Driving down Peconic Bay Boulevard in Jamesport, you might miss it if you aren’t specifically looking for it. On a quiet plot of land in a residential neighborhood sits Golden Acres Organic Farm, marked by a roadside sign and a large flag billowing in the wind that says “OPEN.”
As we make our way down the tree-lined drive leading to the old barn, the farm is very much in early-season mode; they opened for the summer just a day prior on June 1. The farm shop is stocked with spring produce, the farm’s own honey and a collection of curated products that reflect the ethos of the farm. Ringing up customers is Caitlin Brennan, the daughter of owner Kelly Brennan, who managed the operation for years before officially taking the reins in 2024.
Farm manager Amy Fideli greets us and leads us out back, where we find Kelly in the seed room working on fall squash seedlings. It’s already been a busy week for the team, between working three weekend markets and hosting their first-ever wedding on the property. Fideli, who started helping her longtime friend during the pandemic and never left, marvels at what Kelly has continued to build.
”It amazes me every day. I don’t think Kelly gives herself enough credit for what she grows and produces… to come here and to see, like literally, her seeding to then harvesting, and what we’re selling in the shop… it’s amazing, that whole circle.”
Taking over a 37-acre farm wasn’t exactly in the original life plan for someone who spent over a decade as a mortgage underwriter. But for Brennan, stepping up to save this specific piece of Jamesport soil wasn’t just a business decision, it was a return to her roots.
‘The Little Farm by the Sea‘
Growing up in the area, Brennan fondly remembers its pre-organic farm days when “Doc” Brown, the local large-animal veterinarian, lived there. She was friends with the Browns’ children, who were around the same age.
“When I was a little kid, I played here… my mom used to sit on the corner and sell the strawberries and potatoes that [my grandpa] grew… so it’s kind of like a little full circle.”
Kelly recalls feeding the animals as she opens the barn doors to reveal the old cow stalls. She shares the story of 90-year-old Manhattan author Kay Chorao, who wrote “The Little Farm by the Sea” (published in 1998) based on this exact farm. The cows’ names from the book are still visible on wooden nameplates attached to the barn’s crossbeams, and Kelly makes a point to hand the storybook to visiting preschool kids today.
“Never knew I would end up here, but this is where we are.”
The ‘expensive hobby‘
Brennan spent 13 years working in Manhattan before taking a job as the farm’s office manager when it was owned by Matt Kurek and Maggie Wood and known as Golden Earthworm. She is quick to point out that her initial duties didn’t include anything remotely related to farming.
“I came on as a manager to do office work, which I have a background in,” Kelly says. “But as I was managing it, I just was like, ‘Well, can I go outside? Can I go seed? Can I go cut some kale?’ And they just let me do whatever I wanted to.”
By the time the previous stewards decided they were moving home to their farm in Vermont, Brennan couldn’t imagine a world without this little corner of the North Fork. She stepped up to take the reins to save the jobs of the crew, who had become a family to her.
“My entire crew here… they’ve been here 16, 17 and 18 years. It’s all they know is organic farming. They grew up here… It’s a family. So I was like, you want to do it, let’s do it.”
Despite the massive undertaking, Kelly takes the financial realities of farming in stride.
“Can I live off of this? Probably not,” she admits. “This is my expensive hobby, as my husband calls it. But you know, it’s the meaning of it.”
Pollinators and paperwork
As we make our way behind the barn, she points out the beehives of The Golden Apiary and the bat houses near the pond, installed courtesy of the Quogue Wildlife Refuge. She speaks with the reverence of someone who has farmed her whole life, firmly believing that this kind of thriving, natural ecosystem is the ultimate pest control.
“It makes a difference… my bees are happy,” Brennan adds. “They’re in between a little organic field. They have their own water source and pond.”
Still, the organic reality comes with two main pain points: paperwork and critter control. As a NOFA-NY certified organic farm, strict “seed-to-sale” tracking is required for every vegetable — a tedious paper trail that consumes most of Kelly’s winters.
Come summertime, her focus shifts to her ultimate nemesis: corn. As we make our way toward the electric fence surrounding her cornfields, she laughs at the “maximum carnival” of lengths she goes to protect her harvest from being decimated by animals or insects.
“It’s kind of been like a running joke… when you get your CSA, if you find a worm [in your corn], you get a prize,” she laughs.
From kale roses to Big Macs
Despite the challenges, Kelly is driven by an inherent need to nurture. She even admits to visiting Lowe’s just to buy the wilting plants off the discount rack because she “feels like they should all be alive.” Her creative approach to farming shows in their expansion from 10 to 15 farmed acres this year, their neighborhood ReWild compost drop-off and unique crops like Danish “kale roses” that have local dinner party hosts scrambling to buy them.
Yet, she remains refreshingly unpretentious. She’s an organic farmer who isn’t afraid to admit she eats fast food, but she fiercely believes clean food shouldn’t be a luxury.
“When I’m tired, I’m going to get a Big Mac. I’m not lying,” she laughs. “But it just makes me crazy to go into a grocery store… This [the organic produce] should be the normal corner. This should be out here, and that [other produce] should be labeled ‘we spray’.”
Strawberry stains and red faces
As one of the only organic U-pick strawberry patches on the East End, June is always a bustling time at the farm. And despite the unpredictability of opening up their fields to the public and the inevitable waste that comes with U-pick, it’s one of her favorite parts of the job.
“We want you in the field, we want you in the soil,” Kelly insists. “Every kid I give a quart to, I’m like, ‘You better come out with a red face. You better come out with strawberry stains on your clothes.'”
That focus on community extends well beyond the strawberry fields. As they start saying “yes” to more, the farm’s growing event calendar has expanded to include hosting Slow Food North Fork’s Earth Day celebrations, summer silent discos, and the annual North Fork Foodie Tour in September. Visitors can also catch their seasonal honey harvests every June and October, and they even have another wedding booked for 2027.
As we say our goodbyes, we decide to take Kelly’s advice and head into the strawberry fields with a couple of quart containers. “Feel free to snack along the way!” she calls out.
Making our way to the rows marked with little green flags, I do exactly that. Biting into the scarlet red center of a perfectly ripe, sun-warmed berry, listening for that signature “snap” off the vine — it’s a North Fork memory I plan to savor all summer long.
