Nourse Farms

Meet our commercial laboratory manager, Elizabeth! Elizabeth first began her educational pursuit in Veterinary and Animal Science and held a national Veterinary Technician certification for several years. She was introduced to bench science while working in an animal research laboratory. Elizabeth boasts extensive molecular biology research experience, working with mammalian and murine cell culture and murine model systems, cancer biology, cell signaling pathways, immunology, and metabolism. Elizabeth joined the Nourse Farms about a year ago and has proved to be a fantastic addition to our crew! As commercial laboratory manager, Elizabeth ensures that our lab staff follows protocols, runs efficiently, and determines best practices to increase production and meet our increasing goals. She is currently trialing a new rooting system that could be implemented with a planting robot in our new lab across the street from our headquarters in Whatley, MA. We appreciate that Elizabeth radiates positivity throughout our lab and provides unwavering support to our staff. Elizabeth's favorite memory of working at Nourse Farms is when she toured the coolers and was amazed by the sight! She loved seeing the millions of plants ready to head out the door and was shocked by the volume of plants that Nourse Farms ships to customers. When Elizabeth isn't at work, she adores spending time with her husband, her dog Marshall, and her cat Lily, especially when cheering on the New York Yankees (a risky admission in Red Sox territory!). She is an enormous billiard enthusiast, and you can find her traveling to different states to compete in tournaments with her 8-ball and 9-ball teams. In another life, Elizabeth was definitely a mermaid! She loves to spend her free time swimming and is happiest around the pool, especially when it coincides with a backyard BBQ with her friends and family. Elizabeth thinks the berry that best describes her is a strawberry because they're bright and sunny! Elizabeth starts every day with a smile and a positive attitude. #dreamteam #teamwork #plantpropagation #berryplants #berries #lab

Meet our administrative coordinator, Leanne! Leanne is an avid gardener, fitting perfectly into the Nourse Farms crew. Leanne earned her degree in early childhood education and owned a daycare for three years. While Leanne loved working with children, she was ready for a career change. Leanne began her career change at Nourse Farms six years ago as a temporary employee, and we’re so fortunate she stayed! Since starting at Nourse Farms, Leanne has held numerous positions, including customer service representative, receptionist, and administrative assistant. As our administrative coordinator, Leanne is Nourse Farm's right-hand, always jumping in to lend a helping hand to others. Leanne is the safety champion for the organization, ensuring that everyone is up to date with various trainings, procedures, and protocols. She coordinates purchasing, travel arrangements, and supports Nourse Farms’ management and leadership teams. In addition to her workload, Leanne is an angel to our barn cats. She has found over 20 barn kittens the loving homes they deserve and has trapped and spayed the mother. Leanne's can-do spirit and infectious smile have had a long-lasting impact on our work culture. We are so proud of Leanne; when she's not absolutely smashing it at Nourse Farms, she's actively pursuing a degree in Communications at Southern New Hampshire University (shout out to Petey the Penmen!). Leanne's favorite work memory is our beloved general manager's retirement party. She holds this memory close to her heart because it was an opportunity to spend time with the whole crew, laugh, and dance all night (who doesn't love a kickback with your coworkers?!). Outside of work, Leanne appreciates spending time in her garden! Her garden is filled with tasty crops of strawberries, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, blueberries, pumpkins, and raspberries (psst, don't tell the other varieties, but Caroline raspberry is her favorite!). Leanne loves sharing quality time with her husband and four cats, preferably with a good true crime podcast and a cup of tasty coffee. Leanne thinks the berry that best describes her is Malwina because she loves June AND July! #meettheteam #teamwork #dreamteam #ag #agriculture #workplace

Here at Nourse Farms, we grow differently, mitigating risks using smart growing practices. “Our stringent quality control processes are designed to ensure our plants are in the best position to meet the highest standards of cleanliness and health,” said John Place, Nourse Farms CEO. “Our advanced systems promote superior root development, increased airflow around the plants, and stronger, healthier plants that are ready to thrive once they reach our customers.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/evAYaFFf #berries #berryplants #ag #agriculture #CEA #smallfruitplants #growingpractices #modernfarming

Please see this important message from our CEO John Place. So grateful our team is safe.

