| About Us
The Place
Since colonial times, the farm has passed through the hands of four
different families who raised crops and milked cows. Currently,
Riverbank Farm grows a diversity of certified organic vegetables, cut
flowers and hay. Nourished by the fertile bottomland soil of the
Shepaug River, the farm uses no herbicides, synthetic fertilizers or
synthetic pesticides.
The People
David Blyn founded Riverbank farm seventeen years ago and was joined by
his wife, Laura, in 1996. David originally moved to the farm in 1989 in
hopes of running a carpentry business. Although, the barn and house
were in poor condition, David was drawn to the landscape and river
bordering the farm and decided to call it home. As David began to work
on the barn, he also decided to grow a half acre of vegetables. The
half acre increased each year until David began farming full time in
1991. He continued to farm on his own, jumping from tractor to tractor
as he managed his small, diversified operation with old cultivating
equipment and an array of farm machinery.
In the summer of 1996, while delivering produce during a full moon in
Long Island, David met Laura. She had come east for the summer after
finishing sustainable agriculture studies in Santa Cruz, CA. Laura knew
she wanted to farm, but never anticipated being on the east coast.
Their love for farming and each other blossomed into a bountiful farm.
Through hail storms, deer damage, late work nights, frosts,
unpredictable weather patterns, and bug and weed outbreaks, they have
learned to build a resilient farming operation and truly enjoy the
harvest. They now have two children, Lily(5) and Alice(2) who add love and laughter to each farm day. David and Laura believe that once you eat vegetables from the
farm, the farm becomes part of you.
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