Turning Mill Farm
Name: Andrew Messenger
Business: Turning Mill Farm
Imagine a young boy spinning around and around on a tire swing and then picking fresh green beans from his father’s garden believing they had magical, anti-nausea powers. That young boy is now an organic farmer.
Andrew Messenger fondly remembers his father’s small vegetable garden in Concord, New Hampshire.
“I don’t remember it happening every year,” Andy recalls. “My father was the driving force, and his enthusiasm ebbed and flowed; but I specifically remember the green beans.”
After high school, Andy spent a couple of years studying and experimenting with fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but his memories of gardening stayed with him.
“I was drawn to farming because it’s a true livelihood as opposed to a 9 to 5 job,” he states. “I wanted to do something that felt tangible, practical, and allowed me to spend most of my time outdoors engaged in sweat labor. I was inspired by the environmental and local food movements. I thought farming would be a great way to make a positive impact on our world while also providing for myself and my community.”
“I completed my first vegetable farm apprenticeship in 2008 and graduated in 2011 with a B.A. in Sustainable Agriculture. I’ve been working on vegetable farms in the northeast since 2011.”
Turning Mill Farm is a sole proprietorship that grows on land leased from Canterbury Shaker Village. The relationship originally developed between the Concord Food Co-op and Shaker Village. The Co-op was looking for land for their farmer to locally grow produce. Shaker Village had unutilized land and infrastructure that supported vegetable production including a plot that was historically used by the Shakers to grow vegetables.
“I replaced the Co-op farmer in 2018 and spent five seasons as a salaried employee,” Andy explains. “When the Co-op decided to discontinue the project in 2022, I incorporated the operation as my own farm business.”
“I’m truly fortunate to have a positive and rich relationship with the Village and forever grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a historic and beautiful landscape and agrarian tradition.”
Andy produces vegetables and herbs on 3/4 of an acre and will be hiring his first part-time employee this season. He sells at the Canterbury Farmers Market on Wednesdays and the Concord Farmers Market on Saturdays. Customers can occasionally find his produce at the Concord Food Co-op, Granite State Natural Foods, and the Canterbury Country Store.
Andy is very enthusiastic about farming.
“My favorite vegetable is fennel,” he exclaims. “It smells great, I love eating it, and its most prevalent pest is swallowtail caterpillars.”
“My favorite activity is mowing cover crops and hay mulch with my scythe. I farm almost exclusively by hand with hand tools. It’s not the most efficient way to produce food, but it’s the least destructive, the quietest, and the best exercise.”
“I get the most fulfillment out of seeing happy returning customers at the farmers market and seeing people get excited about produce. It’s the satisfaction of feeding my community high-quality, nutritious food that gets me up in the morning.”
“Three things keep me farming,” he continues. “The opportunity to continually innovate and refine my operation season to season, watching the soil and the farm ecosystem improve year after year, and the praise and support of family, friends, community and loyal customers.”
And Andy is just as enthusiastic about organic farming.
“It’s about health -- plain and simple,” he asserts. “I farm organically to keep myself and my customers healthy and to support the health of the natural ecosystem containing and surrounding my farm.”
“Small organic farmers are facing an unpredictable and changing climate. We can make a difference by choosing farming principles that are focused on stewardship and care for the land, by reducing the miles that food travels from farm to plate, and by supporting each other emotionally when things get crazy. We must collaborate and form partnerships to share the burden of marketing/distribution.”
“NOFA-NH membership helps us by providing visibility with retailers via the Organic Farm and Food Map, the Spring Bulk Order, discounts, and letting us know about networking and advocacy opportunities.”
Andy’s fondest farm memories are of his cat.
“Orange Cat would sometimes join me in the garden. One particular day he was walking between the rows of mature carrots that were days away from harvest. All I could see were the carrot tops bending back and forth and the very tip of his tail peeking out from the foliage. But any day gardening with him was a treasure. He is dearly missed.”