Heartfelt History – Farm legacy precedes American Revolution

• Holcomb Farm Operation Is Longtime Labor of Love

By Bruce William Deckert

Editor-in-Chief • Today Magazine Online

• Editor's Note #1 — This article was first published as the cover story in the August 2021 edition of our monthly Today Magazine — facts have been vetted through that time frame — this timeless story remains relevant today

• Holcomb Farm representatives have ​offered an exclusive interview to Today Magazine: see below — this is the second feature in a series

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Twenty years before the Declaration of Independence signaled the firstfruits of a new nation, Holcomb Farm was rooted and established as a heartfelt labor of love. 

The signage at Holcomb's headquarters and the slogan on the Holcomb website affirm this fact with historical clarity: "Holcomb Farm – A Place to Grow Since 1756."

July 4, 1776 — a date embedded in the soil of the American psyche — marked the signing of the legendary Declaration while the Revolutionary War raged. Two decades prior, the Holcomb family declared their self-evident intent to pursue life, liberty and happiness by farming a winsome tract of fertile land in present-day West Granby, a distinct section of the town of Granby.

Today, Holcomb Farm is a working farmstead and homestead comprising 300-plus acres located in the heart of Connecticut's Farmington Valley.

Since 2014, farm manager Joe O’Grady has supervised Holcomb’s agricultural operation, engaged in his own ongoing labor of love, together with his partner Emma. Since their move here from Long Island — where O’Grady was born and raised — daughters Juniper and Willow have joined the farming party. They live on the Holcomb property, in the 1790 farmhouse built by Nahum Holcomb.

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"There is no way to look at our time here without feeling proud, humble and thankful," O’Grady says on the Holcomb website. "Don’t tell anyone, but we came here in an act of desperation after struggling to find affordable farmland and dealing with insane landowners, not knowing how long — if at all — we’d stay. But … after a decade and a half of searching, we found a farm to love and cultivate, a community to call home and children to raise!"

Perhaps the best benefit of buying produce from Holcomb Farm is the obvious one.

"We offer fresh produce rather than produce that is weeks old because it’s been trucked here from other parts of the country," O’Grady says. "Shopping locally for produce reduces the carbon footprint" — that is, the emission of carbon dioxide from vehicles required to transport produce and other food over many miles.

Further, O’Grady and his team are committed to growing without chemicals or pesticides — a nontoxic approach focused on careful stewardship of water, soil and other natural resources.

Speaking of water, there has been plenty of it this summer on the heels of last summer’s drought — actually, too much. The farming challenges presented by overabundant rain might be counterintuitive, but are real nonetheless.

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"If you ask farmers, we’d rather have drought than too much rain," says O’Grady.

The research backs him up — excessive rainfall affects crop productivity in many ways, according to ScienceDaily.com, such as "direct physical damage, delayed planting and harvesting, restricted root growth, oxygen deficiency and nutrient loss."

Data from the past 30 years indicate that extreme rainfall can affect crop yield as much as excessive heat and drought.

"An overabundance of water can result in root damage, crop disease and plant mortality in ponded areas," per ChicagoTribune.com — and GardeningKnowHow.com says excessive wet weather "keeps pollinators at bay, affecting bloom and fruiting."

The blooming and growing enterprise at Holcomb Farm has been a cherished Granby heritage for more than a quarter-millennium. 

In the insightful and informative Q&A that follows, O’Grady and Friends of Holcomb Farm executive director Jenny Emery address a wide range of farm-related topics. 

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• Editor's Note #2 — Jenny Emery died in September 2025 in the aftermath of a bicycle accident in Vermont — she joined the Friends board in 2014 and was board president when she lost her life at 66 years of age — keep in mind, this article was first published as a Today Magazine cover story and facts have been vetted through August 2021 

• Holcomb Farm principals

• Joe O’Grady: farm manager • Bob Bystrowski: board president – Friends of Holcomb Farm • Jenny Emery: volunteer executive director – Friends of Holcomb Farm

• Employees

1 full-time: Joe O’Grady – up to 12 during the summer 

• Where were you born and raised? Where do you live now?

• Jenny Emery — born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, and have lived in West and North Granby since 1982

• Joe O’Grady — born and raised on Long Island in New York, and have lived in West Granby since 2014

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• Mission and focus of your farm:

• The mission of the Friends of Holcomb Farm — the nonprofit organization that oversees the farming operation at Holcomb Farm and stewards the larger property — is to preserve, promote and utilize a historic, working New England farm.

• We do this by engaging the community in this town treasure, supporting the broader agricultural community, practicing sustainable agricultural practices and responsible land stewardship, and providing clean, healthy, local food to residents of the Farmington Valley and to food-insecure families in our town and region.

• We farm without chemicals, and we organically enrich and rest the soil as needed — we seek grants and donations to support providing a portion of the food we grow to people in need who otherwise would not have access.

• We build and maintain trails — including the new Tree Trail — so people can experience and learn about this historic New England landscape.

