La Finquita - “The Little Farm” That Could With Help From Farmbrite
- Joshua Brock
- Nov 18, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 19, 2025
Natasha Luccia is the founder and chief of operations at La Finquita, a small-scale farm based in New Jersey. She is a graduate of the 2022 RU Ready to Farm Phase 2 Training Cohort and gained land access through the RU Ready to Farm Business Incubator. Natasha grows and sells a range of specialty crops, focusing on improving food access in underserved areas. We recently had the opportunity to speak with her about her journey, her wins and struggles, and how Farmbrite has become an integral part of La Finquita's daily work.
“Every summer in Panamá, my brothers and I would fight over who got to ride Fujimori—the family horse we all swore was a stallion, though he was probably part donkey, part pony. To us, he was majestic. That memory reminds me of how something small can feel monumental depending on how you see it.”
Natasha Luccia, Founder and Chief of Operations at La Finquita
In 2022, Natasha Luccia was putting the finishing touches on her education in the “RU Ready to Farm Business Incubator” program—a combined agricultural and business education curriculum from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Although her formal agricultural education was wrapping up, Natasha can trace her familial ties to farming back to her summers as a child visiting her grandparents’ farm in Panamá.
Rutgers University’s new farmer program is working to tackle the dilemma plaguing many states where agriculture plays a crucial role in their economies: the steady decline in new workers taking the reins as the current generation ages out. Food and agriculture are the state’s third-largest industry, with over 25,000 seasonal and year-round employees, 9,000 farms, distributed across 750,000 acres of farmland, generating in excess of $1.5 billion.
“I’ve been so spoiled using Farmbrite…I haven’t even fully thought about what my life was like before Farmbrite. I had to really think about it, and then I was like ‘Oh, I remember why!”
Natasha Luccia
The average age of a farmer in New Jersey is between 60 and 65, and one of the goals of the two-phase program is to teach both hard and soft skills necessary for newcomers like Natasha to succeed and flourish in the agricultural industry. The first phase is an online course consisting of 15 sessions that covers the fundamentals of farming, including the nuances of starting an agricultural business in the Garden State.
The second phase builds on what was learned in phase one and, through a combination of online and in-person classes, gives students hands-on experience running a CSA (community-supported agriculture) program for 12 weeks, working alongside experienced teachers and farmers.
Three years following her graduation, Farmbrite caught up with Natasha as she continues to build, nurture, and hone her farming skills, along with building relationships and extending ties to the communities she loves and calls home.
Let's take a look at the topics of discussion from our chat with Natasha:
Roots Run Deep When Their Seeds Are Sown With Love
Although La Finquita, “The Little Farm”, traces its formal business ties to the incredible endeavor realized through Rutgers’ “RU Ready” innovative program, the Jersey City native fondly recalls her summers spent in Panamá with her family and grandparents.
“I still fully, you know, make sure everyone knows I’m very much a beginner farmer, I’m just a very enthusiastic beginner farmer - So it might seem like I have a lot of experience, but it really comes across like that because I’ve established so many great relationships in the area.”
Natasha Luccia
Born in Panamá, Natasha shared that she gleefully spent her summers growing up traveling back and forth between the U.S. and her grandparents’ farm in Central America. The last bell of the school year would toll at her public school in New Jersey, and she was quickly whisked south by her parents, along with her two older brothers, for the entirety of the Summer.
And although she wasn't involved in the daily chores, Natasha reflected on how she deeply cherishes those days, listening to her grandfather direct the workers and seeing the effort and commitment it takes to make a family farm successful. Most assuredly, even though she and her brothers may have been spending the majority of those days riding horses and playing together in the creek, it left an indelible impression on her, one that she embraces and calls upon for her own farming endeavors.
Variety Is The Spice of Farming
Beyond La Finquita Farm, Natasha is actively involved in urban farming initiatives and has built, operated, and maintained multiple urban gardens and niche pocket farms in Hudson County.
She partners with community organizations and food access programs. She readily admits that although she’s not a seasoned professional, she is rather an enthusiastic beginner farmer who has built great relationships in the area. La Finquita's approach to farming is more reactive, where they determine what to grow based on the needs of potential buyers.
At La Finquita, Natasha grows a wide variety of specialty crops, including beets, radishes, kale, carrots, cucumbers, and garlic, and experiments with a handful of herbs, such as parsley and basil.
