Somerset Farm

Fred runs Somerset Farm pretty much by himself. His wife, Jeannie, has a full time job taking care of an eldely neighbor.

Fred's family has been on this piece of land for five generations. Fred was born in the hospital in Edenton, and has lived here all his life. Fred and Jeannie have two daughters, one who recently finished College and is working as an Entomologist. The other is in her second year, and hasn't decided yet what she wants to be.

Fred has been working with horses all his life. He uses horses, Dudley, an 18 year old Percheron, and Jerry, a 24 year old Belgian, to help him around the farm, though of course he has a tractor as well. Fred has a buddy that lives in California. He needed the help of a horseman like Fred to do some horse logging in the Oakland/Berkeley hills, thinning out the Eucalyptus that is such a fire hazard there. Turns out Fred was working just up the hill from me in 1989, when the big fire blazed through the hills and destroyed over 3000 homes.

Fred's family has not always farmed this land. Sometimes they have worked as fishermen, and his dad worked as a contractor. When they haven't been farming themselves they have rented the land to others. I met one fellow today, Dallas, that Fred's father rented to. Turns out that Fred's grandfather rented to Dallas' daddy, and his great grandfather to Dallas' granddaddy.

Fred got interested in organic farming about twenty years ago when he attended a meeting of folks in North Dakota, where he had gone after attending an anti-nuclear rally in Washington DC. He heard about global warming back then, and thought he'd like to do something to help. He's got about seven acres that are certified organic (no chemicals applied for at least three years). He grows garlic, turnips, squash, oats for his horses, sheep and chickens, asparagus, and some other specialty vegetables.

Working with Fred is giving me the chance to get some sorely needed exercise. For now, though, I'm just sore!