• And we do all of this with an eye toward the appropriate use and permanent preservation of this special place — this is all part and parcel of a sustainability ethos.

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• What do you enjoy most about your work with Holcomb Farm?

• Joe — It’s impossible to pick one thing. On a personal level, I have a 2-year-old and 6-year-old both born here on the farm, and taking them to pick and/or eat the first peas, the first tomatoes, the first flowers, etc., are some of my happiest moments.

On the managerial level, I get great satisfaction in growing the farm family. It takes a village to keep this thing running smoothly, and we are blessed with generous and talented people in our community who are there to help — my Rolodex is full of welders, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, volunteers, you name it, who I can call or text in a pinch when something goes sideways.

• Jenny — Granby is a generous community, and Holcomb Farm is an important outlet for them to share their time, talents and treasure. I love helping to create that outlet.

More specifically, it’s rewarding to be part of Granby’s vibrant agriculture community, and provide Granby residents with a local source of chemical-free produce and a way to connect with the land through the trails and Tree Trail. Keeping local farms, local food production and open spaces central to life in Granby — it honors the legacy of Tudor and Laura Holcomb, the siblings who donated this property to the town.

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• Your main obstacle, and how you overcome it?

• Joe — Hands down, a farmer’s biggest obstacle in 2021 is climate change. Every year, we are seeing more extreme weather events — this year it is high humidity and constant rain — and extreme weather exacts a toll on our crops, on our yield, and our farm crew, who must work twice as hard to deliver a quality product.

• Jenny — Time. The Friends of Holcomb Farm need passionate volunteers to lead and serve, and people are busy. As each generation of board members and volunteers ages, we are always looking to engage the next generation.

• What’s the biggest challenge facing farms in Connecticut today?

The biggest opportunity? 

• Jenny — Sustainability. Small, diversified New England farms have never been profitable; there has always been someone helping make ends meet through additional occupations. And ultimately, the burnout from trying to be financially sustainable puts the land at risk. Too many have had to sell and develop the land as their retirement plan, and who can blame them? This is why it is so important that we preserve the Holcomb family’s gift to the people of Granby and the greater Farmington Valley forever.

• Joe — I agree with Jenny: Real estate is the biggest problem. New and young farmers cannot afford to buy land, and established farms struggle to make enough money to hold on to any land they do own.

"I get great satisfaction in growing the farm family — it takes a village to keep this thing running smoothly, and we are blessed with generous and talented people in our community who are there to help" — Holcomb Farm manager Joe O'Grady

• Most satisfying accomplishment in recent years?

• Joe — I’m really proud of how our crew rose to the occasion in 2020. COVID-19 increased the demand for locally grown food — our CSA shares sold out in a flash— and also increased the number of food-insecure people in our region.

Despite last summer’s drought, we were able to increase production and meet the needs of not only our CSA shareholders and Farm Store customers, but also our Fresh Access partners — and all while dealing with new COVID protocols like masking and social distancing for farm crew and customers.

We even packaged weekly pickups for customers who were nervous about being in the Farm Store. We were there for the community when they needed us.

• Jenny — Growing our Fresh Access program to respond to the COVID crisis. We provide food for food-insecure people throughout the region. We deliver this food to distribution partners, including Wheeler Clinic, Healing Meals, Hispanic Health Council, Town of Granby Social Services, Waste Not Want Not Community Kitchen and Granby Senior Center.

These partners get the food to those in need. In 2020, we applied for and received a $15,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving’s COVID-19 Response Fund.

We also appealed to our members for support, and they came through in a big way. As a result, we were able to grow and distribute more product than ever before. We were proud to provide more than 24,000 pounds of healthy food — at a retail value of over $70,000 — to thousands of neighbors in need through Fresh Access in 2020.

• Goals for the next five years?

• Jenny — Holcomb Farm is all about sustainability, and our goals flow from that overarching objective. We will continue to strive to meet our community’s current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Specifically, we plan to:

1 – Continue to "grow the growing season" so we can make local food available year-round.

2 – Find longer-term funding partners to support Fresh Access — we grow it, our Fresh Access partners get it into the hands of people … we need financial support to make sure this can continue to happen.

3 – Increase the educational programming that will bring people to the farm so they can "Experience Holcomb Farm." +

• This article is the second feature in a series — here is the first:

  Farm Charm – Holcomb legacy dovetails with US history 

• View Photos — Holcomb Farm homepage • Photo Gallery 

HOLCOMB FARM

 • Ownership

Town of Granby since 1990 – under stewardship of Holcomb Farm Inc.

• Address

Farm Store & CSA – Community Supported Agriculture

   111 Simsbury Road • West Granby CT

• Administrative Offices

113 Simsbury Road • West Granby CT

• Phone – 860-844-8616

• Website – www.holcombfarm.org

• Email – info@holcombfarm. org

Featuring community news that matters nationwide, Today Magazine Online aims to record Connecticut’s underreported upside — covering the heart of the Farmington Valley and beyond

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