Join Our Crew

We Are Hiring for 2023

We are looking for people who want to work hard, enjoy the company of their fellow workers, produce a worthwhile product, enjoy the outdoors and apply their energies to the success of our cause.

The Farm

Since 1975, we've offered fresh, sustainably-grown produce and meats on Martha's Vineyard. Committed to ethical farming and community, come visit our farmstand for food that's good for you and the Earth.

Meet Our Team

James & Deborah Athearn
Founders Jim and Debbie started the farm on family wooded land on Meshacket Road. In the first years, they cleared a small vegetable plot and room for a barn and pasture for milking cows. The yields of the small plot were sold at the farmhouse in a small shed, and at the Farmers Market in West Tisbury. Eventually, the young farmers outgrew the shed, and seeking a greater market, they moved to the end of Meshacket Road in the lot at Ed Tyra’s locker plant in 1979. After two years there Jim and Debbie decided to build their own farmstand on the site where it is now.

James & Deborah Athearn

Founders

Simon is the CEO of Morning Glory Farm, working alongside his parents and his brother Daniel. He lives in West Tisbury in his great-grandparents’ farmhouse, with his wife Robyn and their children Rose, Ignatius and Alden—the 12th generation of Athearns on the Martha’s Vineyard.

Schooled first as a pastry chef and then as a businessman, Simon returned home to work on the family farm. He is an aspiring English tea rose gardener, a vegetable fanatic and a trumpet player, and enjoys spending time on the Tisbury Great Pond with his family.

Simon Athearn

Chief Executive Officer

Daniel returned to the Vineyard and Morning Glory Farm after receiving a degree in aquaculture from the University of Maine. He quickly became indispensable on the farm as a skilled machine operator and irrigation specialist. Although he spends many hours in the tractor seat working the soil and tending the crops, Daniel still maintains his presence on the water with recreational fishing, lobstering, gathering and sailing.

Daniel Athearn

Aquaculture, Operations Officer

Daniel’s wife works on the farm as a field leader, tractor operator, farmer market director, and philanthropy manager. The couple have three children, Clara, Zeb and Penelope Louise. They live on family land in Chilmark, where the Morning Glory Farm cattle graze in water-view pastures.

Meg Athearn

Operations Manager

Robyn Hosey Athearn grew up in rural Pennsylvania with young, enthusiastic “do-it-yourself” parents. Together they built their family home, a project that spanned several years and to this day is still considered a work in progress. They had a large vegetable patch where her father and Mother produced a mainstay of their diet. Her mother Rosemary was a Penn State ‘Red Phone’ Master Gardener who helped aspiring gardeners with their gardening questions. Robyn met her now husband Simon while fishing off of east beach in Edgartown.

Robyn Hosey Athearn

Flower Manager

Jim and Debbie raised three children on the farm. Their daughter Prudence, and her husband Josh Levy, both Registered Dietitians, and their two boys Kyle and Judah returned to the Island in 2012, after many years in Boulder, CO. and Portland, ME.

Prudence & Josh are the owners of Vineyard Nutrition, a private practice that offers individualized nutrition counseling. They each have over 20 years of nutrition counseling experience, specializing in helping people make diet and lifestyle changes, including providing weight loss and meal planning guidance, and incorporating science-backed Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) for a wide variety of nutrition-related health issues, which are detailed on their website at vineyardnutrition.com. Prudence had previously worked on the farm for many years. She had become a specialist in the flower field and was the farmstand manager.

Prudence & Josh Levy

Our Field Crew Manager has been with us since 2018 and followed a rather unique path to the Farm. Before getting out in the fields, Ryan spent a decade working in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry. In early 2017, Ryan had moved back with his wife to the east coast and was in search of work on the Vineyard. One of Ryan’s Island-based in-laws had come across a Morning Glory job listing for a Farm Hand/Photographer/Videographer in what Ryan describes as “super lucky” circumstances. The farming aspect of the job was also appealing, he explains, because agriculture runs in his family. Several years later, Ryan still captures quite a bit of Moglo farming life via his Go-Pro, Drone, and other video equipment. Now, however, he spends most of his job in the growing realm.

