Stephen Spear

Stephen Spear is a conservation specialist with the USDA, working for their Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on Cape Cod for nearly 40 years. He established Hokum Rock Farm with his parents on 18 acres of family land in East Dennis, Massachusetts in 1973. It is presently a sole crop, "pick-your-own" blueberry farm. The land is protected, in perpetuity, by a conservation restriction. Farming, conservation, and helping others are his passions. Spear holds a BA in English from the University of Utah and BS in soil science from the University of MA, Amherst. Although he has written, and spoken, extensively as a professional conservationist, this book, co-authored with Janice Riley, is his first published work. "Out in Blue Fields, A Year at Hokum Rock Blueberry Farm" has received numerous awards including Best Non-Fiction Book, NE Region from both NIEA and IPPY, 2019, and Best Narrative Non-Fiction Book, IPNE, 2018, as well as design awards. The couple live on Cape Cod and split their time between their farmhouse in East Dennis and their pond house in Brewster which they share with two Jack Russell terriers and a cat.