Wednesday, March 29, 2017

FarmStart - Alyssa Sherburn, Pinestead Farm


Alyssa Sherburn from Franconia, New Hampshire is the owner/operator of Pinestead Farm, one of Yankee's most recent FarmStart investments. Alyssa is the fifth generation at Pinestead Farm where she grows vegetables and raises beef, pigs, and chickens that are sold at local co-ops, farmers’ markets, and restaurants.  She is in her second year of ownership of the farm, although she has been involved in management for the past 10 years with her father.  Alyssa was looking to expand her markets and growing season, but was limited by her 10 acre land base and the winter weather.
   
Alyssa used her FarmStart investment to purchase a Leafy Green Machine from Freight Farms, Inc.  Freight Farms takes old shipping containers with all of the insulation and converts them to hydroponic farming units that can grow up to 2 acres of vegetables.  These units are intuitively climate controlled and can be remotely overseen with a mobile app, Farmhand.  This app monitors everything happening inside the unit, tracks two weeks of historical data, and prompts the farmer when it is time to harvest and plant.  The unit takes 20 hours per week of labor and it is 6 weeks from planting to harvest.  The initial purchase of the Leafy Green Machine comes with two months’ supply of nutrients and seeds.


The Leafy Green Machine will allow Alyssa to grow vegetables 365 days a year no matter the weather, increasing her summer production and permitting for winter production.  Alyssa has contracts with the Littleton Co-op, North Country Farmer’s Coop, and a couple restaurants for her first winter of growing.  These buyers will be working with her on what to grow.  As she gets comfortable with the process, she will begin to add more customers and grow her markets.  She is very excited about this new venture and to be working with FarmStart. 


What Alyssa wants you to know about Pinestead:

Our farm in Franconia, NH has been family owned and operated since 1793. It has remained a working farm throughout the centuries. There have always been large vegetable gardens, from which the family sold and consumed fresh produce all spring, summer and fall, while drying, canning, pickling, and storing the bounty for the long winters. We have always kept a variety of livestock including beef cattle, chickens, pigs and horses. There is a working maple sugar house, sawmill and shingle mill on the property. We recently added a hydroponic system from Freight Farms in Boston, MA.  We are now able to grow lettuce year round in a re-purposed shipping container! The closed system uses 90% less water than traditional agriculture. We sell all of our products in our farm stand on the property and at weekly Farmer’s Markets, Spring through Fall.  We also work closely with local restaurants, the Littleton Food Co-op and North Country Farmer’s Co-op.  All of our vegetables are grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. We strive to improve the health of our soils and pastures which, in turn, nurtures the vegetables, fruits, animals and ourselves. We practice crop rotation, cover cropping, active composting, companion planting and rotational grazing.  Guests are welcome to rent rooms in our Farmhouse and to explore Pinestead Farm!




The goal of FarmStart is to provide working capital to help start-up farmers establish a positive business and credit history during the early phases of their business careers. Within five years recipients should be positioned to graduate to a conventional line of credit from Yankee or another lender.

To learn more about FarmStart please visit our website or contact your local office.