Insight on Business

w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m J u n e 2 0 17 • I NSIGH T | 25 "We kind of started to wear out our welcome, and it was time to get our own farm." Matt, 41, who holds bachelor of business administration and culinary arts degrees, estimates his family visited 20 farms looking for a place to set up an organic business. Perhaps it was divine intervention that led the Lutseys to the land that is now Waseda Farms. Originally known as the O'Brien Farm, Phillip and Eleanor O'Brien donated it to the Priests of the Sacred Heart, a Jesuit order. e brothers worked the land as part of the St. Joseph's retreat for more than 47 years. To this day, grottos and religious relics mark the property. e space Matt likes to call the land of holy cows and papal bulls was ideal. Because the brothers had never used it for conventional farming, it was ready to be certified organic. If a conventional farmer has sprayed and fertilized the land, it takes three years to transition it to certified organic, forgoing chemicals, changing the seeds and planting with non- GMO seeds, Matt says. "at's usually one of the big challenges that a lot of farmers face getting them to transition," says Matt, who has relied on the help of mentor farmers and much research to learn about agriculture. "We were lucky enough that it was basically ready to go." S A F E A N D H U M A N E T R E AT M E N T i nnovation and good business sense are part of the Lutsey family DNA. Tom's father, omas H. Lutsey, a farmer in Pulaski, devised the idea of selling ice cream while making milk deliveries. is led [ c o n t i n u e d ] » M A R K E T P H O T O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y W A S E D A FA R M S Matt Lutsey co-owns Waseda Farms with his father, Tom. "In lots of ways, there's a bringing together of very different interests and talents that are complementary," says Jeff Lutsey, left, of working with his dad, Tom, center, and brother, Matt.

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