Four generations and 83 years later, the Higginbothams have continued with their farming tradition of growing organic produce in Mt. Laurel and Evesham townships, farming fruits, vegetables and grains on more than 100 acres.
Craig, his wife Shannon, and daughters Cheyenne and Kiara Higginbotham operate Cheyenne’s Road Market on Church Road.
Craig has been working on a farm his entire life. By the time he was in high school, he had 10 acres of planting.
“It’s amazing how much it has changed since 1990,” he said, adding he would go through old photos of the family farm, which was originally located in Marlton, and compare them to what it looks like now.
He said they have seen farmland slowly change over to housing developments.
Cheyenne’s Road Market grows crops on approximately 180 acres in Evesham Township and Mt. Laurel, portions of which border a housing development on Hearthstone Lane. Shannon said the residents living in those homes are extremely supportive of the farm.
Shannon said when Cheyenne was born, it inspired the couple to start something unique and name it after her.
“She was really our inspiration,” Shannon said, adding they wanted their children to grow up knowing there was a working farm left in Mt. Laurel that it was a part of their family.
Cheyenne, 9, and her younger sister Kiara, 5, help their parents on the farm.
The family wanted to put a twist on four generations of farming.
“After 73 years, they had a lot of it down to a science,” Shannon said. “We wanted to do something different.”
People recognize tomatoes as red, cucumbers as green, and potatoes as brown. You would find the traditional colors of produce on the farm, but the family put a “flare” on the family tradition.
There is “something traditional and something unique” about the farm, Shannon said.
From colorful Swiss chard, pepper cucumbers (black and white cucumbers), orange eggplant, bell peppers in various colors and the traditional Jersey tomatoes, the family has a wide variety of produce.
The family also grows heirloom fruits and vegetables, which are plants local to other states or countries. They have planted Hawaii pineapple tomatoes and receive basil and eggplant seeds from Italy.
Craig said they recently changed their planting strategy gearing it more toward roadside markets. He said they are growing more of a variety rather than growing a mass amount of one type.
Unique produce is not always successful, though. Shannon said, at one point they planted black tomatoes, but they were not appealing.
The family grows new types of produce in small batches as a test.
She said they would grow a small batch, and bring it to local restaurants to see how they would use the produce before more is grown. But produce is also grown to attract children, getting them to be more interested in eating healthier.
According to Shannon, the colorful leaves on Swiss chard and the various colors of tomatoes, peppers and more are supposed to be fun for the kids.
All the family’s produce is organic.
Shannon said they are healthy-eating oriented and wanted to make sure that lifestyle was shared with the community.
“I am a mom of two. If I am feeding my family healthier, I am feeding my community healthier,” she said.
Plum tomatoes with 50 percent more lycopene than other
tomatoes are sitting in the greenhouse along with more than a dozen varieties of produce and flowers.
Craig said more people appreciate knowing where their food comes from. It lacks pesticides and chemicals that are found in most grocery store produce.
Cheyenne’s Road Market also offers recipes and tips for all produce offered at the farm.
There is also a working beehive sitting near the greenhouse. A local beekeeper tends to the hive and fresh honey is sold at the market.
Sharing local produce and farming with area residents is important to the Higginbotham family.
They are trying to “keep it as close to home as we can,” Craig said.
