It Takes a Strong Woman
Although Shary’s Berries is small by conventional standards, there is more than enough work for Shary Zoff and her 10 year-old son, Sam. Located northeast of Duluth, in northern Minnesota on Homestead Road off of Highway 61, Shary’s Berries covers 40 acres. Roughly 10 of these acres are cleared with an acre and a half occupied by berries and vegetables. There is also a small orchard and several flower beds.
After 12 years, she still only finds the name of her farm tolerable. “It doesn’t conjure up images of muddy boots, callused dirt-embedded hands, sweat dripping (not on the blueberries, please), and strong women. It speaks instead to manicured poodles with pink ribbons,” says Shary. But, the name is popular with customers, she notes, and with their support the business continues to grow. But it is the things not conjured by the name of her farm, the muddy boots, the callused hands, the sweat dripping, and the strong women, that makes the wheels of Shary’s farm turn.
Farming in northern Minnesota is a difficult way to make a living and the area was hit especially hard by the farm crisis in the 1980’s. The growing season is short and the soil is of relatively poor quality. A combination of these factors caused many people to leave farming and take jobs elsewhere. As commodity prices fell, farming became a money-losing venture for many.
An Alternative Approach
On her farm Shary has taken a different approach and found alternative markets for her produce. Shary’s Berries is certified organic by the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA). She sells her produce to the Whole Foods Co-op and at various farmers markets in Duluth. She also offers a pick-your-own berries option where customers can come to the farm and fill bucket after bucket with delicious berries. This is a favorite among people in the area, as they get a chance to spend some time in her fields and taste the berries directly from plant to mouth.
Shary has also found a lifestyle that she and her son enjoy. “The lifestyle works for us with the ‘it’s not how much you make, it’s how much you spend’ principle. Camping, swimming, biking, playing cards and music, dancing – all the simple pleasures compliment us.” After a hard days work in the fields, the rewards are many. “What it means,” Shary said, “is maybe there’s a lot of pleasure in simple quality things. An evening’s entertainment would as likely be going for a bike ride with a neighbor and our kids – biking down to the culvert and watching them play in the water.”
Community Sharing
Shary credits the community in her area for contributing to the quality of life that she and Sam enjoy. She can buy eggs from one neighbor, chickens from another and fresh cow’s milk from still another. “The community interdependence is a key element for keeping up that good energy when it seems like a hard way to make a living.”
In a conscious effort to keep her farm small and diversified, Shary is choosing a lifestyle that fits her idea about “living close to her heart.” Through years of slow growth Shary’s Berries has become a sustainable and economically viable farm. With some supplemental income coming from her and Sam’s participation in a local old-time dance band, Shary has realized her goal of a simple life. This simple life is best described in Shary’s own words when she says, “To glance in the back of the station wagon on my way to the Farmers Market on a Saturday morning in August reminds me of all that my life is. To hear on my answering machine a message from a neighbor that she’ll be by in a few hours for a bag of mixed vegetables, a few pints of berries for the potluck dinner she’s going to, and, oh yes, a bouquet for the table, always gives me cause to take a breath and remember that it is a gift to be simple.”