The first time I met Emily Clevenger was at Farmer Mike’s U Pick a year ago during a Neapolitan Family photo shoot in the hot and dusty corn fields of the family farm. While Emily was pointing out the best areas to photograph the newly blooming sunflowers and the still-white pumpkins, both of which she anticipated soon would be bursting with color, her toddler sons, Blake and Carter, played barefoot in the soil and sand, trailing her while stopping to observe the familiar tracts of produce. Emily apologized for her sons being so messy, but they clearly were an organic visual of what life is like growing up on a farm: delightfully dirty and sun-kissed while being raised by their parents and Mother Nature.
One year later, the boys are now 3 and 2 years old, and the Clevenger family has added one more blossom to the family crops: daughter Avery was born in August. Currently, they are preparing for their popular fall festival, which Farmer Mike delights in hosting each year.
How did your husband and you meet? My husband and I met at a small gym run by some of his friends. I had recently gotten my Jeep Wrangler lifted, and it came back with all sorts of problems. I walked out of the gym one night and saw (another) lifted truck. I busted back in the gym saying “Whose truck is that?” Mike looked up from his workout. I asked him who did the lift. He said he did it himself. He walked outside to look at mine, and the rest is history.
What were your thoughts about marrying a farmer? I actually come from a farming family. My father is a tomato and pepper breeder, and my mother and aunt worked out in Immokalee on a farm where my sister, cousin, and I spent a lot of time growing up. When we started dating and I mentioned the Clevenger name my father was thrilled. He had known Mike and his father over the years through farming.
What is Farmer Mike’s U Pick? My father-in-law – Farmer Mike, Sr. – has been running Farmer Mike’s U Pick for over 20 years in Bonita Springs. Five years ago, my husband “Farmer Mike, Jr.” found himself going back to his roots, wanting to grow the family farm. He took over everyday operations. We quickly implemented a strategy to share the farm experience with the community and started hosting the fall festival. A little over two years ago, we started our wholesale foodservice distribution, which supplies produce and flowers straight off the farm to local supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants. We strive to grow the cleanest and freshest produce and enjoy watching the community out on the farm, excited to be picking their own produce.
What are your jobs on the farm? I currently host all the school field trips around the farm, as well as birthday parties and special events, and now run our annual Community Supported Agriculture program.
How do your children help with the farm? The kids love to “help” me with field trips. They can both pretty much recite word-for-word the tour I give since they are with me every day. My husband and father-in-law can’t wait to put them to work on the water wagon in years to come!
What would surprise us about life as a farming family? It never ends. My husband’s phone goes off at all times with problems that he must tend to. Especially during rain storms, from a light rain to a hurricane (such as recent Hurricane Dorian), he doesn’t sleep. He and my father-in-law stay on the radar until it passes. In farming you don’t really have control, Mother Nature does so it’s stressful since it is what provides for our family.
What does your family love about farm life? Being a part of an awesome family business that is constantly growing is my favorite thing. The hard work, dedication, and long hours that everyone puts in to make it successful are so humbling, and it teaches the kids great work ethics. The kids love tractor rides with Dad, running barefoot through the farm, and picking and eating everything right off the plants.
Do your kids eat their vegetables? Yes! Every night I cook multiple veggies for dinner. Broccoli, romanesco, carrots, and cauliflower are some of their favorites. Although their favorite way to eat vegetables is straight off the vine at the farm. They eat heirloom tomatoes like apples!
Have you ever lost your kids on the farm? Last year, my sister and I were running the ticket booth during the fall festival, and the boys were running around playing with another boy, per usual. I was watching them and noticed Carter (he was 1 at the time) went behind a food trailer. My kids have never been wanderers, so I wasn’t too worried. I finished my transaction and I walked back to grab Carter. He wasn’t there. Pure panic set in as it was the parking lot right behind the trailer. My husband, my sister, and I took off in separate directions looking. I frantically ran to the parking lot manager and told him stop every car before they leave and check the car for Carter. After about five minutes of frantically running through the farm looking for him, my sister saw him with the mother of the boy he was playing with 50 yards away on the pumpkin patch. I’ve never been more scared in my life. We bought tracking devices to clip to them both after that.
Describe your experience going from two to three kids. Honestly, it has been the easiest transition for me. I run a tight ship with rules, routine, and high expectations of their behaviors, which has made the transition easy, because essentially nothing has changed; there is just a little girl tagging along. We have resumed our normal daily routine with play dates and errands as we wait for field trips to start up in October.