The Farm
Our Team
Morning Glory Farm, started in 1975 by James and Deborah Athearn, grows about 60 acres of vegetables and small fruits here on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. Small successive plantings of a wide variety of crops supply the farmstand, which opened in 1981. 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.
James & Deborah Athearn
Founders
Simon Athearn
Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Athearn
Aquaculture, Operations Officer
Meg Athearn
Operations Manager
Robyn Hosey Athearn
Flower Manager
Prudence and Josh Levy
Dalila Bennett
Flower CSA Manager
Martin Opio
Greenhouse Manager
Suzy Crowley
Farmstand Manager
Augustus Paquet-Whall
Executive Chef
Teresa Kirkpatrick
Head Baker
Ryan Hassell
Field Crew Manager
Martha Kirkpatrick
Marketing & Social Media Manager
Amber Willoughby
Wholesale, CSA, Wash & Pack Manager,
Amy Whitmarsh
HR Manager
Doug Williams
Chef de CuisineMeet the Fleet
OUR FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT & FARMING WITH VEGGIE OIL
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
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
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
HP62 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. Along with our 50 kilowatt-hour windmill — which, so far, has created enough electricity to offset the carbon emissions of more than 100 cars on the road for a year — we’re now generating even more power from new solar panel for home.
“We are an energy-positive farm,” said Simon Athearn, explaining that Morning Glory now sends a small amount of excess electricity back to the local power grid, instead of drawing energy from it.
Our solar project cost $115,000 all told, with state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels using microinverters to convert direct current into alternating current. “The energy field created is minuscule compared to old-style inverters, which makes them safer to live and work around,” Simon said.
COMPOSTING
OUR COMPOST HEAP IS GENERALLY OPEN DAILY FROM DAWN TO DUSK AND IS MONITORED BY SECURITY CAMERAS. HERE ARE THE RULES:
ALLOWABLE MATERIALS:
Grass clippings
Hay: Cut and remove bale strings
Hedge prunings: Less than ¼” Diameter only
Kitchen trimmings
Leaves
Manure
Sawdust and shavings
Weeds and plant residue
SPECIAL MATERIALS ALSO ALLOWED:
Sand: Put aside for road use
Sod: Put in topsoil pile
Topsoil: Put in topsoil pile
DO NOT DUMP:
Bricks, blocks, rocks
Broken rake handles
Brush: No woody material larger than ¼” diameter. Partially rotten sticks raked up with leaves OK up to ¾” diameter.
Metal, soda cans
Plastic
Please dump as close to the pile as possible. Don’t spread out your loads. Thank you.
COMMUNITY & FIELD TRIPS
We’re delighted to welcome Martha’s Vineyard school and camp groups for tours of the farm, including animals and the bakery. These tours generally last from one hour to 90 minutes.
Please fill out the form and request a tour, and Meg Athearn will be in touch with you to schedule the visit:
FILL OUT FORM BELOW
Reach Out
TO SCHEDULE SCHOOL TRIPS & FAMILY TOURS
We’re delighted to welcome Martha’s Vineyard school and camp groups for tours of the farm, including animals and the bakery. These tours generally last from one hour to 90 minutes. Please fill this form to request a tour, and Meg Athearn will be in touch with you to schedule the visit:
Working at MGF
WE ARE HIRING FOR 2022
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.