“I’m a beginner farmer, which means I don’t know everything, and not knowing everything is kind of my superpower because it means I’m very open to learning and open to new skillsets and approaches.”
Natasha Luccia
Engaging in a non-traditional project management style, including a rooftop farm at the 3 Acres residential building in Jersey City, they grow tomatoes and eggplants for a tasting CSA in partnership with Urban Agriculture Cooperative (UAC). The CSA is free for residents and is covered by the building's operations plan; residents are encouraged to participate in gardening activities, which foster community and companionship.
Our New Farmer Seeks New Solutions and Finds Farmbrite
Before finding Farmbrite, Natasha confided that she struggled to manage multiple pocket farms and to transition to the larger incubator space with Rutgers, which brought more responsibility and a small team of part-timers to organize.
At that point in her career, La Finquita’s administrative processes involved using pen and paper for planting and crop planning, along with several overwhelming Excel spreadsheets. Natasha needed a solution to improve processes and organization so they could focus on the craft of farming.
“I needed a people manager, a task manager, an IPM tracker, and I especially needed something that would help organize my crops across the several projects I was managing, including my own farm. But I was struggling to manage a library of Excel sheets. Transferring info, I would jot down on paper and then promise myself I'd transfer when I got home, and never did. I needed a solution.”
Natasha Luccia
She found Farmbrite through an overwhelming number of recommendations as a participant in an active Discord channel within the New Jersey farming community. After using the free trial, her fellow farmers found it an excellent match for their needs, helping centralize their processes as they scaled up from smaller plots. Natasha noted that Farmbrite allows her to enjoy the planning process, which aligns with the methodical and problem-solving skills she learned from gardening with her father.
Natasha noted that increased efficiency was the first thing she observed after adopting FarmBrite, specifically highlighting the Task element, which she uses heavily on the mobile app. The ability to assign tasks, set priorities, set due dates, add descriptions, and attach images eliminated the need for lengthy morning meetings and reduced interruptions during her full-time workweek. Farmbrite’s clarity and conciseness increased her team’s morale and allowed them to focus on crop growing rather than manual administrative busywork.
Words of Advice To Those Interested In Taking Up The Cause
When our conversation shifted to what words of advice she might offer to those considering any path to enter farming based on her experience completing Rutgers’ RU Ready program, Natasha thoughtfully remarked, “Just go for it! Start small…I always tell people to start small, start with the houseplants, and then grow an herb, and then you know maybe grow a few tomatoes, before you scale up…and always ask for help, people love to help, especially in this community. I’ve never been involved in any community where you just ask a question and people will give all of their secret sauce very confidently with no issues. This is a very giving community.”
Natasha continued that she experienced an unexpected, welcoming nature from the farming community, which encompasses people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, ranging from urban agriculture to large conventional operations.
“Use Farmbrite — because your memory is not a planting calendar. Trust me, that lettuce you swore you planted in Row 3? It’s probably in Row 7… or hiding under the weeds. Stay organized, assign tasks, take notes, and don’t be afraid to let an app do the nagging for you — your brain will thank you!”
Natasha Luccia
Follow Along On Natasha’s Journey
If you’d like to follow along with Natasha and La Finquita’s journey, you can find them on Instagram at @lafinquitanj. She notes that it’s one of the easiest ways to connect with her and has played a big role in building her business. Additionally, given the demographic profile of the majority of Instagram’s user base - young, technologically savvy, independent - it meshes well with many of the characteristics that a new farmer should possess in today’s agricultural endeavours.
We truly appreciate the time Natasha spent with us and sharing her story. We hope you can sense the passion she brings to her farm each and every day. She embraces the challenges and welcomes the wide variety of opportunities that come with it. Best of luck, Natasha and La Finquita - truly, “the Little Farm” that could!
“As a beginner farmer, I wanted to learn how to farm properly, but managing all the project management components on top of that was overwhelming — it’s hard to do both! Farmbrite essentially took the wheel on the management side, giving me the space to focus on the craft of farming itself. It’s allowed me to be more intentional, organized, and confident in both planning and execution.”
Natasha Luccia
Joshua, his wife Jenn, and their dog Rooster live in PA. Joshua is the owner and operator of Hoffman Appalachian Farm, where they grow Certified Naturally Grown hops. Joshua has over twelve years of experience in growing crops, including growing in an organic system. In his spare time, he enjoys trail running, backpacking, and cycling.