Our CEO John Place recently visited our nursery to see how our plants are looking. They’re robust and almost ready for digging season! #strawberry #strawberryplants #nursery #agriculture #berries #softfruit #ceo

We had a busy week at Nourse Farms last week! We are so "berry" delighted to have had the opportunity to participate in the 2024 NASGA Summer Tour. We met NORTH AMERICAN STRAWBERRY GROWERS ASSOCIATION INC (NASGA) members and showed them all the exciting things happening in the world of berry plant propagation at our Whately, MA location. We walked the life cycle of a berry plant, taste-tested berries (for quality control purposes, of course!), got a sneak peek of the new greenhouse, and celebrated all that is happening in agriculture with a dinner that featured produce from local farms. Thank you, NASGA, for inviting us to host a portion of your summer tour. Want to learn more about NASGA? Click here: https://lnkd.in/ePhHhC6k

Meet one of our growers, Christian! Christian has always had an affinity for growing and is fascinated with plants' ability to build themselves out of seemingly thin air. His curiosity for plants landed him at Penn State University, where he majored in Plant Sciences and Horticulture. Christian has worked in multiple greenhouses and grow-ops, including a tomato breeder, a genetic engineering lab, and a large medical cannabis grow facility. For the last year, Christian has played a pivotal part on our greenhouse team, ensuring our plants thrive and live their best lives! To do so, Christian provides the ideal environment for our nursery plants by managing our greenhouses' temperature, humidity, and airflow. Christian tackles the day-to-day operations of the greenhouse, including watering, providing nutrients, and helping to maintain pristine greenhouse and production equipment conditions. Watch out if you're a bug in our greenhouse; Christian excels at scouting pests and diseases and is quick to apply beneficial organisms and pesticides to combat and remediate any issues. Christian values working with a passionate and hardworking crew and appreciates that their dedication shows in our final product. Christian's favorite work memory involves a cute bunny and a high-speed chase. Christian found a baby rabbit that snuck its way into the greenhouse and struggled to capture it. While trying to catch the bunny was troublesome, it was impossible to stay upset because it was too cute! When Christian isn't at the greenhouse, he loves to spend time in nature, primarily hiking and fishing in freshwaters along the East Coast (central Pennsylvania is his favorite place to go!). He also enjoys challenging himself in the kitchen and whipping up new creations. While he loves switching things up, his favorite thing to cook is his mother's red sauce recipe with homemade meatballs. Christian thinks the berry that best describes him is a thornless blackberry because the plants are tough and resilient while still producing delicious fruit.

Did you hear 👂 or see 👀 the good news? We’re hosting a tour of our Whately, MA location during NASGA’s 2024 Summer Tour this August! We hope you will join our team as we take a trip through the life cycle of our strawberry plants 🍓🌱. Bonus: you’ll get a sneak peek 👀 of all of the exciting new things happening in our fields and facilities. Register today: https://lnkd.in/e4ywJzjm

Meet one of our head growers, Rosalie! She began gardening when she was five years old and hasn't stopped since! While attending Wellesley College, Rosalie majored in biology. During a gap year before pursuing her master's, Rosalie fell in love with horticulture. Since 2002, Rosalie has worked in multiple horticultural positions, including retail and ornamental production, until 2017, when she joined the Nourse Farms crew. As head grower, Rosalie is the primary decision-maker in our Whately, MA foundation greenhouse regarding plant care and pest management. When she arrives at work, Rosalie checks in with our plants to see how they're doing and what they need. From there, Rosalie delegates tasks to our greenhouse crew and begins tending to her greenhouse section. We have Rosalie to thank for keeping our nursery plants thriving! Rosalie's favorite work memories are from her interview day. While interviewing at Nourse Farms, she witnessed two things that spoke volumes about the company's culture. The first was seeing happy employees playing soccer on the pitch outside the lab. The second was seeing an older gentleman (who turned out to be Tim Nourse) picking up small pieces of trash from the parking lot. These simple actions showed her that management takes pride in our infrastructure and that workers are appreciated here. Even when she's not working in the greenhouse, Rosalie loves getting her hands dirty with soil. She cherishes growing orchids (her favorite orchid is Masdevallia veitchiana) and hoya vines (Hoya carnosa has her heart!) and is passionate about tending to her garden. Rosalie is captivated by how quickly a garden can evolve. Rosalie enjoys getting lost in a good fantasy or science fiction book (especially works written by Terry Pratchett and Patricia Briggs). When she needs a pick-me-up, Rosalie turns to watching "terrible" science fiction movies (The Predator and The Fifth Element are her most treasured!). Rosalie thinks the berry that best describes her is a gooseberry because she can be a little prickly sometimes but is sweet on the inside. #dreamteam #agriculture #ag #strawberries #berries #berryplants #greenhouse #grower