Judia Dugas and her family had always grown their own vegetables to fill the family pantry. But after a chance comment from one of her daughter’s college professors years ago, the family converted their hobby into a business.
It all started when Dugas’ daughter was pursuing a degree in animal science at Southern University around 2005.
Judia Dugas of Lena Farms, which sells produce and fresh eggs from land farmed by six generations of family.
“A professor had asked in one of her classes, ‘Who has land?’” Dugas recalls. “And when my daughter raised her hand, the next question was, ‘OK, what are you doing with it?’ We started raising laying chickens.”
In fact, the family lived on a plot of land that had been farmed by six generations of family members, Dugas says. With demand for local food on the rise, the timing seemed right to transition from personal farming to face-to-face sales. They named the operation Lena Farms for Dugas’ great-grandmother, and they began selling fresh eggs at the Clinton farmers market.
Over the next several years, the family slowly expanded operations. They started selling at the Zachary farmers market, and from there, the Red Stick Farmers Market’s mobile market, selling produce and goods on Plank Road in north Baton Rouge and on Washington Street in Old South Baton Rouge. As volume continued to expand, Lena Farms was asked about two years ago to become a regular vendor at the Thursday and Saturday Red Stick Farmers Markets.
Dried hibiscus from Lena Farms.
Edible hibiscus is one of Lena Farms’ stand-out items. Harvested in the late summer and early fall, the flower buds are sold fresh or in dried form. They’re also incorporated into a limited supply of hibiscus chutney and tea. The flavor is gently floral and lemony, and the color, a deep pink. Dried hibiscus is commonly steeped to make a variety of cold and hot beverages. Fresh hibiscus can be incorporated into salads and used to make simple syrup.
“We started with about 12 hibiscus plants,” Dugas says. “Now we have about 72.”
The Dugas family’s signature summer vegetables are fresh purple hull peas and okra. In the winter, they grow cabbage, kale, mustard greens and turnips. Lena Farms has also drawn a following for its limited supply of dried tabasco pepper powder made from fresh-picked peppers that are dehydrated and processed in a spice blender.
Dugas says Lena Farms will soon offer a new item to customers: free-range poultry.
“We are excited to be growing,” she says. “The market has been a good experience, and we love to hear what customers are making.”
Check out the selection
Lena Farms regularly participates in the Thursday and Saturday Red Stick Farmers Market, selling fresh eggs, seasonal vegetables, fresh and dried hibiscus and jams made from homegrown peach,
figs and blueberries. Find them at facebook.com/LenaFarmsLa2016.
This article was originally published in the June 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.
