Chicks dig Steve Hall, owner of Nallie Pastures in Dracut, whose idea to host a Meet Your Local Farmers Agricultural Day will come to reality on Friday, July 19. (COURTESY NALLIE PASTURES)
You’ve heard that Dracut has a lot of farms. But have you visited them?
On Friday, July 19, you can visit multiple Dracut farms all at once when the Dracut Agricultural Commission holds its first Agricultural Day from 2 to 6 p.m., at Farmer Dave’s, 437 Parker Road.
The event, dubbed “Meet Your Local Farmers,” is the brainchild of Steve Hall, chair of the Agricultural Commission and a farmer himself, owner of Nallie Pastures.
When chatting with Dave Dumaresq, owner of Farmer Dave’s, earlier this year, Hall pitched the idea of holding an event to highlight Dracut’s farmers. Dumaresq loved the idea and offered to host it at his farm, which has plenty of space and parking.
The event isn’t a farmer’s market, per se. Though some farms will have products for sale, it’s more of a chance to see what farms call Dracut home and what they have to offer.
Dave Dumaresq, owner of Farmer Dave’s in Dracut, will host the first Meet Your Local Farmers event. (COURTESY FARMER DAVE’S)
So in addition to Dracut’s larger farms, like Farmer Dave’s and Shaw Farm, you might meet folks from Brox Farm, Saja Farm, Briscoe Family Farm, Boundary Farm, Cutrumbes Farm, Dunlap Farm. F-Word Farm, Cutter Farm, Ogonowski Farm, Meta Microgreens, Taplin Farm and Stonymeadow Farm.
“Some people are new to town so they haven’t ventured out to the smaller farms and maybe not even to Farmer Dave’s or Shaw’s,” Hall said. “Each farm will set up a table. They can have products to sell if they’d like to and informational materials so they’ll be able to answer questions about what they do and what they grow and what differentiates them.”
Dumaresq had no problem signing on to Hall’s idea and offering to host the first event.
“It gives residents a chance to meet their farmers and see what’s going on around town,” Dumaresq said. “There’s still a lot of agriculture going on in Dracut, but with so much development going on, sometimes the farms are hidden. But there are farms still opening in town that people aren’t aware of. I’ve been in the business 25 years now, so I guess I’m not considered a new farmer anymore. Steve’s been doing it for, what, six years? And most people don’t know he’s farming.”
Dumaresq and his crew farm about 70 acres in Dracut, as well as about 15 acres each in Tewksbury and Westford. Since he’s hosting, folks who visit Agricultural Day will see all that Farmer Dave’s offers, including its new farm stand, as well as a chance to pick your own blueberries, and an ice-cream stand that scoops Shaw Farm ice cream.
Hall said Nallie Pastures will offer eggs, chicken and pork, as well as information about how to order his Thanksgiving turkeys and the different farmer’s markets he attends.
If you want to know what Dracut’s farms offer, Friday’s Meet Your Local Farmers Agricultural Day is the time to do it.
“This will give people a chance to get out on the farm, to get out in the field and talk to the people who are running these farms,” Dumaresq said. “Dracut agriculture is surprisingly diverse.”
The event will be held rain or shine.
