Sustainability

At SWAZ Potato Farms, we embrace the practice of sustainable agriculture by using responsible farming techniques that preserve and protect the environment, public health, and our 5,000 acres of land. For over a century, the Szawlowski family has taken great pride in the way it has sustained its farmland by minimizing tilling and by incorporating state-of-the-art irrigation and drainage to help preserve the long-term health of our soil.

Additionally, the center-pivot irrigation system we use conserves the amount of water needed to hydrate our crops. We use modern, fuel-efficient planters and harvesters to minimize our carbon footprint. And our integrated pest management system reduces the number of products applied to keep our potatoes healthy through harvest.

Also contributing to the “greenness” of our operation is the fact that we deliver potatoes by truck to a relatively small geographic area - the densely populated Northeast. We utilize solar panels installed on our buildings, which enables us to self-generate much of the electricity needed to power our cooling and packing plants.

As a family-owned business, SWAZ Potato Farms has supported the local economy and has been an employer to the people in our community for more than 100 years. We are a major donor to food banks in our area, helping to provide food to those struggling with food insecurity throughout Massachusetts. The Szawlowski Farms Agricultural Foundation fosters future farmers through scholarships available to high school students in our growing region. SWAZ Potato Farms has received numerous agricultural awards over the years, including the Eastern States Exposition’s Agricultural Adventurer Award and The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts’ 2017 Farmer of the Year Award.

Our commitment to preserving and protecting the environment and our long history of responsible stewardship of the land has made SWAZ Potato Farms a welcome and integral neighbor in the Western Massachusetts community since 1910.