Tougas Family Farm is a family owned and operated farm since 1981 when Maurice and Phyllis Tougas purchased the home farm, 53 acres of peach and apple orchards from Paul Fawcett. Over the years the apple stand, barnyard, playground, and kitchen were added. Strawberries, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, and pumpkins have replaced some of the old tired peach and apple trees. In 1986 the farm was preserved under the Agricultural Preservation Restriction program run by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
From the beginning Maurice and Phyllis have invited the public to their farm to share their exhiliration for farming. In order to better serve the public, the farm has worked closely with UMass Extension to produce their fruit in the safest and most environmentally friendly manner utilizing Integrated Pest Management to reduce and more effectively use the safest crop protectants.
The three Tougas children were born and raised on the farm. Andre, the oldest, followed by t
wo sisters Nicole and April, were often seen in diapers under the apple trees or in the middle of the strawberry patch smeared in strawberry juice and covered in dirt. As they got older they began to help out on the farm, Andre working with his father in the field, Nicole in the kitchen, and April helping out with the U-Pick customers. Andre went on to Cornell University to study Pomology and Farm Finance & Business Management and is now the owner of the farm with his father and mother helping him.
In 2001 the neighboring horse farm was purchased by the Tougas’s, adding another 35 acres to their production. This enabled the family to experiment with new crops such as cherries and plums and exciting new apple varieties such as Honeycrisp, Early Fuji, Suncrisp, EverCrisp©, and Topaz.
Tougas Family Farm continues to be one of the Northeast’s foremost family attractions and hopes to see you and your family for years to come. Thank you and enjoy!