Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Grady.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Columbus, OH and, although the city is surrounded by corn, I never set foot on a farm until I moved to Grafton nine years ago. I graduated from Kenyon College and worked an office job with the Census Bureau in DC and then in Copley Square after my wife and I got married. My initial interest in agriculture stems from a semester abroad in Costa Rica, where I discovered the difference between fruit picked at its peak flavor compared to what is sold in grocery stores here in the US.
I brought my appetite for fresh food back to the states, and I evolved from dedicated farmers market customer to volunteer at a non-profit farming organization called Community Harvest Project, and then to Volunteer Coordinator at the same organization. It didn’t take me long to get restless watching all the volunteers get their hands dirty, while I was stuck in the office most of the time.
After 3 years coordinating volunteers, I took the dive and fully immersed myself in farming by volunteering at various organic farms in the area. I learned so much that season, and especially connected with a farmer just down the road named Jeff Backer. Jeff started Potter Hill Farm in 2011 and was so successful that he quickly outgrew the available infrastructure. Jeff took me on as an exit plan to take over the farm as he searched for a larger farm to move his business. Jeff and Dave Viola started Short Creek Farm in Northwood, NH in 2015, and I took over Potter Hill Farm the next season.
Despite a record drought and my wife and I having our first child, I somehow survived year one running the farm. Now in my third year running the farm, I added a CSA and it sold out in 5 days, so we are expecting a fantastic season.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Generally, nothing about farming is smooth and my first year running the farm was as rocky as our fields (if we could sell rocks, we’d be millionaires!) My wife and I found out she was pregnant with our first just as I was beginning to plan out the season ahead.
Obviously, I had to scale back plans but I had no idea how much of your time a newborn consumes. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that was certainly the case for us. We had so much help from customers, friends and family, In fact, a friend was actually out plowing the field for me as my wife was giving birth to our daughter!
My daughter arrived a couple weeks early in mid-June, just as the harvest started coming in. Our first market was a few days later – I have no recollection of it, but I know I attended and somehow had veggies to sell! We didn’t know it at the time, but the record drought and heat that summer had just begun. Potter Hill has always been blessed/cursed with rich, heavy, wet soils. Jeff had never needed irrigation before, and so I went into the season without any way of watering my poor plants.
I imagine without water, the plants felt much like my wife and daughter sweltering in our house without air conditioning as the temps constantly hit the mid-90s that summer.
Somehow, the plants with deep roots survived, and some even thrived. We had an absolutely incredible tomato season, and they were the best-tasting tomatoes I have ever eaten. Without rain and the fungal diseases that come with it, the tomato plants were a healthy, deep green right up until November producing like crazy the whole time.
Fortunately, the rains eventually returned toward the end of the season and we had a spectacular end to the season.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Potter Hill Farm – what should we know?
Potter Hill Farm is in Grafton atop a quiet mile-long hill with incredible views of Worcester and Mt Wachusett. The property is part of 500 contiguous preserved acres and surrounded by hiking trails. We specialize in great-tasting heirloom vegetable varieties, and all of our produce is certified organic. Visitors are encouraged not only by the friendly farmers but by our chatty flocks of pastured poultry and happy pigs.
We sell at farmers markets, to local restaurants, a CSA, and an online ordering system. We recently launched a CSA Card option, which is a unique customer-centric alternative to a CSA. Instead of committing to veggies each week, you can order as you need them and the total is debited from your card. The card can also be used at the farmers market.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Farming, fortunately, isn’t rocket science, but it does require being stubbornly optimistic and endlessly persistent to be successful. I think my stubbornness, combined with my love for physically-challenging work and being outside, is what drives the success of the farm.
Contact Info:
- Address: 75 Potter Hill Road, Grafton, MA 01519
- Website: http://potterhillfarm.com/
- Email: paul@potterhillfarm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potterhillfarm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/potterhillfarm/
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