Help Melissa keep MT's largest berry farm going!

My name is Melissa Allred, and I am the owner of Aspen Grove Farm in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley of Western Montana. At my farm, I grow an amazing new berry called the Honeyberry or Haskap. This berry has become more widely known across Canada and Poland but is quite new to consumers in the US. I began growing this amazing super fruit in the spring of 2019 with 6,000 seedlings that I grew out in 1-gallon bags. Honeyberries have five times the antioxidants of blueberries and because they are native, they are extremely cold hardy and resilient in our harsh climate. I had read about them in various articles over the years and fell madly in love with them the first time I had the opportunity to actually taste one. It was love at first bite. Since that time, I have become passionate about introducing consumers and other growers to this amazing fruit in as many avenues as possible including fresh, frozen, and our own gourmet jams and syrups. But this is only part of the story. The actual story of my farm is a story of survival and freedom. It is the culmination of a dream of rescue for me and for others.

I was born into a polygamist cult that goes back in my family history 250 years. I was raised and groomed to be exactly what they wanted me to be and never knew there was anything else to consider. My role was to be a good "sisterwife" and mother to many. My husband was my “head” or ruler, and my children and I were subjected to narcissistic control and abuse. Women are basically the property of their husbands, although this term would never be used. Rather we were under their priesthood power and called “help meets”.

But I was smart and an avid reader. I also grew large gardens and orchards in order to feed my family and found peace and my own private church in the cool mornings with my hands in the soil. I longed to be able to share my love with others and asked my husband for permission to sell my produce at the local farmer’s market. He always refused. Then one day he and his brother heard about these awesome berries called honeyberries and got the idea that they could make a ton of money by growing them. Neither one of them is a farmer. My husband decided to finally give me permission to be a farmer so that I could make him a lot of money.

I took him up on his offer and registered a business with the State of Montana. I finally owned something! I was given wings to fly and immediately jumped into the farming community in every way possible, taking classes and attending seminars. I showed up to my first market with a small smattering of fruits and vegetables and several dozen jars of homemade jam. I wasn’t used to being “out in the world” and was absolutely terrified, but it was a huge success! I sold everything I had brought with me and had a local business ask me if they could carry my products in their store.

I was tasting freedom. In the farming community no one knew of my past and I felt like an equal, like a normal person. I no longer believed the teachings of the cult, but there was no way to get out. They owned everything, and all I had, including my very soul, belonged to my husband. I wasn’t a legal wife.

I knew if I was going to be able to support my children and myself then I needed to go big. I also knew that if I was going to be able to be successful with growing this unknown fruit then I would have to grow enough to flood markets across Montana. So, I ordered 6,000 plants from Canada and proceeded to plant one of the largest honeyberry orchards in the northwest. I was graciously allowed to lease land from an amazing man who wanted to help me get free, and Aspen Grove Farm was officially born.

Since that time, things in my marriage went from bad to worse. I was commanded or rather ordered to participate in him marrying another woman. I knew I could not. I knew it was evil. I knew I could never allow my daughters or my sons to be subjected to what I had been. But there was no way out! All I could say was “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God” in absolute desperation. He tried to take my farm from me. Finally, after two months of hell, I had the courage to turn to a complete stranger at one of the shows I was attending and tell him I was a polygamist and needed help. Doors began to fly open and the local faith community and many who I had gotten to know in the farming community began to rally around me. Miracles happened. People were gracious and kind. And at last my children and I were set free and I was awarded my farm by the Montana court system.

The first bush was planted in the fall of 2019, and I was set free in 2020. Since that time the farm has exploded. My life has been a whirlwind of change and hard work and healing for me and my children. I could never be happy, though, if I were the only one to get out. I look at the young girls in the community where I am from and cry knowing what lies before them. I have come to know of other women in our valley and across Montana and even all the way to Nepal who are subjected to terrible abuse and slavery. I am not alone in my story, and I am driven to help other women succeed. They need to see that it is possible. They need to know that people care, and they are not alone. They need a safe place to work and care for their families. For a lot of women, it isn’t safe to work in public places. I knew my farm was supposed to be that anchor to help other women find hope and freedom.

The 2022 season promised to be a good one and was our first official harvest. I was blessed with an amazing support system and a wonderful crew made up mostly of women and young girls, some of them survivors of abuse. The farm employed 20 people. Disaster struck when a dishonest contractor decided he could take advantage of me and created major failures in our storage capabilities for our crop. Spoiled fruit was loaded in a pickup truck and hauled to the dump. We were forced to abandon one-quarter of the field because there was nowhere to put the fruit. The community rallied around me and started putting as many bags of berries in their home freezers as they could as a last-ditch effort to save as much of the fruit as possible. The local school offered their freezers for a time and a local church loaded them into their kitchen. Even with all their efforts, 2/3 or better of the crop was lost.

The future of Aspen Grove Farm has been greatly compromised. As such a young farmer, I am unable to absorb such an overwhelming loss, and I lost a large portion of my savings for my family trying to keep things from going under. I am a single mother of eight stepping out as a female farmer by being brave enough to bring a new fruit into the marketplace, and I am showing other women how to be brave and succeed after abuse. What will they see if the farm goes down? How do I now support my family?

This year's harvest projections are expected to jump from 3.5 pounds per bush to over 5 pounds per bush. And last year's freezer storage problem has been rectified. Unfortunately even with these winds at my back, there is no way to carry the farm to the next harvest without help overcoming early season expenses.

To make it through the upcoming spring and to the sale of the next harvest, I need funds to cover the expenses of harvesting equipment, fertilizer, weed management, payroll, and lease payments. Most farming costs happen in the spring before the first harvest is brought in, so I need assistance paying the farm's wonderful farmworkers. And I also need additional harvesting equipment to keep pace with larger harvests but due to last year's budget shortfall, I cannot purchase the equipment.

I pray you will be touched by my story and the stories of all the other victims of abuse and have the desire to help. Thank you to everyone out there who cares. I know there are so many who give so much, and I am forever grateful. Aspen Grove Farm would never have existed in the first place without you.

Farm crew payroll for 6 months - $52,000

Berry Harvester - $50,000

Fertilizer - $1,500

Weed management - $1,500

Lease payments + utilities - $3,000