Shelburne farmer Barbara Goodchild of Barberic Farm offers top quality when it comes to a time-honored comfort food: popcorn.
She started growing popcorn 40 years ago with her husband, the late Eric Goodchild.
“We chose the White Cloud variety because that’s what Eric’s grandfather grew at their family’s dairy farm in Ashley Falls,” Barbara recalled.
Barbara grew up farming, too, having been born into the regionally famed Davenport family, known for their dairy farm as well as maple products.
For four-plus decades, Barbara has lived just across the road from the farmhouse where she and her siblings were raised as the fourth generation of Davenports on that spot. Barbara’s father, Russell, took over the farm from his father, Maurice. Now Barbara’s brother, Norman, and his wife, Lisa, run the farm.
The union of Barbara Davenport and Eric Goodchild produced an agricultural and creative powerhouse. Barberic Farm has always been more than the sum of its parts, and this column pays tribute to Eric as much as it celebrates the determination and stamina of his extraordinary widow.
Eric died in July 2025 following a cancer diagnosis. Throughout the short period of his rapid decline, Eric remained centered in his deep faith.
“His biggest regret,” said Barbara, “was that he wouldn’t be around to watch the grandchildren grow up. There were so many things he wanted to do with them and show them.”
Having grown up farming and been a music major in college, Eric was able to earn income in a variety of ways. Like many farmers, the Goodchilds engaged in non-farming paths to solvency. Eric was a car salesman, handled computer sales and technical assistance, and was a licensed firearms instructor.
“We bought our first sheep about 30 years ago,” Barbara recounted, “which marked the official start of our farm.”
Music was one more arena where Eric and Barbara collaborated. A longtime bagpiper, Eric also played the violin. Barbara taught piano, and the couple provided music at churches they attended, where Barbara also directed choirs. Eric kept bees, did leatherworking and blacksmithing, and taught himself to knit. The Goodchilds also homeschooled their children, Anna and Ian. Today, Anna is a nurse and mother of two, and Ian is a custom jewelry designer and fabricator.
Barbara has scaled back on the farm since Eric’s death.
“A good team can accomplish more than any two singles,” she said. “The way I see it, it’s like oxen or horses that are well matched. When one is gone, the other is left to carry on, so the load has to be adjusted.”
She decreased the flock of sheep by a quarter, but the good news is she still grows popcorn. Folks who purchase popcorn from Barbara at local farmers markets are in for phenomenal flavor and freshness. Peak quality results from paying careful attention to every aspect of the process, including the early-season planting, timely harvesting and strategic drying on the stalk when the husks are brown. The trick is to pull back the husks all the way without removing them from the cob, Barbara noted.
“I tie the husks of four or five ears together with string, making sure the cobs aren’t touching so there’s good air flow,” she said. “It’s important to prevent mold by controlling the moisture as much as possible.”
She hangs bunches in her garage until Christmas or New Year’s.
“[Popcorn] has to have exactly the right amount of moisture to pop correctly, she added, “so I do a lot of testing.”
Barbara uses an air popper and eats the popcorn plain or with butter.
“Eric liked it with garlic powder or onion powder,” she mentioned.
The process begins when Barbara lines out planting rows with string and puts four or five kernels in each hill to encourage pollination.
“Plant popcorn away from other types of corn to prevent cross-pollination,” she warned.
The best kernels grow toward the top of each plant, and she saves next year’s seed from those prime candidates.
“When we started out, our ears were 4 to 5 inches long,” she recounted. “Now, they’re closer to 7 or 8.”
Kernels that are too wet will crack but not fully pop, she explained, “but if they’re too dry, they won’t pop or they’ll just crack.”
Barbara processes popcorn from more than a thousand plants, which fills about five 5-gallon buckets. Despite that volume, she removes kernels the old-fashioned way: by hand.
“I have to wear gloves, because the kernels are sharp,” she said. “Eric used vet wrap on his thumbs.”
The task requires pushing the kernels to one side over a pan or bowl. After freeing kernels from the cob, Barbara winnows the seed, “pouring it from the bowl to a pail from a distance of 2 to 3 feet, out of doors, so the wind blows the chaff away.”
Barberic Farm popcorn doesn’t produce the big, fluffy kernels one sees in commercial bags.
“Ours is small and crisp,” Barbara said.
It’s also important to know that perfect popcorn can be ruined by improper storage.
“Store it in airtight containers or in the freezer. And make sure your storage is rodent-proof,” Barbara emphasized. “If mice or chipmunks get into popcorn, they’ll store it in attics, bedding, shoes or boots. I once put my foot in a boot, took it right back off and poured about a cup of popcorn from it!”
Barbara sells her popcorn at the Greenfield and Shelburne Falls farmers markets, along with sheep products, jams and jellies, eggs, meats and pickled vegetables in a rainbow of colors. (Check out barbericfarm.com for schedules.) If you want to kick back with a good book or engrossing film, first get yourself some of the best popcorn around and prepare for a joyful flavor experience.
Eveline MacDougall, the author of “Fiery Hope,” can be reached at eveline@amandlachorus.org.