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How a 5th Generation Potato Farmer Supplies Fresh Table Potatoes to Major East Coast Cities
Colin Szawlowski is a fifth-generation potato farmer whose growing operation supplies potatoes to some of the East Coast’s largest cities, including Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
Founded by Colin’s great-great-grandfather J.R. Szawlowski, who immigrated from Poland in 1910, Szawlowski Farms is centrally located in Hatfield, Massachusetts. The farm grows red, white, russet and yellow table stock potatoes that can ship to fresh markets in the Northeast within two to five hours.
Colin works with his great-uncles, Frank and Chet, who have been working on Szawlowski Farms for over 80 years and counting.
Chet recalls seeing his grandfather’s Oldsmobile pull up to his school when he was 6 or 7 and knowing he’d spend the day driving a tractor around the farm, working.
“We were young and didn’t know nothing but work,” Frank said.
Having seen five generations of Szawlowskis, the farm is steeped in history. A potato house built by Colin’s great-great-grandfather still stands on the property in front of the spot where Colin said his grandfather’s and uncle’s ashes have been scattered.
Colin said he and his family are blessed to have the Connecticut River run through their farmland, which helps irrigate their crops. As a result, the farm can sometimes go for long periods without needing to water their crops and only one to two times per week when needed.
When they’re not working, Colin and his family enjoy fishing and boating on the river.
The farm employs 60-70 people in busy months and 20-30 people in slower months, all of whom Colin says are like family.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without every one of them,” he said.
As for advice he would give to other potato growers, Colin said, “You gotta have thick skin because things can change very rapidly. You have to have good family support — not just working with family but outside the work environment. Our family is very close. We have a thing called Patio Sunday where my father makes hand-cut french fries and brags how good they are while we watch football games.”
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