- April 2, 2025
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David Payne, owner and operator of Jennings Road Farm in Myakka City, grew up in Havelock North, New Zealand, a town that understands farming.
“If you wanted money, you went out and you picked, and when you're little, you picked raspberries and boysenberries and blackberries and strawberries. When you get a bit bigger, you pick more strawberries. When you get (even) bigger, you pick kiwi fruit.”
Despite growing up in a farming town and turning his current property into a working farm from a junkyard eight years ago, Payne doesn’t see himself as a farmer.
“I'm not a farmer. I have hogs, I have steers, and I'm not a farmer,” Payne said. “I'm doing it, but I know who a farmer is and what a farmer does, I'm not at that level.”
This is Payne’s first season growing and selling blueberries. He bought all his blueberry plants from a different farm that closed down in June 2024. He said they are full of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber.
“The opportunity came to buy a lot of mature blueberry plants so we took that opportunity,” Payne said.
Payne lived in Parrish for 10 years before deciding he wanted to live on more acreage. Moving further east was more affordable, and he was looking to buy five acres and ended up with 31.
He owns and operates the farm with his wife Tatiana Pashnina. They have two children, 7-year-old Katalina Payne, and 3-year-old Shane Payne. Pashnina, Katalina and Shane are usually the ones who pre-pick berries for customers and pull the weeds.
Katalina said she loves living and working on the farm.
“On the farm, you can do whatever you want. You have acres, you can have fun, you can run around,” Katalina Payne said. “There’s no signs to stop you and well, no paying for stuff!”
“It’s good for children, it’s what we did growing up,” said Marce Corbett, a customer who was born and raised in Sarasota.
Payne said that 2%-5% loss of the crop is to be expected due to natural diseases. He also said unpredictable weather is the main factor of whether or not the blueberries will grow and thrive.
“We've got some extreme heat and a lot of rain, and blueberries don't want to be that dry footed,” Payne said. “They don't want to be soaking wet.”
The blueberry season is late this year due to hurricanes. Payne made sure to water the plants heavily to make sure the pots were heavy and didn’t blow over.
He opens to customers early, at 7 a.m., so they can beat the heat.
According to Payne, the main goal of the blueberry farm is to provide a place that is family friendly and affordable. Bottled water is $1, and blueberries are $7 per pound. He also stressed that he has worked hard to make sure the rows, parking and everything is accessible for strollers, wheelchairs and the like.
There is also a bathroom with plenty of space to change diapers, and Payne said that he is ordering wipes and sanitizer to provide to families that visit as well.
“I’m hot, pregnant, and we’re picking berries!” said Alexandra Garcia a customer who is 11 weeks pregnant. She said her goal was to make blueberry muffins with the berries she picked.
The current setup for blueberries consists of rows 300 feet long across three acres. There are four different kinds of blueberries: Spring High (the most sweet), Arcadia, Emerald and Jewel. Payne said he plans to tear down his shop and grow more blueberry plants.
“It'll take a while,” Payne said. “It'll take four years or so, but the blueberries will double in size.”
Payne said that it takes three to four years for a blueberry plant to grow fruit, and six to seven years for the plant to mature.
Payne said students visit the farm and he teaches them about the blueberries and science surrounding it all. For younger kids, he discusses how the plant goes from a bud to a flower to a berry.
“If they're a little more advanced, we talk about photosynthesis and if they're in their early teens, I can get into a little bit of plant and soil science,” Payne said.
Marlene and Patrick Norgard visited the farm with their children, 10-year-old Deklan and 7-year-old Kali. They homeschool their children and expressed interest in returning for a lesson from Payne.
“We’re trying to teach them about agriculture and growing their own food,” Marlene said. “We’re trying to show them where food comes from so they don’t take it for granted.”
The Jennings Road Farm is open to the public every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. until the end of May.
“Let people know we’re here,” Payne said to every customer after they checked out. “We need people!”
