Our story

We are a small 6th generation family farm located in the heart of Massachusetts. Our farm has changed over the years but our love for nature and caring for the land remains the same. What was once a barn full of laying hens is now full of apples. Through the years we have added to our offerings to include our own tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, pears and pumpkins. But the heart of our farm will always be apples!

John and Florence Derby purchased the farm in 1910. It wasn’t until 1947 when their son John Eveleth Derby and his wife Emily Priest purchased land on the Stow-Maynard town line that the orchard was planted. John and Emily started selling fruit at their farm stand on Great Rd in an outdoor market style set up. It wasn’t until much later that the stand moved to inside the barn.

The farm was left to Jack and Emily’s daughter, Anne Derby Porcella. Anne, also known as “Orch” short for “Annie Orchard”, was always a staple of Derby Orchards. Anne spent most of her time at the stand sorting apples while her husband Ted Porcella and the rest of the family helped out at the orchard. 

In 2008, Anne and Ted’s daughter, Linda, inherited the farm. Linda and her husband, Gregg Mikoski, decided to pay homage to the ridge that runs the length of the property and updated the farm name ‘Derby Orchards’ to the current ‘Derby Ridge Farm.’ Linda and Gregg have two daughters that help at the farm, Katie and Krissy. Krissy and her husband, Brian Cumming, recently had a daughter, Julia, that makes our family farm six generations strong!