ATLAS FARM LLC

Inspired by work experiences on CSA farms and exposure to the great challenges facing the modern food system, farmer/owner Gideon Porth began farming in order to connect people more closely to their food sources, and to be part of the vanguard of sustainable agriculture. The seeds of Atlas Farm first germinated in 2004, on a 2.5-acre plot of rented land in Montague, Massachusetts. The farm’s first harvests were sold at the Copley Square Farmers Market in Boston. Over several years, Atlas Farm acquired additional rental land on River Road in Deerfield, now the base of our operations. As the farm grew in size and scope, vegetable sales expanded to include local and regional wholesale customers. In 2013 Atlas Farm opened the Farm Store in South Deerfield: a vibrant marketplace for our own certified organic produce and other regional and sustainable farm products. Today, Atlas Farm consists of 95 acres of owned and leased land in two locations. The main farm — including production fields, greenhouses, staff housing, packing facilities, and the main office — is located on scenic River Road in Deerfield, along the west bank of the Connecticut River. Across the Pocumtuck Ridge, at our “Hillside” location in South Deerfield, the Atlas Farm Store stands front and center on Routes 5&10. Forty acres of rich bottom-land and four greenhouses make up the Farm Store’s productive backyard. We are proud to be part of the vibrant agricultural heritage of the Connecticut River Valley, which is blessed with some of the most fertile agricultural soil on the East Coast. Atlas Farm operates year-round. We harvest from our fields every day from May through November, and from our greenhouses in the winter months. Our goal is to provide our community with the freshest local produce possible, even in the depths of winter. To this end, we store root crops, potatoes, and winter squash throughout the winter, and harvest greenhouse-grown salad mixes, lettuces, bunched greens, and herbs from November to April. The environmental and economic impacts of shipping produce from all corners of the world to New England are of great concern to us. We're part of a growing community of local agricultural producers working to change that paradigm. Atlas Farm strives to be a model of ecological food production. We engage in organic farming practices that sustain the ecosystems around us, and strive to minimize our resource consumption and environmental impact with constant improvements to our farm systems. We fertilize our fields with cover crops and organic, naturally-occurring soil amendments. Insects and diseases are managed through crop-rotation, biological controls, and cultivar selection, with organic pest controls used only as a last resort. Our long-term goal is to become a 100% bio- and solar-powered farm. In 2012, we installed a 24kw photovoltaic system at the main farm that meets three-quarters of the main farm's electrical needs. By the end of March 2018, we will have completed an additional 65kw system that will meet the full electrical needs of the Atlas Farm Store and Hillside greenhouses. One of our greenhouses is currently heated with a biomass heating system and we are pursuing a design for a central heating facility that would incorporate both solar hot water and biomass fuel to heat all of our farm buildings sustainably. Energy use is one of the greatest challenges facing agriculture and the world at large and we are committed to being part of the solution to this. Atlas Farm is blessed with an amazing crew, including both year-round and seasonal workers. We accept applications for various positions throughout the year. Please see our employment page for current listings, or email for more information.