For the last 45 years, the Mong family has run Applefield Farm in Stow, about 30 miles west of Boston. The charming farm grows everything from corn and kale to scallions and pumpkins.
Husband and wife Steven and Kirsten Mong first opened the farm in the 1980s, starting with just a small wooden shack. Eventually, Steven Mong’s little brother, Ray Mong, joined the business in 1986.
It’s hard work managing the 25-acre farm, which also has a farm stand and distributes crops to wholesalers, restaurants and college kitchens.
But the Mongs are no longer in their 20s. They are now long past retirement age.
“It’s kind of sad that I don’t have the enthusiasm to keep going,” Steven said. “I’m 71. We’re getting too old for this. [This farm] needs … some youngsters.”
But there are fewer “youngsters” who are able or even willing to follow in their footsteps. Massachusetts’ farming population is getting older. There are nearly five times more farmers over the age of 65 than there are under the age of 34 in the state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Census. Back in 1982, the average age of a farmer was 51 years old, but today that average is nearly 60.
For the Mongs, their four children aren’t interested or confident in taking over the farm.
“ Both of my kids when they were young wanted to work at the farm until they actually did the work, and then they realized, ‘Oh, it’s hot. Picking green beans stinks, you know? You’re supposed to fill the bucket up? Forget about it,’” Ray Mong said.
Steven Mong’s daughter Erica Mong does help out at the farmstand, but doesn’t think she could handle more than that.
“I know how to run the store, but I don’t know how to do the growing in the beginning of the season,” Erica Mong said. “I don’t understand the science of it all, and I’m not really cut out for field work.”
Steven Mong semi-retired five years ago. But Ray Mong wasn’t ready to give up the mantle until very recently.
“My wife retired in January and I’m watching how much she’s enjoying her retirement and how many things there are actually to do when you don’t have a job,” Ray Mong said.
The Mongs put the farm up for sale last year and received some interested buyers. But the potential buyers didn’t have what it takes to operate a farm on such a large-scale.
Ray Mong said people nowadays want the “idealistic” parts of a farm, when in reality it can sometimes “become a big headache.”
“A lot of people think that owning a farm, running a farm, would be fun, romantic, great,” Ray Mong said. “Until you really get into the nitty gritty, the nuts and bolts. It’s dirty, it’s hard. It really takes heart and soul to make a farm operation strong.”
Losing farmland
The tradition of passing down farms from one generation to the next is disappearing, according to Rachel Brice, a manager at the nonprofit Land for Good. Brice’s organization supports farmers across New England, including helping retiring farmers find potential buyers.
“If you think about the emotional implications for a farmer who’s been on a farm for five or six generations, to think about what happens next to this farm if my child doesn’t want to run, it is a big deal,” Brice said.
When a farmer can’t find a successor, that farmland could be used to develop housing or commercial buildings. New England lost about 19 acres of farmland a day — the equivalent of 14 football fields — between 2001 and 2016, according to a report by American Farmland Trust, a nonprofit conservation organization.
And this is something not lost on the state.
“Farms are very vulnerable if they’re not protected and if they don’t have a clear plan for a successor to carry on,” said Melissa Adams, a programs manager for farm viability and agricultural business assistance at the state’s agricultural resources department.
Adams said there are programs led by the state to help prevent farmland loss. That includes “Farm Pass,” a free one-year program that helps farmers pass their farm on to the next generation.
Land for Good also has a farm succession school, which provides farmers with advisors and legal assistance, according to Brice.
“I don’t think people often understand the importance of that farmland to our food system, to our agricultural economy, and how many jobs are tied up in the agricultural economy,” Brice said. “Not just on the farm, but supporting the farm. The people who truck products into and out of the farm. The people who work at grocery stores, who are stocking products grown by the farmers.”
A young farmer’s ambitions
Four miles north of Applefield farm, is 25-acre Abrantie Farm. It’s owned by Tim Offei-Addo, a 29-year-old Ghanaian American.
He grows the typical crops like peppers, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. But, he also grows some non-traditional crops such as lemongrass, hibiscus flowers, African eggplant, and even ginger.
These crops are often used in a lot of African and Asian cuisines, and he wants to tap into the state’s diversity.
“Nobody grows for people of color, nobody grows for people like me, and there’s a whole market that’s out there for this opportunity,” Offei-Addo said.
He hopes to buy Applefield Farm to double his farming operation and further expand on his goal.
Ray Mong said he likes that idea.
“We’ve succeeded for the past 45 years, but it’s not really moving forward,” Ray Mong said. “It’s kind of stayed the same, we’re kind of flat. Our business is good, we support two families. But to move forward, you need to keep it new. So part of Tim’s plan is to upgrade the farmstand operation, to modernize it.”
But as a young, first generation farmer, Offei-Addo faces some hurdles ahead of him.
Farmland is expensive in Massachusetts. The average price of farmland in the state is $906,940, according to the USDA’s agricultural census.
Applefield Farm is being sold for $650,000, and Offei-Addo said he plans to apply for loans and fundraise so he can purchase it.
Another challenge is the price of diesel. Because of the ongoing U.S.-Iran war, the average price of diesel in Massachusetts is $6.28, as of Friday. That’s more than $2 more than it was the same time last year, according to AAA Northeast.
If Offei-Addo acquires Applefield Farm, it would also be his first time operating a farmstand, which brings in hundreds of customers every week.
“It’s not farming anymore, it’s business management,” Offei-Addo said. “Growing crops is one thing. Understanding how to manage people, how to manage finances, so that you can pay people on time and get people to come back … is a whole entirely different thing.”
Offei-Addo said he feels a bit “nervous” about those factors.
“I’m going to do the work I have to do to make it happen,’” he said. “But, I’m also appropriately scared that I might fail.”
And the Mongs plan to help him through this process. They said once the deal goes through, they plan to spend a few more years teaching Offei-Addo how to run the business and grow crops on the farm.
Looking towards the future
Steven Mong said when he was a young first generation farmer, much like Offei-Addo, he was told he would fail. He didn’t come from a farming family or have an existing farm business.
“To just start up a farm and then turn it into what we did, is a great sense of accomplishment,” Steven Mong said.
Ray Mong said he’s proud of what he and his family were able to do over the last 45 years.
“Sometimes I feel like we’re just a tiny little farm, and small and meaningless,” Ray Mong said. “But then other times I realize, you know, it has a lot of meaning, and we’re not that small, and we do a really nice job.”
The deal between the Mongs and Offei-Addo is still ongoing. But both parties hope to close the deal and get Offei-Addo ready to take over Applefield Farm by early 2027.
Offei-Addo said he’s optimistic about the purchase.
“I want to show people that it’s possible to run a business like this in this day and age,” he said.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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