Clover Nook Farm
Farmer
About
Clover Nook Farm is an 8th generation family owned farm located in Bethany, CT founded in 1765 and is about 20 minutes north of New Haven. The farm is 90 acres in total, with about 60 acres of tillable land. Our farm utilizes sustainable farming practices to conserve the land our family has worked for generations. We grow primarily sweet corn, pumpkins, beef cattle, and mixed vegetables, with sweet corn being our primary crop. Recently, we started a Kiwiberry vineyard as a niche product to include with our other offerings.
We raise British White cattle, a heritage breed, with animal welfare and nutrition our top priority. Our beef cattle are raised using a rotational grazing system during the summertime and fed hay we produce ourselves during the winter - no feed is imported. In addition to beef, the livestock play a critical role in our soil fertility management as we utilize composted manure as our primary soil amendment on the farm.
Clover Nook Farm has a year-round farm market now, which was recently expanded to better serve our local community as a source for high quality, locally made and grown foods. The farm store is our primary outlet for all of the products we raise ourselves, and we have partnered with many other farmers and food makers to offer their products as well.
Programs and Partners
Production Practices
Integrated Pest Management Antibiotic And Hormone Free Pastured Non Gmo Crop Rotation Cover Crops Low Till
We utilize many farming practices to achieve successful and ethical production of the food we raise, with sustainability being a top priority when making management decisions.
Location
Bethany, CT
Manager
My name is Lars Demander and I grew up on my family's farm, Clover Nook Farm, in Bethany, CT. My parents moved back to the farm and took over operation when I was a child, as the farm was nearly sold off and developed but they did not want to see that happen. The farm was a dairy farm before they took over in 1991, slowly transitioning to retail vegetables at our roadside stand.
I later attended Cornell University for my undergraduate degree in Agricultural Science, specializing in sustainable agriculture. After my Bachelor's, I attended UConn and earned my Master's degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics in 2015. I then returned to the farm full time, and knew we needed to expand the retail operation if the farm was to support my parents and myself. I applied for and was awarded the CT Dept of Agriculture Farm Reinvestment Grant in 2016 to construct a new retail farm store as a way to expand the retail business. This led to the growth of the farm business, increasing on farm sales by 74% in two years and going from 2 employees to 8. For this success, I was recognized as the CT Outstanding Young Farmer in 2018. I have continued to grow the farm operation since, and converted the farm store to a year round market for our local community as a source for food during the COVID pandemic.
Recently, we were awarded and received the Dept of Agriculture Farm Transition Grant in 2022 to expand our farm store in order to continue to innovate and diversify our farm operation.
Currently, our farm employs 11 people aside from my parents and I.
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