Growth is at the top of Missy Biagiotti’s mind.
Already, she counts on the help of more than 20 employees during the busiest months of the year at Lavender Fields at Pumpkin Blossom Farm in Warner, while new horizons lie ahead for the business she co-owns with her husband, Mike.
The couple is adding three new members to their staff with the support of a $140,558 Value-Added Producer Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the second one their farm has received during its young life.
The positions will expand the farm’s marketing team and support their scaling efforts, as Biagiotti prepares to launch a line of lavender lemonades that will be carried across two grocery chains and 100 specialty retail locations in New England.
Where many farms diversify the crops they cultivate to promote their own success, the Biagiottis are all-in on lavender, and their creativity in devising infusions beyond personal care products has allowed them to flourish.
“The first grant was used to create our simple syrup […] and that product was really quite game-changing for us. We were able to stabilize, grow our income off the farm and insulate us from the changes all farmers deal with,” Missy Biagiotti said. “We’re still diversifying in a different way that allows me to stay focused on the one commodity we do have.”
The farm has come a long way since its founding. Before embarking on an extensive journey of research and training, Biagiotti said she “couldn’t grow much of anything.” She was able to leave the real estate industry to work on the farm full-time two years ago, and now, she cultivates around 10,000 lavender plants, turning them into a range of food, beverage and self-care products.
In a short time, the serenity of the lavender fields has also turned the farm into a peaceful retreat for people living in the Warner area.
“As our world gets more chaotic, we are needed more and more. So lavender has just been the vehicle through which we connect with people,” she said.
The grant, which was awarded in the early fall of 2025, aims to help farms “generate new products, create and expand marketing, opportunities and increase producer income,” according to the USDA.
