Wendell’s Diemand Farm celebrating 90th anniversary with festivities

WENDELL — The traditional gift for a 90th anniversary is, believe it or not, granite, as it symbolizes strength, endurance and an unbreakable bond.

But those behind Diemand Farm merely ask for your presence. The Diemand family has planned a celebration on Saturday, Sept. 12, to thank the community for its support over the past nine decades on Mormon Hollow Road.

“The community has been amazing,” co-owner Tessa White-Diemand said. “It’s quite something to be able to … raise food for the community and know who it’s going to feed and who it’s going to nourish. It’s pretty amazing to be a part of this area.”

The family farmers have planned a day of festivities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to commemorate their anniversary. They will serve food prepared in their kitchen, and there will be local artisans at a craft fair, as well as live music throughout the day. Guests will also have the opportunity to experience parts of the farm through scheduled tours and demonstrations, offering a closer look at the work, traditions and craftsmanship that have shaped the farm and kept operations running smoothly.

“Our customers are just so wonderful,” said Anne Diemand Bucci, who co-owns the farm with her daughter, Tessa, and her siblings Peter Diemand and Faith Diemand.

Dan’s Veggies and Poplar Mountain Maple will be on hand with seasonal flowers, fresh vegetables, maple syrup and popcorn kernels grown from their own corn. There will also be Cuddles N’ Hoots, featuring custom-crocheted animals and crocheted dumplings.

Patriarch Al Diemand purchased farmland in 1936. He married his sweetheart, Elsie, shortly after, and they raised their 12 children. The family farm began with hormone-free broiler chickens (raised for meat) and all-natural eggs. The business eventually expanded to offer its famous pasture-raised turkeys, compost, lumber and beef cattle, while also becoming known for catering barbecue chicken dinners featuring the family’s signature secret sauce.

White-Diemand explained that the turkey business began with 500 birds, and now the farm raises 5,000 to 6,000 a year. She mentioned that in the 1990s there was a surplus of turkeys after Thanksgiving, so one of her aunts came up with the idea of selling turkey pot pies, further broadening the scope of their business.

White-Diemand said the farm store, which used to be based on an honor system, became staffed around 2002. To diversify its portfolio, the family then purchased a sawmill in 2012.

“Not to be cliché, but you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket,” she said.

White-Diemand grew up on the farm and always helped out, but she never envisioned agriculture as something that would become her career. She attended college and dabbled in social work before returning in 2017.

“Now I’m the third generation that’s taking over the farm and learning the ropes,” she said. “It’s not easy work, but it is rewarding. And the fact that I get to continue my grandparents’ legacy is pretty amazing.”

Diemand Bucci mentioned she grew up on the farm as the 11th of the 12 second-generation children. Her first job was standing on a pail next to her mother while the matriarch slaughtered chickens in the farm’s dressing room.

“Mom would separate the guts, and my first job was to clean the chicken stomachs,” she recalled, adding that she would occasionally find stones and loose change inside.

She mentioned that she traveled for about a year after finishing her education. She lived in Houston and worked at a Pizza Hut in Montana.

“I felt like the farm could use help,” she recalled.