Ryan Hassell

Field Crew Manager

Serving as our Store Manager since 2015, Suzy hails from Marshfield, MA, and holds a degree from Plymouth State University. No stranger to family-run businesses, Suzy grew up working for her grandparents’ restaurant on the South Shore. With tremendous management experience in corporate-level retail – throughout New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts, and even Colorado – she arrived at Morning Glory eager to learn about produce. Impressed with the way Debbie Athearn had grown the business so quickly, Suzy implemented POS and PLU systems in the store. Collaborating with a strong team, interacting with customers, and keeping an eye on the details are just some of the many aspects Suzy enjoys about her role. In her free time she enjoys bicycling, swimming at the beach in the summer, and polar plunging in the winter.

Suzy Crowley

Farmstand Manager

Our Executive Chef since February 2021, Gus spent much of his career in the fine dining realm. A father of two, card game aficionado, and Vineyard kid, his culinary philosophy can be best summed up in three parts: be intentional about ingredients, waste as little as possible, and mentor those who are eager to learn. When it comes to kitchen culture, Gus considers the Farm to be a breath of fresh air. Lacking in the hostility associated with traditional fine dining establishments, his kitchen is equipped to provide a nurturing environment for those who want to learn.

Augustus Paquet-Whall

Executive Chef

Born and raised on the Island, Amber started her Moglo career in the hen house, then soon took on night shifts in the produce wash/pack department, which eventually switched into day shifts. By June of 2022, Amber was working full time at the farm and promoted to the wholesale role. On any given day Amber is coordinating with nearly every department of the farm – as well as restaurants and caterers – to ensure a smooth-sailing process with the freshly-harvested produce. She also oversees the CSA program, and can often be found helping the field crew with some of their larger harvest tasks in the fall/winter months. Amber enjoys working in an environment where people are genuinely “good” to one another and “work together well.” And, she emphasizes, seeing people delighted over a basket of veggies. Outside of Moglo, Amber enjoys walking with her redbone coonhound/beagle mix, as well as hanging out with friends who routinely recruit her to sing karaoke.

Amber Willoughby

Wholesale, CSA, Wash & Pack Manager

Our Human Resources Manager is an Island girl, graduate of the Edgartown School and MVRHS, and has been with Morning Glory since 2022. Amy loves being outside – especially the beach – and spending time with her family. Her son, Jameson, who had been working in the farmstand since 2021, helped convince her to apply to Moglo. Initially hired as the Office Manager, Amy instead immediately transitioned into the HR role when her predecessor retired. After a period of intensive training, that she gained tremendous confidence in the position and was thrilled by the daily engaging work. She is constantly interacting with various Moglo teams and loves getting to know the Farm’s employees.

Amy Whitmarsh

HR Manager

He’s been with Moglo since 2021 as Chef de Cuisine and mastermind behind the Food Truck Popup nights. An obvious prerequisite for the role is a love for all things culinary, which Doug does not lack. In fact, Doug says it was a formative part of his upbringing. Always opting for an immersive experience over a touristy one, Doug grew up exploring the Asian cuisine of the Queens/Greater New York area. He’s taken cooking classes in Italy and at one point he ran a New York-based eating club, choosing various restaurants and setting a menu for 15-20 of friends every month. So many interesting opportunities present themselves when you’re curious, he notes. The Food Wagon popups have been Doug’s creative haven. Beginning with the July 4th pulled pork trial run. Doug says he enjoyed the experience of working on the line with a convivial group of people, prompting him to keep the popups going.

Doug Williams

Chef de Cuisine

347,571 LBS

Of Produce this Year

We grow everything from artichokes to zucchini and cut flowers to beef. Nearly 20,000 lbs were gleaned and donated to Island food pantries and initiatives last year.

100% NoN-Gmo

Grown Crops

No GMO, and no Glyphospate (roundup) pledge. Most seeds are sourced from Organic farms. Sound holistic management farm-wide with over 25 acres enrolled in National Organic Program for certification January 2024.

70 Acres

of fruits & Veggies

Active in conservation and farmland preservation. We have over 250 acres of Vineyard farmland under our care.

Un-Spoiled Soil

Our down Island soils are nearly rock-free, sandy loams with good drainage. Through careful soil building practices, cover crops, and yearly compost for decades, we have made resilient farmlands that yield well, drain easily - aiding in lowering disease pressure - and warm early each season. It is a pleasure working with these soils.

Alison-Shaw-Photo-0286 1

Meet Our Fleet

Ford-4600-1-e1648750765187 1
TREBUCHET-1-copy 1
John-Deere-5425 1
tractor 1

FORD 4600 TRACTOR

Our main tillage tractor from 1984 to 2000, now can run on pure used fryer oil — biodiesel is not required. Our Ford 4600 tractor was given a biofuel conversion by Vineyard Alternative Auto under a Vision Fellowship grant to encourage sustainable farm practices on Martha’s Vineyard.

