Farming in New Jersey has many faces. Some farmers farm full-time; others hold additional jobs. Some farmers own their land; others lease. Some farmers share a family’s generational legacy; others are new to the pursuit. Some farms stretch out farther than the eye can see; others flourish on an urban quarter-acre. No matter the face or the story, New Jersey farmers have many things in common, especially resiliency, determination, innovation, and—always—hope. Here, we introduce you to a few of them.
JOHN & KATHY LIMA | KATE & JAMAL KADRI
Lima Family Farms | Hillsborough
“KNOW YOUR FARMER AND YOU WILL KNOW YOUR FOOD.”
John and Kathy Lima began farming in 2007; their daughter Kate Kadri—who, like her dad, has a background in civil engineering—joined them three years ago along with her husband, Jamal. Both generations were spurred on to farm by an increasing realization of the time and effort it took to source healthy, less-processed food for themselves and their families. Today, Lima Family Farms’ on-farm store offers goods from nearby farms and vendors along with the family’s own grass-fed Angus beef, pastured pork, chicken and turkey, and produce grown and raised on their 450-acre farm.
FALLON DAVIS
A Healing Sanctuary & STEAM Urban | Newark
“FARMING IS HOW I REMEMBER WHO I AM. IT CONNECTS ME TO MY ANCESTORS, MY PURPOSE, AND MY COMMUNITY’S POWER TO HEAL AND GROW.”
Fallon Davis was led to farming through a deep call to reconnect with ancestral knowledge, food justice, and the healing power of the land. They currently steward a ¼-acre urban farm in Newark, leased through the city’s Adopt-A-Lot program, where they grow food, herbs, and host educational programming rooted in Afro-Indigenous agricultural traditions. Their hope is that the farm will support not only their own livelihood but also uplift others, especially youth and emerging Black and Brown land stewards.
LISA CALVO
Sweet Amalia Oyster Farm
Cape Shore Flats | Delaware Bay
Cape May County
“OYSTER FARMING IS ONE OF THE MOST ECOLOGICALLY BENEFICIAL FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS ON EARTH.”
Lisa Calvo came to oyster farming through a three-decade career as a marine biologist. Her first job after college was at Rutgers University’s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory on the Maurice River. It ignited her love of oysters, along with a career in oyster restoration, shellfish ecology, and aquaculture. The work eventually brought her to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, until she returned to NJ and Rutgers in 2003. Oyster farming had been a side hustle for Calvo; today it is her full-time work, passion, and tide-dependent way of life.
TOMIA MCQUEEN
Wildflower Farm | Pennington
Tomia MacQueen began active farming in 2020, after a chronic health condition led her to immerse herself into learning about nutrition and our food system. The Detroit native’s roots to the land, however, date back much further. Her grandmother, the eldest child of sharecroppers in Mississippi, chose to reclaim her agricultural heritage when she moved to Detroit during the Great Migration and grew large gardens to feed families. Today, Tomia, a lifelong dancer and educator, grows culturally meaningful vegetables, fruit, herbs, and seeds along with free-range and pastured poultry and lamb on her 40-acre property while navigating a challenging lack of labor force and funding.
DALE III & CAROL DAVIS
Stony Hill Farms
Stony Hill Gardens
Chester
Dale III and Carol Davis each began farming before the age of 10, growing up on family farms in Illinois and New Jersey, respectively. In 1988, they founded Stony Hill Gardens. Today, their three children—Dale IV, Brandt, and Kaitlyn—are involved in all aspects of the farm’s operation, from field production to farmers’ market management to pick-your-own and more. The family grows an extensive variety of fruits, vegetables, and plants (specializing in orchids) on the 40 acres they own in Chester and an additional 500 leased acres across Morris County. Their newest venture, Rebel Sheep Wine Co., is run by daughter-in-law Dana and a close family friend. Despite the challenges, Dale III and Carol’s hope for the future is that their children and grandchildren see the beauty in farming, especially as a family business, and continue to provide high-quality products and farm experiences.
