Episode 222: Beth Bocock
Jun 08, 2022
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Beth Bocock went from saying, “I’ll never marry a farmer!” to becoming one of the second owners of Bumbleberry Acres with her husband, working for Naturipe and being the head of Bumbleberry’s agritourism. The farm, originally 600 acres and now 44, had been around since 1857 and caught Beth and her husband’s eye when they were driving and saw a “for sale” sign. Immediately after buying, they asked their kids, “what would you want to do if you came here to work? If this was a vacation destination, what would you want to see?”
This helped inspire the Bococks’ to add a petting zoo of miniature animals to the farm, opening the door for Bumbleberry to become a wonderful, family-friendly destination. When visitors arrive at Bumbleberry, they’re taken care of by the “Bumbleberry Girls” who are specifically trained to interact with customers and treat them like family. The girls know every inch of the farm, from the dirt to the berries and how they are grown. Beth’s focus with the girls (they hire three every year) is to empower them to learn where things on the farm come from, so visitors too can always be learning every step of the way through their experience. 
What’s it like spending a day at Bumbleberry Acres? Visitors can enjoy activities like the U-pick for blueberries, a corn maze and wagon ride around fall, delicious food with ingredients straight from the farm, and plenty of blueberry pies during their Blueberry Festival in August. Beth really wants visitors to understand where food really comes from, how we’re helping take care of the planet, and the responsibility and respect to her kids that comes with providing these products to consumers.
Did you know more than half of the world’s profits from produce items are not getting back to growers? Farmers are dealing with profit crunches the same way we’re dealing with a sudden rise in all of our expenses, and to not have the amount of profit they deserve hitting their pockets could damage our entire agricultural supply chain.
Beth also works with Naturipe Farms, who you know from past episodes is a great place full of empowered women! Beth says there are many more women involved at the company and farming in general than there were 20 years ago. She used to go to meetings with her husband and there’d only be a few other women in there, and women speakers were unheard of. But today you’ll even see women running a farm after their husband has passed away, completely uninhibited and capable of performing any of the tasks. 
Beth wants Bumbleberry to empower women just as well as Naturipe has. Every girl they interview to work on the farm is looked at for their potential for future leadership, not just their personality and resume. Beth takes note of how they interact with people, how compassionate they are, and it’s paid off. Of the 36 girls they’ve hired, each have gone into a position of leadership in or outside of farming. Whether it’s empowering consumers to understand where their food comes from and how to support farmers, empowering women to accomplish anything they want in agriculture (from the field to CFO), or empowering farmers to make the profits they deserve, Beth Bocock, Blueberry Acres and Naturipe Farms all are doing incredible things to create empowered opportunities for all.
How to get involved
- Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
- Reach out to us – we’d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we’d love for you to help us spread the word! 
I’m so very proud of you Beth Crawford Bocock you amaze me with all you do