Brian Bennett1249 State Highway 184, Heuvelton, NY 13654

(315) 344-0443

Employment: 2001 – Present Owner/Operator, Bittersweet Farm, Heuvelton, NY.

Operate full-time, year-round, diversified organic agricultural enterprise. Including, but not limited to organic pest management, crop planning, fruit, vegetable and livestock production, season extension in 3 tunnels and 1 greenhouse, and post harvest handling of fruits and vegetables. Direct marketing to customers through 2 Farmers’ Markets and wholesale through Growers’ Cooperative. Instruct students from St. Lawrence Univer-sity, SUNY Potsdam, and Clarkson University in general farm practices, as well as oversee volunteersinterested in sustainable skills. NOFA – NY

Organic Farmer of the Year 2014.

2011 – 2012 Consultant, North Country Grown Cooperative,Massena, NY. Crop Specialist meeting with thirty different growers to create forecasts for harvest and sale. Responsible for maintaining written logs, as well as creating spreadsheets and data entry for a new online order and inventory control program.

1999 – 2011 Organic Consultant, C.A.R.I. at Iroquois Farm, Lisbon, NY. Evaluated farm resources. Planned for the production of small fruits and vegetables, including field preparation, irrigation, weed and pest management, as well as designing an outdoorpacking and handling facility. In 2011, prepared written seed specifications, recommendations,and projected yields for production and continued organic certification under NOFA NY Certified Organic LLC.

2006 – 2008 Organic Consultant, Champlain Heirloom Farm,Rouses Point, NY. Visited farm several times to evaluate all farm resources and interpret soil tests.Provided step-by-step written instructions regardingfitting fields, soil test recommendations, cover cropping, season extension, IPM, and weed

management. Sourced certified organic transplants for 10 acre commercial production of organic tomatoes, for future organic processing.

1999 – 2001 Farm Manager, Cornell Cooperative Extension,

Canton, NY. Provide assistance and support for theday to day operation, production, and research dem-onstration aspects of the educational farm. Respon-sible for inventory control, ordering supplies, equip-ment maintenance log, and supervision of non- edu-cator staff.

1985 – 1999 Owner/Operator, Breakneck Brook Farm, West

Baldwin, ME. Operate small-scale, part-time, diversified, organic farm. Specialized in raised bed production of vegetables and herbs, as well as freerange poultry production. Oversaw start-up of localFarmers’ Market and sold wholesale to restaurants.Worked closely with Soil and Water ConservationServices to ensure sustainable practices for soil erosion control and water quality.

Winter 1996 Teamster, Peace Fleece Woolens, Porter, ME. Cared for and harnessed draft horses for woodswork. Worked with logger to skid pine logs and birch to roadside for sale to mill.

1991 – 1996 General Manager/Director of Operations, BorduasGraphics, Westbrook, ME. Managed the largestscreen printing company in the state of Maine. Re-sponsble for all employee concerns, payroll, federaland state requirements, scheduling, inventory, and production planning. Oversaw sales staff and suc-cessfully increased sales by 200%. Relied upon for 12 years of technical experience to conduct research.

1983 – 1996 Management Level Positions, Allen Screen Printing and Borduas Graphics, Maine

Education: 1997 Customer Service TrainingXerox University

1996 Maine Quality Center, IDEXX Session III,Southern Maine Technical College

1995 Crisis Intervention Training Sweetser Children’s Services

1989 Sheep Shearing SchoolUniversity of Maine Orono

1988 Basic Supervision CourseKeye Productivity Center

1982 B.F.A. Painting/PrintmakingMaine College of Art

1979 B.S. Candidate Plant Science/Agricultural Re-sources, University of Rhode Island

1978 A.A. Liberal Arts/BookeepingCommunity College of Rhode Island

Community Organizations: Friends of Bittersweet Farm, Director of Education and Community Outreach

Heifer Project International, Core Member Northern NY Farmers’ Partnership

Member, Canton Farmers’ MarketMember, Ogdensburg Greenmarket (co-founder)

References: Sandra Porter (315) 393-3620

Reginald Sapp (315) 379-1333

Brenda Papineau (315) 229-5255

Paul Hetzler (315) 386-1443