Holmquest Farms and Greenhouse History
2013 was Holmquest Farms’ 70th year in business. As fourth generation family farmers, we are to proud to continue the tradition that our great grandfather began in 1944. The farm is owned and operated by the Holmes family, and it is comprised of over 500 acres. The greenhouses alone have a combined growing and sales area of over 30,000 square feet! Here’s th
e story …
In 1944, Richard Holmes Jr. bought the property that had been Evan’s Brewery since the early 1900s. During that time New York State began to require that all cow herds have a registered name, so the name Holmquest was born. On the property Richard Jr. created a cow farm which he ran with his wife Ellenbelle. In 1959, Richard Holmes III took over the farm. He ran the farm with Elaine and together, they turned Holmquest Farms into a crop farm and opened the first greenhouses. In 1997 Tom took over the farm. In 1999 the greenhouse operation was added. Planting, fertilization and harvest machinery are continuously upgraded and in 2012 solar panels were installed, providing power for the entire farm. The Holmes keep up with technology to help them with the challenging task of running a family farm. In 2013, work was completed on a new 15,000 square foot greenhouse that includes automated temperature control and zoned irrigation. An extensive water recovery system catches the rainwater and the flow from the flood tables in the greenhouse, returning it for greenhouse for watering. Not only green – but GREEN!
