Danielle Ray
RUTLAND — Roger Wykes has worked multiple jobs at a time since he was 13 years old to get to where he is today – the owner of Starlight Farm, a 6acre slice of heaven that, for him and his family, is a dream come true.
Growing up in Worcester “in the ‘hood and extreme poverty,” as he describes it, Wykes’ back story is the epitome of perseverance. He had a troubled childhood that he said “would be a novel” but was able to break away from it.
From a young age, he knew exactly where he wanted to end up. A graduate of Burncoat High School, Wykes took agriculture classes and was president of the Future Farmers of America Burncoat Chapter.
“Since then, I knew I wanted to farm, even living in the city,” the 51-year-old recalled.
His path led him to serve with the military police in the National Guard for six years. For the last 26 years, he has worked for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation as a civil engineer in construction. His wife of 15 years, Melissa, grew up in Michigan and has been a pediatric nurse at UMass Memorial for 16 years. They have two daughters: Liz, 23, and Addison, 7.
They settled in Rutland in 2009 and built Starlight Farm “from the ground up,” including a horseback riding rink they built for their equine-enthusiastic family.
“We lived in Worcester and wanted our oldest daughter to grow up in the country on a farm and appreciate hard work, farm life,” Roger said of what inspired the move.
They raise and sell beef, pork, eggs and produce on their family-owned and operated farm, and offer bed and breakfast “without the breakfast, but you can buy the eggs for the breakfast on site!” their Facebook page boasts.
“Melissa grew up on a farm in Michigan, so she’s the brains and I’m the muscle,” Roger joked. “Living on a farm is important to our family because we get to grow and supply our family, friends, neighbors, and many more with great products.”
Starlight Farm held a grand opening celebration in April, and in addition to offering the above-mentioned items, they provide visitors the opportunity to feed their free-range chickens and goats. Horses, cows, pigs, rabbits, and their dog and cat are also on hand for people to meet.
“We truly enjoy seeing all the smiles on kids and adults who visit our farm and interact with the animals,” Roger said. “We know farming isn’t a huge money-maker, but the smiles are worth it.”
They plan to start hosting kids birthday parties next year, he said, that may include pony rides, and they recently finished building a store for customers to shop in. It replaces the original farmstand, and is open Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We’ll continue adding products as we grow,” Roger said. “Our goal is to be able to sustain farming, and hopefully, someday, one of our daughters will continue farming.”
He said they have been welcomed with open arms by the community and residents near and far, and are grateful for the opportunity to grow their family farm, and continue his achieved ambition.
“We truly appreciate any business and enjoy all the smiles. We’d like to say thank you very much to all our customers who support us, it means a lot.”
For more information, follow Starlight Farm on Facebook.
