Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 11/3/2021
BELCHERTOWN- With the fall activity season over, two Belchertown farms recapped their fall seasons and discussed the preparations ahead with winter and the holiday season approaching.
At Austin Brothers Family Farm, which was founded in 1889, owner Michael Austin said they offered a variety of activities for families during weekends in October.
“We offer a corn maze, a hayride and we open up the pumpkin patch on the weekends for families to come check out,” he said. Austin added that the last weekend for the fall activities was the weekend of Halloween, with no plans for activities during the holidays.
“We are typically open for activities from June through October,” he said.
Austin said the farm is currently working on getting ready for winter.
“After battling all the wet weather this year, we are wrapping up the rest of the hay, chopping the corn and preparing our beet storage,” he said. “We also just built a new barn that will house most but not all of our cattle.”
Austin Brothers Valley Farm meat is available at a variety of locations in the area, including in hamburgers at McCarthy’s Pub in Belchertown and as cuts of beef at Sutter Meats Butcher Shop, among others.
Elly Vaughn, the owner of Phoenix Fruit Farm, which opened in 2017, said they offered a variety of events throughout the fall.
“This year we offered our pick your own apples event, we also had our pumpkin painting contest and my band played at the store for that. We also hosted a disc golf event and were at the farmer’s market every weekend,” she said.
With activities finished for the year, Vaughn said the store remains open year-round where people can purchase seasonal produce, locally crafted gifts, meat and other grocery needs.
While there will not be any activities offered during the holidays, Vaughn said she is preparing a Thanksgiving catering menu that will be available on the farm’s website, https://phoenixfruitfarm.com/. In previous years, the catering menu has included turkeys, pies and sides.
With the fall season in the rearview mirror, Vaughn said preparations are in full swing for next year.
“Right now, we are still prepping our fields and doing our crop planting. I will also begin seeding our spinach soon,” she said.