An Interview With Brigham Farm  

Always located in the same lower left corner, Brigham Farm supplies fresh and local produce and plants from daises to turnips and kale. 

Located on Route 117 in Concord, MA, check them out on their website at: http://www.brighamfarmconcord.com/ 

Last time I visited, I got a rhubarb stalk and some fresh dill. Both delicious. The rhubarb is wonderfully thick and substantial, and is the rhubarb pictured in the Really Wonderful Rhubarb in the post below. 

Kate Mitchell, the one writing this now, interviewed Chip Poutasse, the current owner of the farm, on June 9th.

K: How long has this farm been established?

Chip:“Since 1820. The founder of the farm, John Brigham, was originally a wheelwright [wheel maker] 

At first it started as a substance farm. Two generations later, our grandfather became a cash farmer growing rhubarb and tomatoes.

My step father rented 100 acres and sold sweet corn in a big way.”

K: What do you enjoy about working with the farm? 

Chip: ”Well, it's kind of like being married. There are some good things about it, and some not good things about it. You keep doing it until you go broke. I’m hooked. I'm probably the last farmer in my generation, but my son wants to grow grapes. Maybe he will be hooked too."

K: What is one thing that makes this farm cool? 

Chip: "Our speciality is sweet corn, which will be in the market in late July-till early October. People come to us specifically for it. We also grow our neighbors tomatoes on our land and help sell them at our stand. When we come to the market we make it like a co-op.”

K:I know it's early in season, what types of things are the most popular right now?

Chip: “Strawberries berries sell out quickly. [I got to the stand at 5pm and they were already gone!]”

K: What produce have you personally been enjoying recently and why?

Chip:"I like it all. I like salads, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce…”

K: Do you have a go to produce dish? What is it? 

Chip:"It all depends on the season. I know how to boil things, how to roast them. What I do is I ask the customers how they prepare what they buy. They all have different ways. I've heard 5 different ways of cooking rhubarb . What way do you like it?” I like it in the way prepared in the post down below! 

K: What do you feel about the future of framing?

Chip:"I grew up in the 50s, and saw a lot of the local farmers get displaced by food shipped in from California. The food there grows easier and is a lot cheaper, so I can expect it will get more difficult for local farmers to do well. I think farmers markets support local food in New England, so I hope that continues.”

K: What makes local food important?

Chip:"Well its fresher. If it's grown here, and people work here. Our farm has been the first job to over 500 teenagers. Its tough to make a living, but it's a good start for some people. It's also the factor that having locally grown food, people get a sense of how food is grown. They can come visit the farm and show kids how carrots grow. It's helpful for them. It keeps them grounded."

Photos by Kate Mitchell