Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett is dedicated to nourishing families in the local community and inspiring the next generation of farmers through its apprenticeship program. Co-founders Katie Baldwin and Amanda Merrow recently introduced the new “Amber Waves FarmCast” podcast, where they share stories about agriculture, sustainability, and the beautiful ways food and farming can strengthen a community.
We spoke to Merrow to learn more.
What inspired you to start Amber Waves Farm, and how has your mission evolved since the early days?
We met while doing a farming apprenticeship at Quail Hill Farm back in 2008, where we both fell in love with farming, and by July of that year, we were scheming about how we could keep farming together here in Amagansett. When we started Amber Waves Farm, we envisioned creating something bigger than ourselves, something that would outlive us. Our original plan, the “Amagansett Wheat Project,” was built on our daydream of starting a “pizza farm.” Our name, Amber Waves, is an ode to grain production. We decided early on to be a nonprofit organization because being a mission-driven teaching farm has always been fundamentally important to us.
Starting in 2009, during the financial crisis, we had no money and had to be “scrappy as hell.” The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model was crucial, providing us with that initial “seed money” early in the season to launch with just 18 families.
Our mission of teaching people about food and farming is still our driving principle, but now we’re able to do it on a larger scale. Beyond the CSA and school field trips we started with, we have a rigorous farming apprenticeship program, a children’s outdoor classroom and curriculum, fields open to the public, a year-round market and kitchen, and collaborative working relationships with local food pantries. As we’ve grown, we’ve been able to enhance and expand the way we serve our community.
Amber Waves is both a working farm and a nonprofit. How do you balance the dual role of producing food and serving the community?
Every dollar generated from our market goes right back into funding our core programs: children’s education, training new farmers, food access (donating thousands of pounds of produce), and public access. This vertical integration — from seed to plate — is essential, allowing everyone to see the full arc of food production on one property.
Training new farmers and teaching children about food is not efficient, and it isn’t cheap. But it is critically important work that we’re honored to do. For our apprenticeship program in particular, incorporating farmer training into our production model enhances our trainees’ learning experience and makes Amber Waves an ideal environment in which to train.
Tell us about your new “Amber Waves FarmCast” podcast, and how you’re expanding the conversation around agriculture, sustainability, and building community through food and farming.
We were thrilled to launch the inaugural “Amber Waves FarmCast” this season! This new episodic series is designed to expand our educational mission, hosting real conversations about the future of farming and real, daily life on our farm. We’re moving beyond Amagansett to explore topics like sustainability, regional food systems, training new farmers, and food justice and access.
We’ll be inviting exciting guests — chefs, filmmakers, and other growers — to talk about the challenges and opportunities in food today, such as the farmer shortage. This approach strengthens our platform and brings the flavor and the fun of our farm right to all eaters.
You focus on education at Amber Waves. How do you introduce young people to sustainable farming?
Our educational mission is built on creating stewards of the natural world by turning our farm into a living classroom. We teach thousands of children annually through hands-on experiences that make seasonality a tangible experience.
We highlight subject matter like regenerative farming practices and the power of living soil with age-appropriate, engaging activities and play, like observing and touching the red wiggler worms we use in the outdoor classroom compost.
By planting, harvesting, cooking, and tasting, kids connect directly with their food. We’re seeding the idea that healthy eating is rooted in biological stewardship, so whether children are later inspired to pursue careers in food and agriculture or simply grow up to be more thoughtful eaters, they carry with them a deeper respect for the land and the food system that sustains us all.
