This Massachusetts farm has something other than apples and pumpkins in the fall
SUTTON - Pumpkin patches and apple orchards are extremely popular in the fall across Massachusetts. But, there's a farm in Worcester County that's gone in a different direction.
Whittier Farms in Sutton sits on around 600 acres of land. It's a fifth-generation, family-owned operation that grows radishes, rutabagas, and beans.
"My family has worked for generations to take care of the land here in Sutton, Douglas, and Oxford," farmer Samantha Staebner told WBZ-TV.
"Seven family members employed full-time, and then we also employ from our community, part-time staff."
What is Whittier Farms?
Whittier Farms is primarily a vegetable, dairy and beef farm. You won't find apples, pumpkin, bounce houses or corn mazes here.
"We try to take agritourism as a tool and not as our sole business," Staebner said.
It's part of what's so amazing about Whittier. The family complements honest hard work with shrewd business decisions.
Take for example one of their other harvests, sunlight. They installed a solar field which now accounts for 90% of their electricity use. The protective fence around it is home to their tomato vines.
"We've taken the idea that we need to embrace education, and outreach, and our community, but also, we just want to farm," Staebner chuckles.
For more information, visit the farm's website.
