Meet the Modern Farmer: Kelsey Herrington and Dominic Pascarelli

Two Farmers Farm Scarborough, Maine

In 2009, Kelsey Herrington and Dominic Pascarelli were studying environmental science at Clark University in Massachusetts when they decided to spend the summer interning at a Vermont meat and poultry farm. “We thought it would be a good break from grad school, a nice résumé-builder,” says Pascarelli, 30. The gig proved grueling—and eye-opening. “Feeding people is pretty fundamental, and doing something meaningful really spoke to us,” explains Herrington, 29.

After earning their master’s degrees—and completing a second internship, at a vegetable farm in Argyle, New York—the couple felt ready to launch their own operation in 2012. Located on 15 acres near Portland, Maine, Two Farmers specializes in organic vegetables. And despite the numerous hurdles the Zone 5 climate presents, Herrington and Pascarelli manage to supply farmers markets year-round, thanks to hoop houses and protective blankets that keep crops warm come winter. “I don’t think of this as a real job,” admits Pascarelli. “It’s like we found a way around the system.”