About Our Family
Hello,
my name is Vaughn Rasar. My wife, Jean, and I have been growing strawberries
here at Rome Strawberry Patch for the last 24 years.
When we purchased this 75-acre abandoned farm in 1974, the fields were over grown and the work of restoring the land began. We enjoyed working the land nights and weekends, while pursuing our careers and raising our two children, Laura and Peter. Our children helped in the early years of our strawberry farm by planting, weeding and irrigating the crop… and of course picking rocks! In 1983, we opened to the public for our very first picking season.
The early years of my career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service allowed me to work with farmers to plan and apply soil conservation practices to their land. I helped farmers by day and applied the same knowledge on my off hours at home to control water and renew the soil’s fertility by growing cover crops on our farm.
For the last fifteen years, I worked with the Heart of Maine Resource Conservation and Development Council on projects related to community development, forestry and agriculture. About five years ago, my passion for sustainable farming and the Council’s focus on agriculture yielded a soil quality education program that has helped countless Maine farmers (including myself) adopt more sustainable farming methods. As the program was blossoming at work, our family began the transition from conventional farming practices to sustainable, biological farming methods to grow high Brix, nutrient dense strawberries (see " our secret " for more on nutrient density and Brix).
Jean has enjoyed a successful career as a nurse. She has also worked tirelessly to support and help grow the farm business.
The whole family, in one way or another, has helped make Rome Strawberry Patch what it is today. The kids are now on their own, successfully pursuing their own careers. Peter is an accomplished carpenter here in Maine and still likes to help at the stand during the busy picking season. Laura directs the activities of a national public health organization in Washington D.C. She and her husband, Bob, recently brought along the next generation, our first grandson, B.J., who inspires us to keep going long into the future.
View looking south from top of French Mountain.
