Farmer Hero Friday: Jeremy Freymoyer of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania

Today's Farmer Hero Friday comes to you on the hottest day we've had all summer here in Massachusetts. Extreme heat is affecting much of the rest of the country too, so I've turned my thoughts to dreams of cold, snowy relief. I wanted to look at our profile of fourth-generation farmer Jeremy Freymoyer and the Freymoyer Christmas Tree Farm.

While primarily a farm devoted to growing Christmas trees, Jeremy and his family have diversified the farm far beyond spruces and firs. Currently, there are twelve acres of trees, twenty acres of hay, and some space devoted to small grain production. The hay and grains act as a steady source of income throughout the year, since Christmas trees are the quintessential seasonal crop.

Jeremy also has used some creative solutions toward making the family farm more sustainable. Most recently, using a grant from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), he has started using sheep and goats to graze the weeds and keep the grass trimmed right around the trees.

“It was really a marriage of utility,” Jeremy said. “My neighbor down the road has sheep and goats so we came up with trying to pasture the sheep in the Christmas trees.” When asked if there are any drawbacks, Jeremy laughed; “When they eat the trees!”

Click here to read the rest of our profile of Jeremy.