Meet the Farmers

BJ’s Farm to Club program was designed to support the small farms that make it their goal to grow and sell quality local produce for their communities. Learn more about some of the great farmers BJ’s partners with to deliver fresh produce to Members from their own backyards.

Maryland

• Arnold Farms in Chestertown
  
  • Bob Arnold and his family have owned and operated Arnold Farms for more than 25 years — the first-generation farm spans 400 acres of Maryland’s eastern shore. Summer season begins with fresh, juicy strawberries and continues with summer squash, sweet corn, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and melons. Fall brings hearty butternut and acorn squash, cauliflower, and pumpkins.
• Miller Farms in Clinton
  
  • Established in 1840, Miller Farms has been owned by the Miller family for over 170 years. This 267-acre farm grows a wide array of fresh fruit and crisp vegetables from cucumbers and eggplant to blueberries and peaches.

Ohio

• Michael Farms in Urbana
  
  • More than 50 years ago, Michael Farms started as a small potato farm on 130 acres. Two generations later, the farm has grown to nearly 3,000 acres of naturally rich mineral soil in the Ohio Valley. The Michael family grows sweet corn, green beans, cabbage, and potatoes, winning awards for environmental stewardship, vegetable growing achievements, and more. And, 10 grandchildren look forward to being the next generation of Michael family farmers.
• Wiers Family Farm in Willard
  
  • After moving to the United States from the Netherlands in 1881, Henry Wiers started a celery farm 15 years later on five acres of muck lands near Willard, OH. Using draining techniques from the Netherlands, the land was made farmable and became to be known as Celeryville. Over 100 years and five generations later, the Wiers family crops nearly 3,000 acres in three states growing over a variety of 45 vegetables.
• D.R. Walcher Farms in North Fairfield
  
  • Doug Walcher Farms has been producing top quality vegetables since 1986. They grow and ship fresh green bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and yellow squash from July through October. In late August they begin shipping a full line of fall ornamental, which include miniature gourds, orange and white mini-pumpkins, and ornamental corn and winter squashes.

Virginia

• Kirby Farms in Mechanicsville
  
  • Since the early 1900s, four generations of the Kirby family have lovingly tended their 400 acres in historic Mechanicsville. They enjoy watching their produce evolve from tiny seedlings to high-quality, colorful, flavorful squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, mustard and collard greens, sweet potatoes, and watermelons.
• Parker Farms in Colonial Beach
  
  • Founded in 1974, with only two acres of vegetables and berries, Admiral Edelen Parker and his sons, Rhoderick and Christopher, launched a pick-your-own operation. Soon they expanded to offer their produce roadside and at a local farmers’ market. Today, the third generation of Parkers manages roughly 3,000 acres, with facilities that process, inspect, and ship fresh-grown broccoli, sweet corn, yellow squash, cucumbers, eggplant, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and zucchini.

To see the Farm to Club journey, view this video from BJ’s partner Botticello Farms in Manchester, CT: http://3blmedia.com/News/Fresh-Picked-Local-Farms-Delivered-Local-Clubs.