HISTORY

About Amy Cloud and Segue Lara….

Amy Cloud grew up on a large, conventional dairy and cash crop farm in south-west lower Michigan. She graduated from Calvin College in 2000 (with a literature degree!) and has been apprenticing and managing CSA farms ever since. She has been fortunate to work with some of the most successful and respected organic farmers in the country. She has spent two seasons working at Brookfield Farm in Amherst, MA, (www.brookfieldfarm.org) one of the first CSA farms in the country, with over 500 members and 25 acres of vegetables. She also spent a season working at Angelic Organics in Rockford, IL (www.angelicorganics.com), which is one of the largest CSA’s in the country with over 1200 families and 50 acres of vegetables. Amy met her husband and farming soul mate, Segue Lara at Angelic Organics. They have been married since 2003. Finally, Amy was the growing manager at La Vista CSA, (www.lavistacsa.org), a non-profit garden located in Godfrey, IL on the property of the Oblates. She managed the CSG from its conception year of 65 members in 2003 through 2005. It is here that she gained experience growing naturally grown vegetables in the warmer, extended, southern Illinois climate.

After three years managing La Vista, Amy and Segue were ready to start their own farm and in 2006 contacted Gary Fleener at Principia College to see about leasing land. The college responded with support and excitement. Three Rivers Community Farm was born in December 2006, with the lease of 12 acres located just behind the quaint town of Elsah at the corner of Chataqua and Elsah Road.

Segue Lara grew up in Aguascalientes, Mexico. He is an avid soccer player, artist and nurturing vegetable grower. Segue came to the States in 2002 to work at Angelic Organics to learn more about chemical-free farming in the United States. Amy and Segue grew their relationship alongside the infinite rows of tomatoes, broccoli, and sweet corn at Angelic. They were married at a small ceremony in November 2003 at the Nature Institute in Godfrey. Segue also spent a season working at Full Bloom Organic Farm in Whatley, MA. Full Bloom is one of the largest organic farms on the East Coast with over 125 acres of vegetables and 10 greenhouses. Segue learned about chemical-free farming on a very large scale while working at Full Bloom.

Both Amy and Segue are grateful for the relationships they have cultivated over their years of farming. Both sets of their parents, along with their time at La Vista CSG, and their time with Dan Kaplan, John Peterson, and DeWitt Thompson have taught them everything they know and provide a generous resource for whatever questions, obstacles, and stories they encounter.



They are a down-to-earth, fun-loving, hard-working couple and can’t wait to grow vegetables for YOU!!