Tony Kleese
Tony Kleese is leading the farm design, crop implementation, and ongoing farming operations at Harvest.
Tony Kleese has been active in the local and national sustainable agriculture movement as an entrepreneur, farmer, and an activist since 1989. As an entrepreneur he co-founded Eastern Carolina Organics, a marketing and distribution company for locally-grown organic fruits and vegetables that works with farmers from across the Carolinas to meet the demand for local and organic produce. As a farmer he has managed organic vegetable and cut flower operations in Chatham, Franklin, Orange and Yancey counties in North Carolina. As an activist he has served as Coordinator of the Organic Trade Association's Organic Certifiers Council working with organic certifiers from across the US to help develop the USDA's National Organic Standards. Locally he has been the Coordinator, an Instructor, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Sustainable Farming Program at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro, NC, and has served on the Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board. He has a long history with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) serving as Organic Certification Committee Chair, Chair of the Board of Directors, Conference Coordinator, Organic Farm Inspector, and Executive Director.
Tony lives in Chapel Hill, NC with his wife Christine and their two cats.
