We’re Jameson and Sarah, farmers and owners of LocaBerry. We operate our farm on leased land at the historic (and protected!) Emery Farm in Durham, New Hampshire. We grow fruits and vegetables for our LocaBox CSA, the Cafe & Market and other local markets on the Seacoast. This is a new adventure for us but our connection to the land and our passion for agriculture goes back decades.

Jameson’s grandparents moved from Connecticut to New Hampshire in 1966, first settling down in the “Brown House” at Emery Farm. He grew up in Rollinsford and spent his falls and winters coming to the farm for pumpkins and Christmas trees as a child. In 2017 he was connected with David and Catherine Hills, the owners of Emery Farm, as the family began a search for the next generation of farmers to take over as farmer Brad Towle was planning on retiring after over 30 years of farming the property.

The planning for LocaBerry began at that very moment.

Jameson has worked in agriculture and food system development in New Hampshire since 2011. He was fortunate enough to work on some of the Seacoast’s most iconic farms: Tuttle’s, Applecrest and Brookford Farm. Through this he has gained extensive experience managing organic vegetable operations, developing unique direct-to-consumer and wholesale markets and helping farmers scale their businesses sustainably. He last served as the Fresh Start Farms Program Director at the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success where he led the creation of the Fresh Start Food Hub along with the New Hampshire Food Hub Network.

LocaBerry launched in 2022 and is currently cultivating mixed vegetables, strawberries, blueberries and peaches on its leased 14 acres and 8,000 square feet of high tunnel space.

As agriculture as evolved into the 21st century, so has its operations. Emery Farm “proper'' is unique in its ownership and management structure. The whole property is owned by the Hills Family Trust. The Main House, Brown House, Carriage House and Main Barn are cared for by the Hills. The “Cafe and Market at Emery Farm” has been operated by Holly Philbrick since 2016 and continues to this day. Sections of the remaining farmland and abutting forest is leased and managed by LocaBerry.

Innovation and adaptation are what make LocaBerry’s products and experiences stand out from traditional New England producers. Four hoop houses are utilized for the production of heirloom varieties of tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and cucumbers along with additional niche products like ginger, turmeric, raspberries, and winter greens.

Under the protection of low-tunnels, LocaBerry’s flagship product, day neutral strawberries are grown. Day neutral varieties enable fresh strawberries to be picked and marketed from June through November. These varieties are used in the most popular production methods in Canada, California and Florida and are just beginning to emerge in the more “traditional” June-bearing focused Northeast. Our focus is to quickly scale the switch to more sustainable production methods for such a popular fruit.

The fields are also home to over three existing acres of blueberries and an acre of peaches which have a well established customer base for PYO after over 30 seasons. LocaBerry is also looking to develop field production of other niche accompanying products like blackberries, raspberries and winter squashes.

Beyond the standard suite of fruit and vegetable operations, agro-tourism is a substantial element of operations for LocaBerry. Weekend hayrides and school tours have been a standard at Emery Farm for decades.

If you are interested in exploring or collaborating for programming such as custom guided farm tours, workshops and farm dinners, please reach out to Jameson here.