John and Molly Chester, a husband and wife team, left their job titles of ‘documentary filmmaker’ and ‘private chef’ to become farmers and pursue their dream vision of starting Apricot Lane Farms in 2011. If you saw him elbow deep in a cow assisting a difficult birth, you’d never guess that John Chester spent the first 20 years of his career making documentary films. As the director of such critically-acclaimed films as Lost in Woonsocket (OWN) & Rock Prophecies (PBS), as well as the star and show runner of Random 1 (A&E), John has built many teams in his career, which certainly helps to develop the amazing group of people at Apricot Lane Farms.
In addition to serving as farm manager with wife Molly Chester, John heads up the Apricot Lane Holistic Livestock Program, runs the day-to-day operations of the farm, and manages their active WWOOF program. John’s passion for animals is exemplified in the documentary series he made for Animal Planet and in the way he guides the very unique livestock program on the farm. The surprise ending is that for this filmmaker, farming isn’t such a stretch; during his early years in film, John spent his spare time between projects running his family’s farms, gaining experience vital to his present career.