About Us
River Crest Farm is a family owned and operated farm in Milford, CT.
Established 1942.
We are a family farm run by Maria and Andy Macri and three of their four kids: Andromeda, Ralph, and Perry (plus fifth-generation farm kids Oskie & Auggie).
We love growing stuff, making stuff, weird plants, fancy flowers, and sharing our love of farming with our community. Our produce, flower and vegetable plants, Christmas trees, and more are grown using organic pest management practices and organic fertilizers, and we encourage pollinators, birds, and wildlife. We treat our farm like a member of the family.
We aim to feed people healthy food, build community, and share knowledge while constantly continuing to learn and adapt. While we are not certified organic (this requires a costly and cumbersome process that is burdensome for a small family farm like ours), we do practice sustainable growing methods. We are members of the Northeast Organic Farming Association and we are committed to transparency and being the best possible stewards of the land. We chant the mantra “no new plastic” every day and reuse what we have, avoiding single-use plastics like the plague.
Our History
In 1942, Ralph Perry and Irene Takacs Perry, (originally from Vermont and Hungary, respectively) came to River Crest Farm with their daughter, Irene “Bobby” Perry. Over the years, they cleared the land, raised vegetables and livestock, and built barns and greenhouses. Mr. Perry was well known in Devon and Stratford where he sold eggs and vegetables from the back of his truck. Mrs. Perry grew flowers of all kinds in the green-houses. The farm gradually became more modern and eventually tractors re-placed their draft horse.
The Perrys sold some produce to N. C. Capozziello & Sons Wholesale Fruit & Produce Co. in Bridgeport. Nick Capozziello introduced his son Leonard to the Perrys’ daughter, Bobby, and they married in 1956. They built a house on the farm in 1963 and raised three children there.
In the 60s, the small dairy herd that grazed the northwest hill was no longer economical and was replaced with Christmas trees. Grain prices increased in the 70s and the Perrys sold off all but a handful of the laying hens. By the time Mr. Perry died in 1981, Mrs. Perry’s flowers had become the farm’s major crop. She and Bobby continued working the farm together until Mrs. Perry died in 1991. Bobby shared her mother’s passion for growing flowers and expanded the greenhouse business to include many unusual perennial and annual plants.
When Bobby died in 2008, the farm passed to her daughter Maria Macri.
Ralph Perry with his granddaughter Irene in River Crest Farm's early days.
Irene Takacs Perry
Irene "Bobby" Capozziello