Our Farmer, Ben Saunders
| Ben's arrival at Ambler was a bit of serendipity, recalls Ann Bell, Friends of Ambler Farm Board President. "We had started circulating a job posting for a farmer, and had some responses, but then we received a call out of the blue from John Holbrook, of Holbrook Farm in Bethel. He mentioned that he knew of a talented farmer looking for a job. Ben contacted us, and we met with him and a few other candidates. We really needed someone who could hit the ground running because much work needed to be done on the West Field if we were to offer more produce to the public. |
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| We put
in a fence and well and had started to prep
the soil, but that was it. Of all the
candidates, we felt Ben brought the most
experience to the job, plus he grew up in
Fairfield County! Though he started late in
the season, Ben has grown more in this first
year than we could have imagined." Ben remembers he had a good feeling about Ambler Farm when he first walked the property. The physical beauty of the site, the history and the opportunity to be the first farmer to till the fields all drew him to the job. There have been challenges, he admits, but he is no strangers to the ups and downs of farming. Growing up in Trumbull, his family had a garden and later, while at Keene State College, he worked at an organic farm and eventually became its manager. |
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