Ellen Drews’ Path to Soil Stewardship
Across the Northeast, women and nonbinary farmers are leading the way in adopting practices that build resilience, starting with the soil. AFT staff worked with local writer Jacquelyn Voghel to capture the stories of women and non-binary farmers in Massachusetts that highlight their relationships with soil health, stewardship and conservation. In the face of mounting challenges, their stories show why investing in equitable, soil-centered conservation programs is essential to the future of farming. Women and nonbinary farmers lead with care, creativity, and resilience—protecting both the land and the communities that depend on it.
Learn more about the project: Stories of Women and Nonbinary Farmers Leading the Way in Conservation in New England
The profiles were made possible through funding from the Massachusetts Humanities Council, NRCS Massachusetts, and an anonymous donor.
When Ellen Drews started her first farming job in college, she felt an immediate and striking connection to the work.
“I remember cracking my eyes open at 5 or 6 a.m. and checking the weather and having that kind of determine what my day was gonna be like,” Ellen said. “And I loved that, and I would work days and days on end without weekends because I was so motivated.”
But Ellen’s enthusiasm for farming couldn’t spare crops from extreme climate events. While working at Brookfield Farm in Amherst during 2018, severe flooding drained much of the joy from Ellen’s farming experience.
“I felt like I couldn’t continue farming if all of our plants were going to be suffocating underwater.”
These challenges didn’t extinguish her passion or her determination to adapt. In fact, Ellen’s long-held interest in sustainability was one of the driving forces behind her attraction to farming.
So, she turned her focus to climate-resilient methods like no-till farming. Through this approach, farmers can limit soil erosion, improve soil structure and nutrition, and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions.
To pursue this, Ellen had to leave Brookfield—a bittersweet departure, as the farm had introduced her to Community Supported Agriculture, crew management, and community-rooted farming.
Despite positive experiences, she recalls, she was “really ready to manage the soil differently” than Brookfield could support.
In 2019, Ellen found that opportunity at Astarte Farm in Hadley, a 3.5-acre organic, 100% no-till diversified fruit and vegetable farm using a variety of experimental approaches in the face of climate change. It was a good fit—Ellen became co-manager, alongside Amelia Mead.
Fertile Ground for Sustainability
Astarte Farm, owned by electrical engineer Jim Mead, had already operated as a no-till farm for about five years by the time Ellen arrived. The previous owner, Dan Pratt, had used techniques like cover cropping and biochar well before they became mainstream. After selling the farm, Dan suggested transitioning to exclusively no-till.
Astarte’s strong training, collaborative management, and commitment to experimentation made it an ideal place for Ellen to expand her understanding of soil health practices.
Ellen managed field production while Amelia handled sales, accounts, and finances. Jim took a hands-off approach, giving Ellen full responsibility over production decisions—and the lessons that came with them.
Ellen has now worked at Astarte for nearly as long as it operated as a no-till farm before her arrival. And she’s confident in her direction.
“I’m all about no-till,” Ellen says. “I’ll never do tillage again. Because first of all, it’s doable, which I think is the biggest barrier for a lot of people.”
Growing tomatoes, for example, requires a heavy investment in mulch, but weeds only need pulling once or twice a year. This leaves a clean bed for shallots the following season, reducing future labor needs.
While concerns about time, labor, and financial constraints are real, Ellen has found that no-till also offers long-term payoffs.
Practices like leaving soil undisturbed help maintain its spongy structure—essential during both flooding and drought. “That gives me a peace of mind that I would never give up at this point,” Ellen said.
An Evolving Landscape
During her time at Astarte, Ellen has seen these practices protect the farm from the worst climate impacts that trouble nearby farms using conventional tillage.
“Our next-door neighbors are both conventional farms, and we’ve seen a river of water running through their (fields) while we’re dry, like an island,” Ellen says.
Conventional fields often show more cracks after floods. Combined with erosion, this creates an annual springtime dust cloud in Hadley that follows mass tilling.
Still, Ellen sees signs of progress. She notes more farms adopting soil health practices—even when those methods aren’t highlighted in their public messaging.
These steps add up. NRCS soil testing found that basic cover cropping significantly improved structure—proof, Ellen says, that “just doing one thing is a step in the right direction.”
She’s also seen visible changes across the Pioneer Valley.
“I don't think Hadley looks the same anymore,” Ellen said. “It's green, and people are intercropping ... I think I see reduced tillage happening.”
She believes the shift is driven by the climate crisis.
“The extreme weather is such a motivator ... I think farmers have a lot of resilience [reflecting] ‘Okay, that was that year, but we try again,’” she said. “But I don't think people are feeling that way anymore. It’s kind of like, (we’ve) gotta change for our own survival.”
Working Across Differences
Despite differences in methods, models, and priorities, Ellen finds Western Massachusetts farmers united in support.
“Farmers in Massachusetts certainly have enough challenges with just weather and biology,” she says, “but my experience with farming in the Pioneer Valley is that people are generous with their knowledge and equipment, and people ask each other lots of questions and (provide) lots of resources.”
“It just doesn't feel like competition,” she added. “It feels like we're on the same team ... wanting [the system] to succeed.”
Ellen sees her role at Astarte as part of that effort.
She recognizes the privilege of focusing on soil improvement thanks to Jim’s off-farm income and the farm’s manageable scale. But she also believes that makes Astarte a useful case study.
“I want Astarte to be leveraging that opportunity so we can figure out some things that might be helpful and applicable to other people,” Ellen said. “That’s always been a goal of the farm, so I’m continuing to dig in and figure that out.”
