David Payne, owner and operator of Jennings Road Farm in Myakka City, grew up in Havelock North, New Zealand, a town that understands farming.
"If you wanted money, you went out and you picked, and when you're little, you picked raspberries and boysenberries and blackberries and strawberries. When you get a bit bigger, you pick more strawberries. When you get (even) bigger, you pick kiwi fruit."
Despite growing up in a farming town and turning his current property into a working farm from a junkyard eight years ago, Payne doesn't see himself as a farmer.
"I'm not a farmer. I have hogs, I have steers, and I'm not a farmer," Payne said. "I'm doing it, but I know who a farmer is and what a farmer does, I'm not at that level."
This is Payne's first season growing and selling blueberries. He bought all his blueberry plants from a different farm that closed down in June 2024. He said they are full of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber.
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