Farmer of the Week: Queen's greens

Queen's Greens greenhouses.

Queen’s Greens, a charming farm in Amherst, MA, grows certified organic greens, herbs, and vegetables year-round on 30 acres of fields and greenhouses. Although it is rare for farms to grow winter crops, Queen's Greens harvests spinach twice a week through December! ​Queen’s Greens is owned and operated by Matt Biskup and Danya Teitelbaum, who work hard to incorporate sustainability on the farm every day. In addition to being an organic farm, they use compost, spread manure, and grow cover crops. Matt and Danya are careful to create and protect habitat for the critters that live along the brooks that run through their farm. When I spoke to Matt, he explained that “animals do eat your crops, but for the most part, having great places for animals to live helps the environment. Squirrels and humans alike have to work together to make a healthy and sustainable world.” ​

Danya Teitelbaum and Matt Biskup, owners of Queen’s Greens.

Both Matt and Danya feel strong ties to the five colleges and the pioneer valley and love being able to support their community through sustainable, healthy, local food. Danya is a Hampshire College graduate and Matt is a UMass Amherst alum. They have a view of the Du Bois library and Southwest towers from their farm every day while they work. ​

Matt  explained, “It feels very good to be providing food for other UMass students and staff. We are very lucky that institutions like UMass and the state in general are advocates for local food.” Not only does Queen's Greens provide winter greens and radishes for UMass Dining, they are also heavily involved with UMass Extension and the UMass Farm.  ​

Queen’s Greens' winter spinach.

Queen’s Greens baby spinach being washed.

​Matt loves being able to work outside and spend time in nature. “There is something special about working on the land and producing food,” Matt remarked. ​But no matter who you ask, you will never hear that farming is an easy job. During the summer, Danya and Matt work 80 hours a week, and Matt explained that farmers work so hard because their livelihood depends on it. ​“It can be a scary thing when you are relying on the income of the farm to survive and pay your bills. 

"Food can get expensive and I don’t know what kind of food we would be eating if we weren’t growing a lot of it ourselves.”  When I asked Matt what keeps him and Danya going through the long hours of hard work he said, “We try to work with the community as best we can to keep people eating local and enjoying what we grow. That makes it easy to stay optimistic.” ​

​Thank you so much to Matt and Danya for all of your contributions to UMass and our greater community, and a special thanks to Matt for speaking with us. For more information about Queen’s Greens, visit their website!

“Squirrels and humans alike have to work together to make a healthy and sustainable world.”
​-Matt Biskup