WRSI: Golonka Farm

Jim and Jan Golonka of Golonka Farm and Farm Stand in Whately join Phil and Monte to talk about:

• Corn is in! What’s the best way to eat it? Listen to find out.
• Just how fresh all their produce is (grown steps from the stand)
• How climate change 🙁 and CISA 🙂 are impacting them and other local farmers
• And more!

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“There’s a good variety on the stand right now,” says Jan. Not just corn, but also cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower. “We pick all our produce fresh all day long from the fields right behind the farm stand, and if we get low, we just go pick some more.” A great deal for the 600-700 customers (!) they might see on a busy weekend day.

What’s the biggest challenge they’ve faced in their decades of farming? “Dealing with climate change and the effects it has on our produce,” says Jim. “There’s nothing normal anymore. We’re experiencing new diseases and pests which are a lot tougher to deal with and coming earlier…and of course extreme weather. Last year we were flooded out, this year we’re in a drought. The thunderstorms seem to be two, three inches at a time instead of half and inch, and the droughts seem to be longer. From one extreme to the other, you don’t know what to expect.”

There have been some helpful developments over the years too, he says, like CISA. “When CISA started, I thought it grow competition, promoting other farms. But what it’s done is increase awareness of local farms and locally grown food. Now even more people understand the importance of buying local. Especially with supply chain issues now, I think it’s going to be more important that we understand this.”

How do they like their corn?

“Lightly boiled, lots of butter, lots of salt,” says Jan. “It makes the sweetness pop.”

“I wind up eating most of my corn while picking first thing in the morning,” says Jim. “I pick an ear, rip it open and eat it raw. That’s really the only way to know when it’s ready.”

Try some yourself! Golonka Farm is open every day at 8 State Road in Whately, mid-June through mid-October.

Mon – Thurs 10am – 5:30pm

Fri 9am – 5:30pm

Sat & Sun 9am – 5pm