Farmer Matt Conver grew up in Pennsburg, Pa., where a part-time job bailing hay first introduced him to farming. He remembers thinking that it was something he would love to do for a living.

After studying environmental science at East Stroudsburg University, Matt interned at Flickerville Mountain Farm in central Pa. in 1997 and then, from 1998 to 2001, at North Slope Farm in Lambertville, NJ. Along with Mary Stuehler and Chris Thern, Matt started Cherry Grove Organic Farm in 2002 when he was offered the opportunity to lease 19 acres of land from the Hamill family.