Mason Farms Builds on History, Looks to the Future
October 1, 2007 
Established in 1811, the history of Mason Farms began with Joseph Mason, a Private with the New Jersey Militia in the American Revolution. After the war, Joseph’s son John married and purchased land in Wayne County, NY, which is now Mason Farms. John, his wife Eleanor, and father came to New York and settled there. A carpenter by trade, John grew fruits and vegetables to help sustain his family of 11 children and sold the extra crops. John died in a shipwreck on Lake Ontario in November 1831.
The eighth child of John and Eleanor, Charles, left his mother’s home at age seven, shortly after his father’s death, and hired out to learn the trades of cooper and farmer. He began purchasing land in his early 20s and accumulated 110 acres throughout Williamson and Pultneyville by the time he married Iantha Gibbs in 1847, growing fruit. Iantha’s father, Amasa, was one of the first settlers of Williamson and owned 300 acres there. When he died, Charles bought 42 of the acres and moved his farm to Ridge Road in Williamson, where he built his home, barns, an icehouse, and an apple dry house.
Charles and Iantha had three children, the oldest of whom, Durfee (fourth generation), was a cooper and a farmer and owned 90 acres of land. Durfee’s son, Charles (fifth generation), was born in 1881 and came of age to buy his grandfather’s farm, growing lettuce, celery, spinach, potatoes, onions, beets, and apples. He sold his produce locally and shipped it to New York City. He sold beets to the U.S. government and at the Rochester Public Market.
Charles had four children with his first wife, Elsie. When she died in 1921, he remarried Julia Johnson and had six children with her. His fifth child with Julia,
Paul (sixth generation), followed in his father’s footsteps and at age 17 took over the farm with his mother when Charles died in 1955. Together, Paul and Julia purchased additional land on Ridge Road in 1956 and moved the farm homestead there, where the farm is based today.
Paul raised tomatoes for the factory, potatoes, cabbage, and onions, as well as minor crops including squash, peppers, and sweet corn for Julia to sell at her roadside market. Paul also sold produce at the Rochester Public Market.
In 1961, Paul married Ethel Carey and they had four children. The oldest, Douglas (seventh generation), runs the farm with his father today.
Building On History
When Douglas graduated from high school in 1979, he bought one of the family farms from his father, Paul, and gradually bought all the land except for one farm, which Paul still owns. Today, Mason Farms spans 500 acres, including 180 acres of sweet corn, 70 acres of apple orchards, 40 acres of pumpkins, and small plots of six to 10 acres each for crops like peppers, eggplant, potatoes, summer squash, cabbage, broccoli, winter squash, and tomatoes.
Mason Farms began experimenting with growing organic tomatoes, with 10 acres of tomatoes currently in production. Doug Mason recently purchased another 60 acres to increase the farm’s organic capabilities.
“We had some farms in cover crops for a few years so it didn’t take us long to qualify, but the actual certification process, going through all the channels and red tape it took after my application went in, took about eight months,” Mason says. “I just received certification a month ago, so half the crops I raised under organic practices, I couldn’t sell as organic because I had no certification. We got the feel for it this year and we’ll start officially growing and selling organic next year.”
Because Mason Farms practices integrated pest management (IPM) on all of its crops, which requires vigorous recordkeeping, growing organically won’t be much different from the paperwork standpoint, Mason says. In addition to scouting himself, Mason also has three IPM scouts regularly checking his crops.
Looking Forward
Mason Farms sells the majority of its produce at its own farm market, which was expanded last year. Customers are loyal and countless and many come from out of the county and out of the state for Mason Farms’ fresh produce. The farm also includes several greenhouses used for growing transplants, but also for producing bedding plants, perennials, mums, and hanging baskets.
The rest of its product is shipped locally to grocery store chains, which has become a challenge recently due to high gas prices. “Our fuel bills are a third higher than last year and containers are up a good 25%,” Mason says. “We’re getting more for the actual product but by the time you subtract all of this, are we getting more or less? The verdict is out until the end of the year when I do that final tally.”
Meanwhile, the operation is trying to automate conveyors and use harvest aids and adopt more efficient practices to save on high labor and energy costs. This year Mason also switched to a zone till on sweet corn — one pass over, then plant.
Mason Farms received the New York Agricultural Society’s Century Grower Award in 2005, and Doug and his wife Lorraine and father Paul were honored at a ceremony in Syracuse. So what is it that has kept Mason Farms going for seven generations and counting? Evolving with the times and keeping customers happy, Mason says. “I feel that being very diverse has carried us through,” he says. “The other thing is we’re not too big into anything, but also not too small. We have enough. We raise for our markets and don’t plant to sell beyond that.”
While Doug and Lorraine’s two children, Lewis, 13, and Victoria, 11, are involved with the farm and market now, it’s hard to say if their future lies on the farm, says Mason, who celebrated his 46th birthday in September. “I have an estate plan but it’s still iffy because I’m not sure what the next generation is going to do,” he says. “If you ask me that question five or 10 years from now, I could give you a more accurate answer. I’m hoping I don’t have to worry for a few more years.”
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