Christopher Clegg has the title of co-owner for his family farm, but the real boss is Mother Nature.
With deluges and dry spells, heat and frost, she decides when the acres of corn, berries and flowers get picked, or packed, or when Clegg simply must watch, wait and hope for the best.
As a fifth-generation co-shareholder of Seekonk’s Four Town Farm, Clegg has learned to accept the whims of the weather. Just as he accepts the grueling, seven-day-a-week schedule that forces him to give up family outings and social events for most of the year.
Even when the business slows for the winter, he’s always out tinkering with tractor equipment, or surveying the sprawling 200 acres for ideas. He relishes the work.
His voice rises in excitement as he explains the taste difference between fresh Brussels sprouts and the wilting grocery store fare. He smiles when talking about the retired women who work the farm stand, or the regulars who stop by on their way home from work, perusing the wooden crates piled high with fruits and vegetables as they decide what to cook for dinner.
Clegg wasn’t always so passionate about the family business. As a teenager, he resented the backbreaking hours spent weeding after school. He dreamed of becoming an architect.
“It wasn’t cool to be a farmer,” Clegg said.
But Clegg had a change of heart, especially after it became obvious that someone among him and his three siblings needed to step up to join the older generation in running the business. Public perception of farming also changed, with cooking shows and farm-to-table restaurants reinventing food as an experience.
“It’s kind of romanticized now,” Clegg said. “Food isn’t just about instant gratification. People understand fresh ingredients mean better food.”
His busy schedule gives him little time to appreciate the art of cooking. Most of the time, he’s just stopping by his house – conveniently 500 feet away – to shovel in some raw food before returning to work.
This summer was especially grueling because of a series of storms that brought intense flooding to the area. Last year, it was the lack of rain that nearly did him in.
“There is no normal, average season anymore,” Clegg said. “Climate change is real.”
Sometimes, he can work around it, harvesting crops early and storing them in a covered pack house. He just added another outdoor insulated storage space to fit more harvested produce.
The farm stand, now the chief source of business for the company, was born from lack of storage for excess produce. Clegg’s grandmother Eleanor Clegg started selling extra cantaloupes off a cart at the end of the street after a fertile season. The impromptu farm stand quickly became a main attraction among customers and was later housed in a climate-controlled structure added in 2015.
Pick-your-own flowers, fruits, vegetables and, in December, Christmas trees have also become a staple. But the wholesale business to grocers and restaurants – the foundation upon which the farm started – ended when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Clegg has not found enough workers to revive it.
OWNERS: Christopher Clegg, Stephen Clegg, Thomas Clegg, Peter Clegg, Jean Anderson
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Farm
LOCATION: 90 George St., Seekonk
EMPLOYEES: About 50 (depending on the season)
YEAR FOUNDED: 1920
ANNUAL SALES: WND
