There is something simply magical when plants first emerge from the soil. One thing that never seems to get old, or boring even for us farmers who plant year, after year. The kind of thing that stops you in your tracks, the world seems to just stand still for that small moment, as you take in the glimpse of new life. It is gasps of excitement as we ooh and ahh over the first seedlings, just as if they were a precious newborn baby. They are our babies after all, as farmers we nurture them with our love, care, and patience as they grow to maturity. This moment it may be just a few seedlings emerging from the soil, but as the weeks go on there’s hundreds and even thousands in a bustling greenhouse, then acres upon acres of fields filled with hopes, dreams, and love. This is where our season and our story begin. The story of Cheyenne’s.

Cheyenne was born as the sun set on a beautiful February evening. She was the first born, the next generation, and the inspiration that kept the family farm going at a time when it had seemed all but gone. We renamed the farm Cheyenne’s after her and that spring vegetables and fruits were planted while Cheyenne in her stroller giggled at the birds flying by and napped under the shade trees. Our little 5^th generation farmer learned to crawl on farm fields, learned to sit on her own at the farm stand, and as she grew so did our crops, our farm and our family.

Our family had farmed here in Marlton, New Jersey for over 100 years before Cheyenne was born. Once known as Higginbotham Farms, and Lone Willow Farm before that, our family had worked on, or farmed just about every single field in Marlton over the last century. Always a small family business focused on growing the highest quality crops, best tasting produce and doing right by the Earth. So it goes in family farms with each new generation, the next is there to step up and take over the family business. Here we were, new parents, running the family farm and ready to see where those adventures would take us.

We knew we had to step up and keep the family farm going for the next generation, not just for our family but for the community. Farms were disappearing at a rapid rate, as more and more buildings put in their place. Just as much as we didn’t want Cheyenne to grow up without the farm, we couldn’t bear the thought of the children in our community growing up without one either. At our core we will always be a farm here for the community, especially the children. It goes far beyond just farming. We are out in the schools teaching, in the community helping, and doing everything we possibly can to make our farm a place that people of all ages simply smile when they talk about it.

We were blessed to have incredible farmers before us, who taught us everything they knew from the best tasting corn to the prettiest peppers, even perfecting hay. We continued in their footsteps but added our own steps as well. We stretched out into things our family never grew before like herbs, loofah sponges, husk cherries, and orange watermelon. Once Cheyenne learned to talk and point she added her steps too in growing colorful heirloom tomatoes, fields of sunflowers, onions, and animals too. Cheyenne’s sister Kiara then came into this world with a love for color and sparkle, she influenced more color, more variety, more fruits, and more of the unique and rare. We continue with the best of the best Jersey classics from their grandfather’s generation, and the generations before him and we also stay inspired to try new and rare which our younger generation inspires.

Today we grow over 50 crops, on around 500 acres, across 7 different municipalities. Our Cheyenne is NJ’s Miss Teen Agriculture, and still working hard here on the farm. We are in our 17^th year as Cheyenne’s Market. This year we started this website with on the farm pick up and local delivery and our very 1^st ever blog! Featuring plants we grow on our farm. You can grow what “the farmer grows”, the same plants grown with love by our family in greenhouses built by our very own hands. Every single variety has a story, and a reason we grow it. Now they’re ready to become a part of your garden, your family, your story. We hope you enjoy the newest way to shop Cheyenne’s!