Model: 4600
Brand: Ford
Engine: 3.3L 3-cylinder
Fuel: Diesel
Year: 1975-81
HP: 52 PTO, 43 Drawbar
Special Tools: Dual remotes, cab, engine conversion for biofuel burning

THE TRACTOR THAT ARMS OUR TREBUCHET

Every autumn, we celebrate the harvest with our PumpkinFestival.

Model: 3000
Brand: Ford
Engine: 2.6L 3-cyl
Fuel: gasoline
Year: 1965-75
HP: 37 PTO, 47 engine, 33 drawbar
Special Tools: loader with adjustable forks

JOHN DEERE 5425

The first and only factory-new tractor Morning Glory Farm has ever purchased — from Padula Brothers in Raynham. It’s the same unit that is commonly used by most Dirt Contractor in the farming industry.

Model: 5425
Brand: John Deere
Engine: 4.5 liter 4–cylinder
Fuel: Diesel
Year: 2004
HP: 80 PTO, 68 drawbar
Special Tools: Air-conditioned cab with air ride seat

OUR ECONOMICAL KUBOTA

Our late 1970s Kubota tractor had to cross an ocean and a continent to get to us from its factory in Osaka. It’s an offset cultivating (weeding) tractor that has never needed a new part since we bought it.

Model: L245
Brand: International Harvester
Engine: 1.1 liter 3–cylinder
Fuel: Diesel
Year: 1976-85
HP: 22 PTO, 18 drawbar
Special Tools: belly mount sweeps (2 to 4 sweeps), a Cole side-dresser (fertilizer) unit, wheel track sweeps behind

July-10-018-1024x768-1 1
tractor2 1
fullsizeoutput_198b-1400x1000-1
tractor4

PRONE IH HYDRO 84

Purchased from Charley at Village Power Equipment in Berlin, Mass., our International Harvester Hydro 84 has its strengths and its weaknesses. The hydrostatic drive provides a continuously variable transmission that allows us to match the ground speed to the job being done. It’s our favored tractor for haying and the EZ offloader gets low to moderate use.

Model: Hydro 84
Brand: International Harvester
Engine: 4.0L 4-cylinder
Fuel: Diesel
Year: 1977-84
HP: 58 PTO, 43 drawbar
Special Tools: hydrostatic drive, EZ off loader

FARMALL 140

Currently set up with a 5-row custom Buddingh weeder and rear-end sweeps, this International Harvester Farmall has high clearance for cultivation and works on both five-row and three-row bed crops. 60 years and still going strong!

Model: 140
Brand: International Harvester Farmall
Engine: 2.0L 4-cylinder
Fuel: gasoline
Year: 1958-73
HP: 21 PTO, 17 drawbar
Special Tools: Belly and rear cultivators

UNCLE LEONARD’S FARMALL

Jim’s uncle Leonard Athearn (1918-2005) bought this International Harvester Farmall model A in 1946, not long after he returned to Martha’s Vineyard from serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II

Model: A
Brand: International Harvester
Engine: 1.9L 4-cylinder
Fuel: gasoline
Year: 1946
HP: 16 PTO, 13 Drawbar

FORD 5610

This is the tractor that switched wheels with the Ford 4600 in 2004. We bought it as a loader with a bucket for $10,000 from John Olsen of Huseby Mountain Farm in West Tisbury.

Model: 5610
Brand: Ford
Engine: 4.2L 4-cylinder
Fuel: Diesel
Year: 1984
HP: 62 PTO, 53 Drawbar

Environmental Impact

WIND AND SUN POWER THIS FARM—AND THEN SOME

We’re excited to share some news about our energy program here at the farm.

Learn About our Farm Environmental Impact

Composting

OUR COMPOST HEAP IS GENERALLY OPEN DAILY FROM DAWN TO DUSK AND IS MONITORED BY SECURITY CAMERAS.

Learn About our Farm Environmental Impact

Farm Tours

Interested in a farm tour for your school or organization? Email office@morninggloryfarm.com to inquire today!

Have Questions?

Discover our family farm on Martha's Vineyard! We're more than just a farm; we have a bustling farmstand, bakery, and kitchen. Morning Glory Farm grows fresh food and flowers for our entire Island community. We're open year-round, so come on over and say hello!