Meet Modern Farmer’s Guest Instagrammers: Green Duchess Farm

It was the death of her mother from an aggressive form of cancer that led Jessica Isbrecht to leave her career in environmental consulting and return to her roots in farming.

“I decided to start my farm after losing my mother to cancer in 2013,” she tells Modern Farmer in an email. “Her battle with Lymphoma was quick and brutal. Losing her so suddenly left me with a deep hole in my soul. I saw the farm as a way to honor her memory and heal myself while providing healthy food for others.”

Isbrecht, 33, is a third-generation farmer who grew up on a horse and Christmas-tree farm in Long Valley, located in Northwest New Jersey. She was an active 4-H member growing up and earned recognition at the national level for her accomplishments in the organization.

Jessica Isbrecht and some of the turkeys she raises. Courtesy of Green Duchess Farm

Her love of animals and nature led to a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Delaware before she began working on indoor air quality projects for clients in the commercial real estate industry. Now she produces pastured pork, chicken and heritage turkeys – all raised without antibiotics or hormones – and a variety of organic vegetables on her six-acre farm located about an hour-and-a-half outside of New York City. The farm has a CSA and also sells at area farmers markets.

Isbrecht is a member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association and is a Journeyperson in the NOFA-NJ Beginning Farmers Program.

She says her farm’s mission is “to provide naturally grown, healthy, chemical-free vegetables and meats while respecting the land and ecosystems present on the farm.”

Heritage turkeys at Green Duchess Farm. Courtesy of Green Duchess Farm