Meadowbrook Farm, East Longmeadow, MA

Meadowbrook Farm owner and operator, John Burney, had an entry into farming by way of strawberries.  After college, he offered to help a retired dairy farmer with his small vegetable operation. In return, the farmer allowed John to plant 16 rows of strawberries around a utility pole in one of his fields.  From these humble beginnings, the farming bug stuck, and after graduating, John continued to expand the strawberry operation part-time while working as a loan officer at Farm Credit. In 1989, he decided to quit banking and transition to full-time farming.  John built his first greenhouse in 1990 and finally purchased the 30-acre farm soon after.  Open early spring with a wide variety of spring vegetables, summer yields strawberries, fresh-picked vegetables, and unsurpassed sweet corn.