Stacey Apple

Stacey began her full time farming career summer 2019. Before farming Stacey was a chef and cooked professionally for seven years. Her path as a cook began while living in Boston when she landed her first job at Craigie on Main in Cambridge. When she and Alex decided to leave the city she started working at The Market Restaurant and Short and Main in Gloucester. Stacey dedicated over five years working at these two restaurants. It was here that she learned how important the tie between farm and food actually was. The menu at both of these restaurants was fluid and adjusted to what was ordered directly that week from the local farms. It was at this time that Alex was working at these exact farms. There was a sense of excitement and deep connection when Stacey and Alex would talk veggies and menu planning!

Stacey is now a farmer through and through and prefers to get her hands dirty with soil rather than olive oil. However, her favorite part of running her business is the personal connections she continues to have with all the chefs, bakers, and restaurateurs from her past life. She feels proud to see all her old restaurant friends go on to open their own restaurants, bakeries, and pasta shops. Stacey is fulfilled to see “Iron Ox Farm” on menus all across the North Shore. She is inspired everyday by the talent of the farmers and cooks who are her friends.

In her free time you can find Stacey obsessively working on her computer to build her business. She has completed the Organic mentorship program, AFT soil health cohort, and is a certified Produce Safety Alliance manager. She works hard to maintain Iron Ox’s organic certification, secure grant funding, and stay connected to Iron Ox’s amazing community of supporters. Stacey is thankful to be loved so generously by her friends and family and couldn't run her business without their endless support in the form of childcare, meals, and wise words.