Sycamore Valley Farm

Matt Reichert has taken some new directions at Sycamore Valley Farm in Brunswick, Missouri. Matt’s great grandfather founded this farm back in 1870. Ask him about his operation and Matt says, “We have corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, wheat, just about a mixed hodgepodge of things. We have around 440 acres. “

This is a working farm – make no mistake about that. But there are some unique things you’ll find here. They’ve opened a bed & breakfast which Matt’s wife takes care of. And then they have some agri-tourism which includes having guests over, dinner and things like that. Matt says,” I guess they come for the bed & breakfast and other types of gatherings we have. They can help drive cattle from one pasture to another or they can pick strawberries or on occasion we have bales from the square bales and they’ve helped put hay in the barns.” The Reichart farm is just outside the small town of Brunswick, Missouri, Matt and Tina Reichert decided that their farm could also be a welcoming spot for visitors looking to find out a little more about rural life. Tina says, “We love sharing our home. And a lot of people don’t have the opportunity to see a farm to see how things grow and taking care of livestock and it’s a privilege to be able to share that with them.” Tina and Matt have raised five children on Sycamore Valley Farm. Today, one is away at college. One has a job in the city. The others help out chores, cattle and crops. Bob and Pam Lightfoot are visiting here from Denver. For them it’s a chance to reconnect with their rural roots. Bob says, “It is to me very relaxing. I grew up on farms because I’m from Kansas City but I grew up on farms because my uncle had farms out in this area. And so just being on the farm and smelling the smells and stuff is cool to me.”

Tina Reichart points out, “All of our guests love the hayride. We have an old super seat tractor, we have hay bales and we load up on it and then we go out and over the hill and dale and see the cattle.” Matt adds, “Our cattle have management intensive grazing so a lot of times when we call them they think they’re getting moved to greener pastures so they’ll all come up real close and that, for a lot of people they’ve never been that close to a cow.”

Sycamore Valley Farm not only has overnight visitors, they often host farm dinners. And regardless of the meal, you come away with a greater understanding of the farm to food connection. Tina says, “Like this morning we came out and picked strawberries before we had our waffles. So we took, picked them, cut them up and had them for breakfast and for a lot of our guests that’s a real connection. Or sometimes I’ll get mint out of the garden and put that with fruit or to garnish something on the plate. I think our guests really appreciate that. That they know where the food comes from and there’s something special about it and it tastes the best when it’s freshly cut. It’s just to me the perfect life. It’s a good life. It’s a good life – a very good life.”