Simmons Farm
Forward Thinking with Historic Roots
By Genie MCPherson Trevor
Photos by Stephan Brigidi

Standing atop one of the highest points in Middletown on the lush green fields of Simmons Farm, I gaze out over what could be any rural farm, with a barn off in the distance, quiet and peaceful. But looking back just over my shoulder I see a much different landscape: a long tract of Navy housing behind a fence on the far side of the top field.

Walking down the long, gentle slope with farmers Karla and Brian Simmons with their 4-year old son Alex in tow, I can see condos peeping out from behind some trees on my left and more housing on my right. Though essentially surrounded by development, Simmons Farm remains a “rural” outpost because of Brian’s grandfather, great uncle and father who together (at the urging of Rhode Island Department of Agriculture’s Ken Ayars) sought one of the first farm applications for the sale of development rights in Rhode Island back in 1993.

Given the persistent buildup of housing and development on Aquidneck Island, touring the 120-acre parcel of farmland and the agricultural scenery set before me, my appreciation for it deepens with every step.

I see a small herd of Belted Galloways happily grazing on a special cover crop of pea greens and oats, while a calf (newborn that very morning!) is wobbling alongside its mother. Tomorrow they’ll be moved to new pasture with the lightweight mobile fencing that delineates the day’s grazing area.

Tamworth pigs busily forage along the field divides, performing a very useful farm service—weeding. Still further I see a flock of turkeys pecking and chortling near their mobile coop. The fields just over the dirt road that cuts through the farm reveal rows and rows of lettuce, broccoli, peppers and other organically grown produce.

The 370-year-old farm dates back to 1639, the land originally owned by John Coggeshall, who came to Rhode Island with Roger Williams. Several generations ago a direct descendant, Elizabeth Coggeshall, married John L. Simmons from Newport and the farm remains in the family to this day.

Brian Simmons, the great, great grandson of Elizabeth and John Simmons, grew up on the farm, working with his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins back when it was still a working dairy farm. Brian’s grandmother, a resourceful mother of five, kept her children busy growing produce that she sold at a small farm stand in what was really the beginning of the future for Simmons Farm.

Fast forward to 2010. Brian and his wife, Karla, have taken the farm in new directions, diversifying to remain competitive while remaining committed to the practice of organic farming. “A farm is just like any other business: We need to stay competitive so we can survive. We aren’t following the old rules of farming; we want to stay where we can be diverse and keep people interested in what we are doing and what we are selling,” says Brian.

When I first met Brian and Karla back in 2006, their son Alex was just a newborn. They were in the midst of their second CSA season, growing from the original 38 to some 130 members.

Today their CSA is still going strong, now with 250 seasonal subscribers.  Besides growing a wide variety of produce, raising heritage breed cows and pigs for meat and chickens for eggs, for the past six years Brian and Karla (well, mainly Karla) have been making goat cheese for their CSA members provided by the farm’s 30 milking goats.

Back in 2006 our conversation centered on a grant Brian and Karla had just received from the Natural Resources Conservation Services to help build an improved milking parlor, a barn for the goats and fulfillment of their goal to build a certified cheese production facility on Simmons Farm. The project stalled because of the additional funds needed for such an ambitious project.

“The project got held up largely because of our own anxiety over taking out the supplementary loan we needed for the goat dairy. It took us until now to get the courage to basically put the farm up to do it,” Brian explained.

One of the dilemmas facing local farmers is obtaining protection over development rights at the sacrifice of equity. Brian admits for him it’s sometimes a double-edged sword because when farmland saved in perpetuity loses equity, it makes the needed loans for improvements a major challenge.

Nevertheless Brian and Karla have been working on their cheese making steadily, producing creamy chèvre and feta goat cheeses. They’ve attended seminars with cheese maker Peter Dixon at Woodcock Farm in Weston, Vermont.

“Over the past few years we must have visited at least 100 farms that make cheese. We wanted to be sure we educated ourselves, not being afraid to ask every single possible question, both the negative and the positive,” says Brian.

In April of this year, their hard-fought loan application was finally approved, the building plans finalized and the groundbreaking is scheduled for August.

Simmons Farm is truly a family farm and along with Brian and Karla at the farmers’ markets you’re likely to see their children Brendan, 17, Aidan, 10, and even young Alex. At home they can be found helping with all the chores offered by farm life—a lifestyle not experienced by many children in Rhode Island nowadays.

“Our kids have grown to love the farm. They are as invested as we are,” reflects

Brian. One of the reasons why he and Karla decided to farm organically is because of their children. “Primarily this is a family farm and that is why we decided to go organic.  We want a nice healthy place for people to live near and for our children to grow up in.”

Farming organically presents its own unique demands, yet also presents a great opportunity to educate consumers on its benefits to both body and soil. Their heritage breed organic, pasture-fed beef and pork (and hot dogs too) are strong sellers at farmers’ markets, as well as their CSA and area restaurants that source locally. Karla Simmons philosophizes about raising livestock, “You give them a good home, you treat them well, you serve them well. And in the end they serve you.”

She adds, “Our customers have been incredibly supportive. They constantly want to learn more and we have people who go out of their way to come and buy our produce, as well as the eggs, beef and pork.”

Despite the amount of hard work required, the Simmonses are committed to the farm, though it was not always their vision of the future, according to Brian.

“I really never thought I would become a farmer. Now we hope to be here the rest of our lives. We want our kids to love it too.” eR

Genie McPherson Trevor is a writer who lives and cooks with her family in Providence. Read her story on chef Bruce Tillinghast in Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods (Wiley, 2010) available wherever books are sold.

www.simmonsorganicfarmri.com