In 1918, Floyd and Amy Verrill established a dairy farm in Concord with 30 cows. As the herd grew to 155, Verrill Farm became the first in town to pasteurize milk, which it sold directly to consumers and schools and delivered throughout Concord and surrounding towns.
With changes in the industry making dairy farming less viable, a strawberry crop was planted in the 1970s and the last of the cows were sold in 1990. Since that time, the farm has expanded to 40 crops on more than 100 acres in Concord and Sudbury; a farm stand selling produce, prepared foods, bakery items, and seasonal gifts; and cooking classes, farm-to-table dinners, and outdoor festivals.
The couple’s son, Steve, now runs the farm with his wife, Joan, and their daughter, Jen Verrill Faddoul. He had this to say:
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Q. What is the significance of the farm’s centennial?
A. It’s very meaningful because not many [businesses] in town have made it that long. It’s a wonderful milestone, with a lot of evolution behind it.
Q. What changes have you experienced?
A. I remember seeing the last work horse leave the farm, and things have continued to progress. Pasteurization and better cooling gave milk a longer shelf life, but the downside was supermarkets began selling milk cheaper, which led to the destruction of the home delivery service. We grew to 10 acres of pick-your-own vegetables, and we still do pick-your-own strawberries and pumpkins, but now we harvest the rest when they’re at their peak. We stopped doing farmers markets when we built the farm stand in 1994, but our produce delivery has grown to about 40 restaurants. Every year, we tweak things a little bit.
Q. Why did you place an agricultural preservation restriction on the land in 1983?
A. This was the right thing to do, to permanently protect our wonderful farmland from development. It also removed the safety net many farmers have used when things get tough: selling the real estate to pay the bills. We had to figure a way to make farming work. The side enterprises of pick-your-own strawberries and growing vegetables, combined with my wife Joan and daughter Jennifer’s interest and talent in cooking, combined to make a great farm stand business to start our second century.
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Located at 11 Wheeler Road in Concord, Verrill Farm will host seasonal centennial celebrations beginning with a free birthday party featuring family-friendly activities on March 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit verrillfarm.com.
Cindy Cantrell can be reached at cindycantrell20@gmail.com.