MARIA STEWART
Gorgeous Goat Creamery | Stockton
“GOATS ARE SASSY AND CHARISMATIC ANIMALS. THEY MAKE THE BEST CO-WORKERS, UNLESS THEY ARE CAUSING TROUBLE, OF COURSE.”
Maria Stewart and her husband, Matt Kriegler, were unlikely farmers. Maria held jobs in academia and food science; Matt worked in the cycling industry and the arts. In 2020, however, they turned their hobby of keeping four goats into developing a commercial dairy. The couple’s 74-acre farm is now home to 25 milk goats that need to be milked twice a day, March through December, and produce goat milk, cheese, and yogurt. Realizing that the biggest challenges to dairy farming in New Jersey are the knowledge of milk processing and the expense of the infrastructure, they hope to help other dairy farm start-ups in the future.
ZACH HEIKEN
ZRH Farms | Pedricktown
“WE CAN PICK PEPPERS THIS MORNING, PACK AND LOAD THEM TONIGHT, AND BY TOMORROW THEY CAN BE ON ANY STORE SHELF IN THE NORTHEAST.”
Editor’s Note:
Zach Heiken was selected as New Jersey’s 2025 Outstanding Young Farmer earlier this year and named a national winner at the 2025 Outstanding Young Farmers of America Convention in Des Moines, Iowa.
Zach Heiken grew up working on a neighbor’s farm in Woodstown; 20 years ago, at the age of 19, he made farming his career. Starting with approximately 100 acres in Salem County, Zach and his wife Andrea have grown ZRH Farms to more than 4,000 owned and rented acres where he grows commodity crops such as corn, wheat, and soybeans as well as cucumbers, squash, watermelons, and peppers. The farm is active year ’round, but “come middle of June everybody is here,” he says, referring to his more than 75 employees. Zach acknowledges the challenges of farming in the Garden State, citing “the congestion and the difficulty of coming up with the acreage” and weather incidents such as the 2008 hailstorm that wiped out his entire vegetable crop. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. His South Jersey location provides access to a massive market. “We’re in a bit of a sweet spot because of our geographical area. We’re where all of the population is in the Northeast.”
“GROWING UP, I WAS NEVER TOLD THAT FARMING WAS A POSSIBLE CAREER PATH—NEVER. I SORT OF STUMBLED INTO IT. IT IS A UNIQUE PROFESSION THAT CAN BE EXTREMELY CHALLENGING IN TERMS OF WORKLOAD, FINANCIAL STRESS, AND FACTORS OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. AND FINDING LAND, CAPITAL, AND RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY IN A STATE LIKE NEW JERSEY, CAN BE MAJOR ROADBLOCKS.
“BUT IT IS A TRULY IMPORTANT AND OFTEN VERY REWARDING PROFESSION. THE FARMING COMMUNITY IS VERY SUPPORTIVE AND HAS BEEN A BLESSING TO ME; MOST OF WHAT I KNOW I LEARNED FROM OTHER GROWERS. I HAVE A VERY UNDERSTANDING FAMILY WHO SUPPORT ME EVEN THOUGH IT OFTEN TAKES ME AWAY FROM THEM, ESPECIALLY DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE GROWING SEASON. I JUST HOPE I CAN KEEP IT GOING.
“VEGGIE FARMING KEEPS YOU STRONG AND FIT BUT IT ALSO BREAKS YOU DOWN A BIT. I ALWAYS FEEL A SENSE OF PRIDE AND HONOR WHEN I GET CALLED ‘FARMER’ AND I HOPE TO DO THE FARM AND THE FARMERS WHO WORK FOR ME PROUD.”
JEFF TOBER
Rancocas Creek Farm | Southampton
Jeff Tober’s food and farming journey began in the late ’90s at the urban greening program Philadelphia Green. Working with community gardens in West Philly led Jeff to a greater understanding of the connection between farming and environmental issues and a desire to farm full-time. After a farm apprenticeship in Massachusetts, he returned to the Garden State to start the CSA at Fernbrook Farms in 2017. Tober is now employed as the farm manager at Rancocas Creek Farm, located on 72 preserved acres owned by the Pinelands Alliance. The farm’s business model primarily relies on their CSA program with over 350 members.
