Derby Ridge Farm

About the Farm

Derby Ridge Farm has been a cornerstone of Massachusetts agriculture since 1910, when John and Florence Derby first purchased the property. What began as a humble farm with a barn full of laying hens has evolved into a thriving 6th generation family operation, though the heart of the farm remains rooted in apple growing. The transformation truly began in 1947 when their son John Eveleth Derby and his wife Emily Priest purchased additional land on the Stow-Maynard town line and planted the orchard that would define the farm's future.

The farm's legacy passed through Anne Derby Porcella, affectionately known as "Orch" for "Annie Orchard," who became synonymous with Derby Orchards as she spent countless hours at the stand sorting apples while her husband Ted Porcella tended to the orchard operations. In 2008, their daughter Linda inherited the farm alongside her husband Gregg Mikoski, who honored the property's natural landscape by renaming it from Derby Orchards to Derby Ridge Farm, paying homage to the ridge that runs the length of their land.

Today, Derby Ridge Farm represents a harmonious blend of tradition and evolution, with Linda and Gregg working alongside their daughters Katie and Krissy, and Krissy's husband Brian Cumming. The recent arrival of little Julia, Brian and Krissy's daughter, marks the farm's proud sixth generation. The Derby Ridge Farm family remains committed to providing their community with high quality fruit grown with nature in mind, offering both their own homegrown products and locally sourced goods in their authentic country store housed within a centuries-old barn.