HISTORY OF THE FARM
We’re proud to be a conserved farm with the Vermont Land Trust.
When Tim and Janet Taylor purchased 12 acres in Post Mills in 1978, they didn’t exactly have a vegetable farm in mind. Still, the land was flat, stoneless, and an arable sandy loam and before they knew it they’d begun planting and cultivating one single acre. By 1980, the couple was poised to change careers and began to work the land with a hand hoe and rototiller. They set up a card table near the road to sell produce and picked up their first few wholesale restaurant accounts.
Tim and Janet worked to build up the soil and focused on growing crops that could tolerate Vermont’s relatively limited growing season, primarily salad greens, herbs, and crucifers. These crops remain the “bread and butter” of our sales today. The farm later expanded into tomatoes using strategies gleaned from New England farming conferences and neighboring growers in the Upper Valley.
Phil Mason joined the crew in 1999 as a strawberry picker and has worked every season since. He joined Tim and Janet as a partner in 2017 and led the purchase of the Norwich farm stand from Killdeer Farm. Phil became the sole owner of the farm in 2022. He’s passionate about sustainable agriculture and bringing innovative growing techniques to the farm. His children, Brooks and Ella, enjoy taste-testing strawberries, carrots and tomatoes at the farm and spending as much time on tractors as possible.
Crossroad Farm now cultivates over forty acres of mixed vegetables, with two farm stands in Post Mills and Norwich. We’re fortunate to partner with retailers and restaurants across the Upper Valley, including the Coop Food Stores, Woodstock Farmers’ Market, Simon Pearce, the Aloha Camps, and Camp Billings.
