Massachusetts

Rachel coordinates the tri-state SARE program for CT-MA-RI, focusing on providing educational training to both agricultural service providers and farmers in the area of sustainable livestock production practices. Before joining the tri-state team in 2017, Rachel worked in the animal nutrition field at a Connecticut feed mill as well as a local feed retailer. Rachel grew up on a small family farm in Northeast Connecticut, raising beef cattle. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and, in 2011, earned a Master of Science degree in Animal Science with a focus in animal nutrition. Rachel and her husband currently raise beef cattle, poultry and swine for local meat sales on his family's farm in southern Connecticut.

Clem is the director of the University of Massachusetts Extension Agriculture Program. Previously, he was the executive director of Grow Food Northampton, a non-profit that promotes food security by advancing sustainable agriculture in Massachusetts, and also spent 10 years as program director for the Trust for Public Land where he managed the Connecticut River and Community Agriculture programs. Clem has a Master’s degree in public policy and administration from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science degree in the Soil Environment from UC Berkeley. He grew up on a Vermont maple farm, and spent time in his early career as a small-scale vegetable farmer in Vermont and farmers’ market manager in California.