Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Baker.
Hi Samantha, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 1995 at the University of Maryland I met Rob. We weren’t actually strangers because we had attended high school together. I knew he grew up on a farm and. I grew up down the street. Flash forward 30 years later, married, two young adult sons and a farm, market, and food truck I am helping my family keep the farming legacy my husbands family has had for almost 100 years.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Working with family is always a struggle. Everyone has different ideas and perspectives and there’s the emotional component. I studied education at University of Maryland and was a teacher for close to 20 years. I got very ill in 2013 and had to stop teaching. Ten years later I slowly integrated into the fold at the farm which began as necessity, in order to have a fully invested person as we opened our farm market in 2023. My mom died a few months before we opened so it was a really difficult time for me personally.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
When we initially opened the Farm market, we had our sites on being set to highlight our farm raised beef, pork lamb, and goat products as well as our homemade soft serve ice cream. We quickly realized that there were a lot of other people around us making their own products and didn’t have a place to sell them consistently. I knew I wanted a hub of community connection and engaged with many local producers to carry their items year round. I feel that this connection and the high quality product we raise sets us apart in our area.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love seeing regular customers who enjoy visiting the farm market and we know by name. I equally love meeting new faces who happen upon us during a drive in the country and want to try our ice cream but end up taking home a steak, honey, coffee or sausage and learning something about agriculture in the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.deerevalleyfarms.com
- Instagram: Dvf_md
- Facebook: Deere valley farms
