Colin Szawlowski is a fifth-generation potato farmer from the Szawlowski potato family that has farmed the valley soil for over 100 years in Hatfield and surrounding towns. “Potatoes have been in our family forever,” Szawlowski says, “they’re in our blood. I remember when we used to eat potatoes every night for dinner as a kid, and we still eat potatoes in our diet every day.”
Farming was in the Szawlowski blood also, and young Colin learned alongside his father, Carl Szawlowski, and uncles Mike Szawlowski and the late John Szawlowski. “I worked on the family farm since I was a little kid,” Szawlowski says. “My father used to run the packing shed at Szawlowski Potato Farm and he was president of Szawlowski Potato Farm at one point. My father and uncles taught me a lot.”
Szawlowski Potato Farms, aka Swaz Potato Farms, remains a significant potato grower for the Valley. Szawlowski grew up learning the business by growing potatoes in the field and working in the packing shed at Szawlowski Potato Farm. In 2022, Colin Szawlowski began growing potatoes on his own, under the name Valley Spud. “Valley Spud farms approximately 1,200 acres of potatoes from Northampton to Hinsdale, New Hampshire,” Szawlowski says.
In 2024, Andy Pollack, owner of Hapco Farms, approached Szawlowski with an opportunity. The Westhampton Beach, Long Island, farm is one of the largest distributors of potatoes and broccoli on the East Coast. Szawlowski says, “They’re a big name in produce—especially for potatoes.”
Pollack introduced the idea for a modern packing and distribution facility that would give Valley farms access to a larger market, stretching from Maine to Florida. The vision was scalable, starting with Valley Spud, with the capacity to expand support for more area farms.
Pollack had a working relationship with the Szawlowski Potato Farm when Colin Szawlowski was still with the original family business. “We worked with Andy Pollock, and one day, he called me about a new venture,” Szawlowski says. “We talked, and eventually he invited me to be his partner. Now I’m one of the owners of Barnwood Valley Farms.” Barnwood Valley Farms manages the packing and distribution of the crops. Presently, they handle potatoes and broccoli.
“Andy gave us a second chance, another opportunity,” Szawlowski says. “My father, uncle Mike, and brother, Chris, all joined me at Barnwood Valley Farms. My uncle John had already passed, but he’s a part of us and always with us … We don’t know anything else besides potatoes and farming. It’s exciting to be in western Mass growing potatoes. No one knows we grow here: when people think of potatoes, they think of Idaho.”
The Valley is part of Szawlowski, as he is also an enthusiastic spokesperson for the potato industry nationally. “It’s been pretty exciting to serve on the National Potato Council, the Potato USA committee, and to receive last year’s Potato Grower Leader of the Year,” he says.
Valley Spud grows russets, round white, yellow, and red potatoes. They also grow mini potatoes for The Little Potato Company. Some of the land Valley Spud farms has irrigation, and most does not. Since potatoes drain some nutrients from the soil, Valley Spud rotates crops with Plainville Farms and Mapleline Farms. For every two years of potato crops, there are three years of dairy cows or mixed vegetables grown on the soil. Other farms grow potatoes for Valley Spud as well, including Patterson Farm and Whistling Meadow Farm.
The mixed weather this summer illustrates the many factors farmers manage for crops. “Your business partner is Mother Nature,” Szawlowski says. “The potatoes didn’t like the smoke from the wildfires this summer because they didn’t get full light for photosynthesis. Even though potatoes are protected in the dirt, they don’t like heat, and they need to cool down at night.”
Once the potatoes are harvested from the fields, they are brought to the Barnwood Valley Farms packing facility on River Road in Hadley. The modern facility has solar panels on the roof and four loading docks. Two settlement ponds support a closed-loop water system, where the water from washing potatoes is contained, sifted and soil is captured, then returned to the fields.
“We wash 500,000 pounds of potatoes a day during the harvest season, from August 1 through October 1,” Szawlowski says. “We are getting product on the market before Canada and Maine deliver their products.”
Although a wholesaler, locals encounter Valley Spud potatoes when eating in area restaurants, like Jake’s, Fitzwilly’s Restaurant, and Local Burger. Valley Spuds emerge as fresh-cut French fries at Three-County Fair, Franklin County Fair, the Cummington Fair, and the Big E.
Large wholesale customers include Stop and Shop, Market Basket, C&S Wholesale, Sysco Foods and Walmart. In this system, valley potatoes are sold along the entire East Coast, and as far west as Tennessee. Szawlowski is hopeful that access to these larger markets will ensure markets for more valley farmers.
Barnwood Valley Farms facility washes and packs more than potatoes. “We want to ramp up broccoli,” Szawlowski says. “Currently, Calabrese Farm is growing broccoli for us. We want to help all the local farmers. If they don’t have a home for their crops, we can help. We want to help the people not leave their crops in the ground. We have a market for it. We want to move it for them if they can’t. We need every farmer to succeed.”
Although Valley Spud potatoes are found in markets throughout the east coast, potatoes are about family. “I’m always working with family in potatoes. Potatoes have brought us closer,” Szawlowski says. “We are a new generation of Swaz Potato and we’re moving forward as Valley Spud and Barnwood Valley Farms … It’s hard work and I love it. We’re feeding people and making someone else happy. We’re feeding America with a good quality potato.”
To enjoy Valley Spud potatoes, visit the season’s local agriculture fairs or Local Hero restaurants. To learn more about Barnwood Valley Farms, visit barnwoodvalleyfarms.com.
Lisa Goodrich is a communications coordinator for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). To find potatoes and storage crops near you, see CISA’s online guide at buylocalfood.org.