Spring Brook Farm

by Nicole Zappone @TheChronicleCT

MANSFIELD — For six generations, the Green family has owned and operated Spring Brook Farm in Storrs. The farm is run by Karen Green and her two sons, Quinn and Olin Green. Quinn and Olin Green oversee most of the operations, including the farm stand and property maintenance. The farm, located on Stafford Road, is home to a few hundred acres of land and several different types of livestock.

Quinn and Olin Green of Spring Brook Farm in front of their farm stand on Stafford Road.

Spring Brook Farm has been in existence since the 1700s, starting out on Ravine Road and expanding over time. The family did a great deal of trading and bartering to get what they needed for the farm. The family would go around doing deliveries of eggs and milk. The farm milked cows until about 2000.

Quinn and Olin Green grew up attending Montessori Schools and later attended UConn for their college education. Quinn Green graduated with a degree in plant science, and Olin Green graduated with a degree in engineering. He also has a master’s and is working toward a PhD. Olin Green works on anything that needs fixing on the property, such as a fence that was recently installed.

For about a year and a half, they have had the farm stand open. “We’ve always had a dream of putting something out here,” Quinn Green said. “I graduated my degree in plant science and it was that winter when I said to try something out front.” It was then that he ordered a variety of seeds and started with plants and vegetables. For the vegetable plants that didn’t sell, he planted them in the garden. Everything is all natural with no spraying, straight from the ground.

“Any of my produce, you can pick up fresh,” he said. “People went by and saw the lambs and the cattle, and we have chickens. We always raised the meat ourselves.” The farm has introduced chicken, turkey, duck, beef, pork, and as of this week, lamb. According to Green, the meat often sells very fast, and once it’s gone, it doesn’t come back until a few months later, as it takes time to raise the livestock. “People refer to me as the meat man as my name for their household,” he said. “We started with plants, it turned into produce, and then into meat.”

Karen Green said when people hear about recalls of the meat, they often see an increase in customers. The farm’s livestock includes Katahdin sheep (a meat breed with hair, not wool) and various breeds raised for their products, such as Pekin and Muscovy ducks for meat and eggs, Cornish Rock chickens for meat, Rhode Island Red chickens for eggs, and Hereford and Angus cattle for beef.

There are also Devon cattle, which are a triple-purpose breed of cattle that is used for milk, for meat, and for oxen. The farm uses them for meat and sells an occasional team. They are a brush-eating cattle that graze the pasture and woods, helping to keep the land trimmed.

Other livestock at the farm include Duroc and Yorkshire pigs for meat, and Broad Breasted White and White Holland turkeys for meat. In addition to the livestock, the Green family also raises plants and vegetables that are USDA certified.

The farm stand at the gate of the property offers a variety of options, from fresh meat, produce, and other farm-fresh products. Meat products available year-round include beef, chicken, duck, pork, lamb, sausages, kielbasa, ham steaks, bacon, duck and chicken eggs.

The stand is open year-round on Thursday and Friday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are additional times the stand is open when the family can take breaks from daily farm work. Payment options include cash, Venmo and Zelle.

Spring Brook Farm is located at 1090 Stafford Road in Storrs. For more information, visitthegreensfarm1.com.