We grow high quality, organic produce for our community. We are invested in the health and viability of organic farmland in our region and continue to work to maintain and improve the land we farm.
The Farm
We grow 40 acres of certified organic vegetables on prime agricultural soil along the Connecticut River in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. We crop fields in the towns of Sunderland and Montague with the main farm being located on Rt 47 just south of Sunderland Center. We take pride in the quality of our vegetables and the ongoing relationships we maintain with our customers, locally and regionally.
Our growing practices, inputs and systems reflect our high standards for healthy land, good food and worker safety. We use only sustainable practices and organic approved inputs. We are a USDA Certified Organic Farm, certified by Baystate Certifiers.
ThE HISTORY
This fertile land we farm has been in agriculture for hundreds of years. It is prime vegetable soil deposited from glacial Lake Hitchcock during the last ice age. The area in which our fields reside was then inhabited by many Indigenous tribes and the land was cultivated in sustainable and low impact ways for 800 years. The Pocumtuck tribe cultivated the area referred to as the “great meadows,” known to us as Deerfield and Sunderland, and grew a combination of maize, beans and squash in a symbiotic relationship often referred to as The Three Sisters. Although we do not grow these three crops in the same methods as the Indigenous peoples did, we believe it is important to acknowledge the rich agriculture history this land contains.
In 2020 Emily, who had worked at Riverland for 4 seasons, purchased the farm from Rob and Meghan who had been managing the farm since 2007. For 9 years Meghan and Rob continued the CSA (community supported agriculture) program that the original owners, Scott and Ferdene, had started, all while building local and regional wholesale accounts. In 2016, Meghan and Rob transitioned the farm from primarily CSA to a mainly wholesale focused business model. We now work with a wide variety of wholesale and co-op CSA customers and continue to seek new accounts to provide fresh, healthy, local food to a large array of communities.
THE FARMERS
Emily Landeck and Meghan Arquin have worked together managing the daily operations of Riverland Farm since 2016. They both came from non-farming backgrounds and were introduced to farming through various work and volunteer experiences. Emily and Meghan share the joy of cooking and creating with the wide array of vegetables they grow and love to share experiences and swap recipes with anyone willing! They are dear friends and powerful coworkers stemming from an ease of communication and collaboration between the two. Although they have many shared interests they also bring complimentary skills to the work place.
Meghan’s people focused management style guides the crew on a daily basis with enthusiasm and positivity. She has an eye for the big picture while maintaining focus on details such as changing up a crop variety, encouraging trust in a process, implementing a new system or making the perfect bunch of radishes. Her experience, wisdom and fun loving attitude helps to encourage the grander thinking for the farm and helps drive Riverland Farm forward on a daily basis.
Emily enjoys working with people towards cooperative daily, monthly and yearly goals. She brings drive and positivity to every day on the farm and her attention to detail and commitment to a task helps keep the well-oiled machine of Riverland Farm moving forward. Once her attention is set on a goal she approaches it with intensity and wit. She has a fine tuned curiosity towards all things farming and has the ability to multitask in various situations. She can be working on a tractor, harvesting with a crew, and scouting the fields, all while her mind is generating tomorrow’s wholesale list, creating next weeks to-do list and planning what’s for dinner that evening.
Each and every person on the crew is an essential part of our farm. The crew brings a wide variety of skills, passion for farming, new knowledge and awesome personalities to each season and it is because of them that this farm thrives. The high quality, fresh produce from Riverland Farm comes to your plate because of the hard work these folks put in day in and day out. Next time you see them, thank your farmer!
