Farmer Spotlight

The UMass Student Farm is a student-run farm on campus that manages 14 acres of land and grows 35 different crops using ecologically sound practices. They supplied UMass Dining with over 10,000 lbs of local, fresh, organic vegetables in the past year. Produce from the Student Farm is featured in all four Dining Commons, at […]

Joe Czajkowski Farms carrot fields in Hadley, MA.  Joe Czajkowski Farm, located in Hadley, MA, has been supplying food to UMass Dining since 2015 and is owned by Joe Czajkowski, a third generation farmer. Joe’s 400 acre farm grows a wide variety of crops including corn, winter squash, summer squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, strawberries and

Cold Spring Orchard apples.  Cold Spring Orchard is a research and education facility of UMass Amherst located in Belchertown, MA. The Cold Spring Orchard farm store has different varieties of apples to choose from every couple of weeks and also sells honey, maple products, jams, jellies, apple cider, and more. At Cold Spring, they offer

Tapped trees at the North Hadley Sugar Shack in Hadley, MA.  The North Hadley Sugar Shack, owned by Joe and Shelly Boisvert, is located less than four miles from campus and supplies UMass Dining with high quality, pure maple syrup. The North Hadley Sugar Shack is a family-owned business that was started about twenty years

Adam Martin and his family standing with a red “Martin’s Farm” tractor at their compost farm in Greenfield, MA.  Martin’s Farm has been a leader in the composting industry since they were established in 1987. The farm grew vegetables and had a food waste collection program to feed their farm animals. Martin’s Farm decided to

The “Yellowbird,” leaving the shore of Chatham, MA to catch fish for Sea to Table.   Sea to Table is a food distributor that makes sustainably-caught seafood from American fishing communities accessible to restaurants, families, and food service operations across the U.S. Every Sea to Table fish is wild-caught and can be traced back to the

Fort River Farm’s beef cattle grazes out in the pasture.   Bruce Jenks stands in front of a group of his cows.  Fort River Farm is managed by Bruce Jenks, pictured to the left. Bruce cares deeply for the animals that he works with and says caring for them is his favorite part of the job.

Swaz Potoates rolling down the conveyer belt after being washed and sorted.  Swaz Potato Farms was founded in 1910 by John Rupert Szawlowski and grows 3,000 acres of White, Red, Yukon Gold, and Russet potatoes in the Connecticut River Valley. The Szawlowski family business is based in Hatfield, MA and has been in operation for

Leafy greens growing in the UMass Hydroponics Farm greenhouse.  UMass Hydroponics Farm is a student-run hydroponics business located on campus that grows leafy greens, culinary herbs, tomatoes, bok choy, leeks, and strawberries for Franklin Dining Commons and the UMass community as a whole. UMass Hydro was founded about a year ago by Evan Chakrin, studying

One of Sidehill Farm’s young Normande calves roaming in the fields.  Sidehill Farm is a small, family run dairy farm that produces delicious, organic yogurt in Hawley, MA. Sidehill farm is owned by Amy Klippenstein and Paul Lacinski. They decided to start making yogurt because it is a healthy food “that your average person could

Mapleline Farm in Hadley, MA.  Mapleline Farm is a family owned and operated Jersey farm established in 1904 in Hadley, MA. They have 300 Jersey cows, who are brown instead of black and white, and produce rich, creamy milk that is higher in calcium, protein, and nonfat solids than traditional cow’s milk. As of September

Cold Spring Orchard’s beautiful apples.  Cold Spring Orchard is an education and research facility of UMass Amherst and grows over 100 varieties of apples on 50 acres of land. They offer “pick-your-own” apples and also sell a variety of goods including peaches, honey, apple cider, jams, jellies, grapes, blueberries, pears, squash, and pumpkins. They always

The UMass Student Farming Enterprise is a student-led initiative that manages 14 acres of land and grows 35 different crops using ecologically sound practices. They supply UMass Dining with over 46 tons of ultra local, fresh, and organic vegetables every year- grown for students, by students. Working with the Student Farm helps UMass Dining meet

Colorful turnips from Czajkowski Farm.  Joe Czajkowski’s farm operates on over 400 acres of land in Hadley, MA and is so close to campus that you can see the UMass Graduate Research Center from his fields. In comparison to conventional produce, which uses hundreds of gallons of fuel to travel from California to Massachusetts, vegetables

A bumble bee pollinating flowers in the UMass Permaculture garden.  The UMass Permaculture Initiative is a cutting-edge sustainability program managed by Xochiquetzal Salazar that provides empowering hands-on education for students to learn about local, sustainable food systems. Now in its sixth growing season, UMass Permaculture has five gardens on campus that are home to nearly