Peachy Keen Future
Peachy Keen Future
The future of Alstede Farms looks peachy keen thanks to family members inheriting the passion for growing food and learning the business including the oldest child in the Alstede Family, Rebekah A. Alstede. Rebekah is an integral part of the succession plan for Alstede Farms as she follows in her father’s footsteps and as March… Read More »
The future of Alstede Farms looks peachy keen thanks to family members inheriting the passion for growing food and learning the business including the oldest child in the Alstede Family, Rebekah A. Alstede. Rebekah is an integral part of the succession plan for Alstede Farms as she follows in her father’s footsteps and as March is Women in Business month we are proud to tell you a little about this aspiring future leader.
Rebekah is currently studying agribusiness and sustainable agriculture systems at Delaware Valley University class of 2023. Rebekah was inspired by watching her dad, Kurt W. Alstede, first generation farmer and founder of Alstede Farms, and has always been a part of the farm throughout her lifetime. Growing up on the farm was one of her favorite experiences and she has known for a long time that she wanted to continue to be a part of agriculture and her families farm. In fact, the more she has gotten involved in the industry as Collegiate Farm Bureau President, through additional studies and farm tours across the nation, she has fallen in love with the industry even more so.
Her love of being around customers and sharing how food is grown is one of her driving forces. She’s passionate about sharing details about agriculture from first-hand experiences in the field and loves creating beautiful displays for farmers markets utilizing fruits and veggies grown on her family farm. She treasures being part of food production that sustains her community and considers it a privilege to serve in this capacity.
Rebekah is working hard toward her aspirations and strives to be the general manager of the farm in the future, managing the farm along with her siblings. She has dutifully watched and been a part of farm operations since she can remember, and post-graduation plans include her back on her farm working at the supervisor level learning all aspects as she works her way up to managerial levels. She also plans to summer intern at a different farm to gain more knowledge and insight into the industry.
Rebekah can be found on summer break from school assisting at farmers markets in northern NJ
which she uses as an opportunity to share farming practices with those from outside her direct community. Winters she can be found working with the farm production team to prepare the fields for planting in the spring learning valuable insights along the way. Other winter learning opportunities for her include mowing down corn mazes, mulching the strawberries to keep them warm, pruning apple trees to allow for light to enter, and splitting wood to keep us all warm!
When asked what the biggest challenges are facing agriculture today, she indicates that it’s the lack of younger farmers and states “The average age of the farmer is 56 and growing. This is a serious problem because if we do not have enough farmers to take over food production we will be in trouble. This is one of the reasons why I am so passionate to become a young farmer and work with those at my school to also be younger farmers.”
Rebekah shared that one of her favorite experiences every year is being able to walk outside her front door and pick strawberries in the strawberry patch and is grateful be able to harvest fruits and veggies for her families’ meals without having to run to the store. We agree and thank Rebekah for her hard work learning the business of growing healthy and nutritious food for us all!
