to the land they live on. They let us use some of their land for the first year of the farm, and it started us off!
Mary and Dana are very inspiring to us on many levels... their friendship, their political involvement, their dedication to preserving agriculture in our community, and their remarkable youthfulness. It became clear that 'Old Friends' would be a great name to remind and honor, and so our farm was named.
Mary and Dana are busy people, and you might see them just about anywhere- on top of the roof, on the farm, in the kitchen, at a contradance, in town protesting, at Ag. meetings, at a swing dance, at the opera, playing boggle, or traveling to visit their kids and grandkids. If you do see them, do us a favor, (and yourself a favor too!), commend them for their lovely friendship and dedication to our community and the land. Thank you for being YOU, Mary and Dana!
New Friendly Faces on the Farm!
Our Perennial Workers, what would we do without them... Like perennials we are overjoyed so see them year after year after year...
We hope you all get to meet these wonderful people we have worked with!
