River Hills Harvest
Terry Durham, owner of River Hills Harvest in Hartsburg, Missouri, has built a successful elderberry-focused farm, producing 2,000 to 2,500 pounds of berries per acre. The farm creates value-added products such as juice, jelly, syrup, tea, and soap, allowing Durham to move beyond slim profit margins as a vegetable farmer. By shipping pre-paid orders nationwide, River Hills Harvest reaches all 50 states, avoiding the demands of in-person sales and streamlining operations.
A pallet of Elder Flower Cordial in the packing office to be opened and repackaged for shipment to fulfill customer orders on Tuesday, September 1, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo. Juice is pressed from elderberries and lightly heated and the cordial adds honey.
Terry Durham, owner of River Hills Harvest, pauses from travel preparations for a portrait on Friday, September 4, 2024 at his home in Hartsburg, Mo. Durham will to travel to Madison, Wi., for Perennial Farm Gathering, week-long agroforestry conference where scientists and farmers can learn and share with each other.
Terry Durham, owner of River Hills Harvest, shows the last elder berries after the harvest on Tuesday, September 1, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo.
Some of the last elder berries on the vine on Tuesday, September 1, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo. The farm yields 2,000 to 2,500 pounds of berries per acre.
Terry Durham, owner of River Hills Harvest, shows some of the features of the elder berry plant on Tuesday, September 1, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo. Elder berries can be used for several products including juice, jelly, gummies, vinegar, syrup, tea and even soap.
View from perennial crop farmer Terry Durham’s front porch from where the packing office for elder berry juice and other products is visible on Tuesday, September 1, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo.
Cody Struckhoff, office manager and harvest crew and transportation logistics, prints shipping labels on Tuesday, September 1, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo. The farm ships products across the U.S. and in some weeks ships to all 50 states.
Friday, September 4, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo. Terry Durham said, “We'd go to Kansas City, St Louis, Columbia, selling, marketing, and you just run yourself to death. Now, everybody sends us their money in advance. We fill their orders and we ship it out from the farm.”
DJ Burton, farm hand, packing and orchard management, partially fills a box with packing before placing bottles of elder berry juice on Friday, September 4, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo. The perennial farm finds its place in the “$365 million industry in the United States. 95% of that was imported from Europe,” said Terry Durham, owner and operator.
At his front porch, Terry Durham, owner of River Hills Harvest, pours shot glass of elder berry juice, the amount needed to benefit from medicinal properties, on Tuesday, September 1, 2024, at River Hill Harvest in Hartsburg, Mo. After 20 years of minimal profit margins as a vegetable farmer, Durham is an advocate of value-added production.