We are reposting this profile of the Barden Farm to include it in our NHDiary section. It first appeared on our June 10 Farmers’ Market article as the market’s Vendor of the Week profile.

By: Maria Moore

“Ed, you’re blessed, you really are.” Our reporter called out to Ed Barden as she waved goodbye to him across the field. “You think so?” He called back, as he carried another tomato plant ready to be transplanted. “I know so! Just look at that beautiful view.” “I would if I had the time!” Ed answered with a laugh and then turned back to his planting.

Ed Barden

You get the feeling though, that Ed knows that view very, very well: It’s provided the backdrop for his entire life. “How long has your family been farming here, Ed?” Our reporter had asked earlier on her visit. “Since 1919, when my grandad bought this land.” He’d said, going on to explain that his granddad had sold the land he owned in Campbell Falls, near the Massachussetts border, to the state for a state park and with the money from that sale he’d come down to New Hartford and bought the land on Burgoyne Heights where the farm is located. “In 1943 the barn burned down,” Ed continued. “The town held a fundraiser for the farm, and they raised $1,700. With that they paid two men $7 a day to work 7 days a week to rebuild the barn.” “Was everything gone?” “Everything, the livestock, everything.” An extraordinary act of community for a family that’s so rooted in this community.

Ed is a third-generation farmer, and you get the feeling that he’s a man who knows who he is, and what he does and he is totally comfortable with himself. And together with his wife, Anita, Ed earns a living from the farm, something that’s becoming more of a rarity as farm land is ceded to developers.

Anita Barden, one of the organizers of the New Hartford Farmers' Market

Over the years, as their family has grown from two children to four, the Bardens have also added to their business: They’ve built a separate building where customers can go at any time to pick up fresh produce; they’re selling at Farmers’ Markets, including our local Farmers’ Market in Pine Meadow which Anita helped to start four years ago; last year, with daughter Cara’s help, they launched a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program; and this year, Anita has just gotten a commercial kitchen licensed at the farm.

Ed and Anita welcome their customers to their farm, and more often than not, their customers will stop and visit for a while, sitting on the front porch of the farmstand, enjoying the view, looking at the farm animals, or throwing the ball for Buddy, their irrepressible Border Collie, while Barnabas, their large, white dog looks solemnly on. The rhythm of life on the farm is peaceful, and their customers carry some of that away with them when they leave. It’s no wonder that they have a growing number of loyal customers – the NewHartfordPlus crew among them – who look forward to their visits to the Barden’s farm, where they know they will find the best local produce, and a sense of kinship and community.

The Barden Farm is open 7 days a week, year-round. The farm is located at 45 Burgoyne Heights, .2 mile up West Hill Road from the Town Hill Road (Route 219) intersection. To contact the farm, please call 860-379-8803, or email bardenfarm@aol.com. For more information about the farm, including its CSA program, please visit the Barden Farm website.

With 90-degree weather, the Barden family does the only reasonable thing: they hang out on the porch of their farmstand. Photo: Maria Moore

Charlie, the youngest of the Barden children, lends a hand on the farm. Photo from September, 2010, NewHarfordPlus archives

Ed Barden transplanting his tomato plants into the field of his family farm. Photo: Maria Moore