Our People
The dedicated farmers who work alongside George and Ola in the field, become part of their extended family and return year after year.
George and Ola
FOUNDERs
George Brittenburg and Ola Creston started Taproot Farm in 2009 with a young family, 5 acres of rented ground, and a small tractor. As first generation farmers, they built Taproot Farm from the ground up and are pleased to have expanded the farm over the years so that it can serve as a lasting source of local, healthy Organic food. George and Ola see Organic farming as vital to protecting the environment, and they’re passionate about the work they do.
George loves working outside and Ola loves working in the nursery and being creative on the farm. Besides their passion for food and farming, they enjoy traveling, hiking, watching wildlife, cooking, spending time with their family, and going on endless farm walks with their pups.
Meet Your Farmers
Pearl Wetherall, Farm Manager
Pearl is originally from Northeast Pennsylvania. She began working on farms while obtaining an Environmental Studies degree in Vermont, and has spent the last couple of decades primarily on organic vegetable farms throughout the Northeast. Pearl landed back in Pennsylvania and joined the Taproot Farm team in 2021.
Other pursuits include growing giant kohlrabi for her dog Buckwheat (it’s Buckwheat’s favorite), foraging for firewood, and hanging out in the woods or on a kayak.
Samuel Hernandez Guerrero
Samuel lives in Durango, Mexico in a “Ranchito” named Pilar de Zaragoza. He enjoys working on the family farm with his father in Pilar, plowing with horses and sowing corn and beans. Samuel has worked at Taproot Farm since 2018 and spends his days driving tractors, managing summer harvest crews, and maintaining farm tractors and equipment. He is a father of 3 boys and runs an animal feed store in Pilar with his family. When he returns to Durango, he works in construction.
Jose Hernandez Guerrero
Jose lives in Pilar de Zaragoza, Durango, Mexico, and travels to Taproot Farm each spring. He loves to live in the countryside, taking care of his horses and cattle, and enjoys working in the fields in the USA. Jose has worked at Taproot Farm since 2019 & runs the harvest crews in charge of picking berries and tomatoes and is also the irrigation manager on the farm.
He has 3 children. When he returns to Pilar he works construction and with his horses.
Julio Cesar Vazquez Lopez
Julio lives in Pilar de Zaragoza and works on his family vegetable farm growing many of the same vegetables grown at Taproot Farm. He has 4 children and enjoys working in the United States to provide sufficient resources for his children in Durango. At Taproot, Julio spends many hours harvesting tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, while playing his favorite Norteñas (music from Northern Mexico).
Marcelo Hernandez Aguilar
Marcelo lives in a little pueblo outside of Durango called Pilar de Zaragoza with his wife and 3 children. His goal is to help his children finish their studies in Mexico. He has always worked in agriculture in Mexico, growing & harvesting vegetables similar to the ones grown in PA. Marcelo has worked at Taproot Farm since 2019. Besides vegetable farming in Durango, he helps run a tienda with his family where they make and sell pork products Marcelo has custom raised and butchered.
Jose Guadalupe “Lupe” Romero Hernandez
Lupe works in agriculture on his family vegetable farm. He is from Pilar de Zaragoza and plans to have his own vegetable farm in the future. He is the father of 3 boys. Lupe has been working at Taproot since 2020. He’s a versatile farmer who harvests greens, lettuces and tomatoes, packs for CSA & wholesale.
Jorge Hernandez Casas
Jorge lives in Pilar de Zaragoza, Durango, Mexico. He is married and has 3 children. Jorge loves soccer and teaches soccer to youth when he is in Durango. Jorge has been working at Taproot since 2020 and spends his time harvesting, packing for wholesale & CSA, and delivering CSA shares.