A lot of farm to love: Simple Gifts Farm assets for sale as North Amherst Community Farm seeks new tenant

Bruce Coldham, president of the North Amherst Community farm board, in front of the farm store that is now vacant. Referring to Jeremy Barker-Plotkin and David Tepfer, who operated Simple Gifts Farm on the community farm property for nearly 20 years, Coldham said: “Finding Jeremy and David was a fluke in a way — they just seemed to want to farm, and we just seemed to have one. We thought it would be simple, but it’s been difficult to replace them.”

Bruce Coldham, president of the North Amherst Community farm board, in front of the farm store that is now vacant. Referring to Jeremy Barker-Plotkin and David Tepfer, who operated Simple Gifts Farm on the community farm property for nearly 20 years, Coldham said: “Finding Jeremy and David was a fluke in a way — they just seemed to want to farm, and we just seemed to have one. We thought it would be simple, but it’s been difficult to replace them.” STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

Bruce Coldham, president of the North Amherst Community farm board, in front of the farm store that is now vacant. Referring to Jeremy Barker-Plotkin and David Tepfer, who operated Simple Gifts Farm on the community farm property for nearly 20 years, Coldham said, “Finding Jeremy and David was a fluke in a way — they just seemed to want to farm and we just seemed to have one. We thought it would be simple, but it’s been difficult to replace them.”

Bruce Coldham, president of the North Amherst Community farm board, in front of the farm store that is now vacant. Referring to Jeremy Barker-Plotkin and David Tepfer, who operated Simple Gifts Farm on the community farm property for nearly 20 years, Coldham said, “Finding Jeremy and David was a fluke in a way — they just seemed to want to farm and we just seemed to have one. We thought it would be simple, but it’s been difficult to replace them.” STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 01-16-2025 7:43 PM

Modified: 01-17-2025 10:08 AM


AMHERST — A new owner for a 30-acre farm in North Amherst center continues to be sought, as a nearly 20-year relationship between the managers of Simple Gifts Farm and the board that oversees the North Amherst Community Farm winds down.

Almost a year after the Simple Gifts farm stand closed in late March 2024, and with the farm managers ending their active operation and seeking to sell their financial interest in the 1089 North Pleasant St. site, the North Amherst Community Farm board is making a push to find a successor lessee.

With the likelihood of a second year of the farm’s 20 acres of tillable agricultural land not being used, the organization’s most recent newsletter outlines possible approaches, including acquiring the farm’s buildings and equipment, should Simple Gifts managers Jeremy Barker-Plotkin and David Tepfer be unable to find a buyer. Barker-Plotkin and Tepfer own the buildings and equipment and have listed the property on the New England Farmland Finder website.

“After two years, we had to acknowledge the fact that this was not the way it was originally intended to operate, it was not be to fallow,” community farm board President Bruce Coldham said in a phone interview this week.

While Simple Gifts and the North Amherst Community Farm continue to have a 50-year lease agreement, with three options to extend that lease for another 50 years, having the farmland become dormant, much as it was when the organization bought the land in 2006, is not an ideal outcome.

“Now it’s a much more difficult challenge to figure out how to move forward,” Coldham said. “We have to think about how we transition this.”

Coldham said any new farm enterprise must first meet the current $950,000 asking price for Simple Farm’s equipment and structures, and then have sufficient income to support the lease for the land and cover other costs associated with running a farm. Over the years, Barker-Plotkin and Tepfer added active greenhouses, hoop houses and caterpillar tunnels, built barns — there are now four on the property —renovated the farmhouse, installed a modern irrigation system and built the year-round store where organic produce and pasture-raised meats and eggs had been sold.

When announcing their departures from active farming last year, Barker-Plotkin said he had joined the American Farmland Trust and Tepfer went to All Farmers, an Agawam-based organization supporting refugee and immigrant farmers. He cited the ongoing difficulty in making a living doing what they love.

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“I don’t think that we’re only closing down because of a couple tough years … but for sure, part of the reason we’re moving on is it’s always been difficult making a living with what we do; we’ve been doing it because we love it,” Barker-Plotkin said at the time. “You have to be the HR department, you have to be the mechanic, there’s so many different skills.”

Barker-Plotkin said the search for a buyer nearly led to a sale late last fall, but that fell through. “As far as finding another farmer, it’s a fantastic opportunity for someone,” Barker-Plotkin said.

But he understands the challenges. Barker-Plotkin said U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency loans for first-time farmers are capped at $600,000, and there are other costs to consider beyond the lease, such as paying workers and buying fuel.

“A lot of young people are interested in farming, but the barriers to entry are pretty high,” Barker-Plotkin said.

The North Amherst Community Farm acquired what was known as the Dziekanowski Farm in 2006 for $1.2 million, preventing it from becoming an upscale housing development. The organization used a variety of financial sources, including Community Preservation Act money, private donations and the lease payments, placed an Agricultural Preservation Restriction on the land with assistance from Ketsrel Land Trust, and was provided with an affordable mortgage held by the Dziekanowski family.

That family was among those, including members of the Dickinson family, who had farmed the land for more than a century.

Barker-Plotkin and Tepfer both came to the site from Belchertown, and two building lots were carved off the property where homes were built for each of their families to live.

“Finding Jeremy and David was a fluke in a way — they just seemed to want to farm and we just seemed to have one,” Coldham said. “We thought it would be simple, but it’s been difficult to replace them.”

Since Barker-Plotkin and Tepfer’s decision to sell their financial interest, Coldham said they’ve also enlisted assistance from Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture in South Deerfield and Land for Good in Keene, N.H.

CISA Communications Manager Claire Morenon said that CISA has provided support, including references for technical expertise, though it is not a clearinghouse for connecting farmers to available farmland.

While no new crops have been planted since the 2023 growing season, Simple Gifts Farm was active for some time last year, harvesting crops already there. Asparagus was harvested in May and then a pick-your-own strawberries operation followed in June, Barker-Plotkin said, and that may happen again this year. “We had a little bit of a season,” Barker Plotkin said.

For North Amherst Community Farm, strategies being explored for the future include acquiring the buildings and equipment themselves, giving the organization control of the entire farm.

The newsletter explains: “This idea is in a formative stage, but has the advantage of giving NACF more control over how the land is used,” it reads. “It also has the promise of greatly expanding the number of prospective successor farmers.”

But the organization doesn’t have the resources to do this.

Coldham said if that were pursued, though, the aging farmhouse, which has been renovated over the years to accommodate apprentice farmers, could be used as a college student rental, charging competitive rents that could help cover some of the costs of buying the other buildings and equipment.

“If we can acquire the farmhouse, then we have a revenue stream,” Coldham said.

Some of the land could also be used for solar by companies who might lease a portion of the site that wouldn’t compromise farming activities.

Barker-Plotkin said he understands that some young farmers are looking for smaller sites of 5 acres or less.

While he is disappointed there’s no farming up and running, he doesn’t think the public should be concerned for the future.

“People really liked what we were doing here,” Barker-Plotkin said. “I’m not worried about what’s going to happen to the land because it’s a really good opportunity for someone.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.