Farm-Way is a family owned and operated business located in Bradford, VT.From our very beginnings in 1983, we have listened to our customers. With this in mind the store has grown to 17 acres of land and more than 4 million dollars in inventory.

While the store has grown, customer service has always remained our number one priority.  It doesn't’t matter if you have come here to purchase a new shovel, frying pan, or an entire outfit; the same great help can be expected.

We special order items all the time, and chances are that by time you need another, we will already have it in stock. This is how Farm-Way has grown to be what it is today: by listening to our customers and stocking the items that customers want and need.

Directions to Farm-Way: -Google Maps

Our staff consists of 36 full and part time employees.  Some have just recently joined the Farm-Way family and many have been here for years.  There are four husband and wife teams, a few children and a whole bunch of great friends. 

We pride ourselves on using and enjoying the products we sell whether it’s hiking, camping or just hanging out which is something we often do together.

 

Farm-way opened its doors in May of 1983 in the former home of Purina Mills which had years of vacancy and neglect. The building was now back in use. For some of us being able to buy grain in town and getting a run down vacated old building cleaned up and back in use was a job well done, but we were still hoping to be more. We wanted to be the place that had what people needed when they needed it. It seemed like right from the start people offered their support. The first customer was John Wendell of Bradford, Vt. John was a logger and had a horse so you can be sure that meant he needed things that we sold and some we were about to sell.

 

Most generations start a business with the eldest members passing to the next generation; in this case you could almost say 3 generations started it at once. In 1987 Paul and Bobbie Gallerani put up $20,000. themselves and gave the other $20,000 to son in law Skip and daughter Carol Metayer ( they said, well I guess this is your college education ) and with that $40,000 the four were able to borrow the startup funds and purchase Farm-Way for $25,000 for the business plus $100,000. For the inventory.

 

Paul and Bobbie raised Carol while running a livestock business and retail meat market and allowed Carol to do some of the business ads while still in grade school. Carol does Farm-Way ads and still has fond memories of being able to do it as a child . Times have changed but not completely. Generations passing on trust and knowledge by giving people a chance to take a chance and learn from it. Paul’s father Peter Gallerani sent him out to buy his first tractor trailer of cows at the age of 13 with his own checkbook and the best part was he could do and did it. It was through the cattle business that Paul met his wife Bobbie whose family were also cattle dealers. Skip brought to the business the things he learned in the construction business from his father’s Metayer Construction and his time served in the Seabees as well as doing some serious cooking in Restaurants like the Green Mountain Inn. Skip spends most of his time in the camping area and boot room where we really do stock over 15,000 pairs of boots and shoes.

 

The original owners, the Oakes Brothers wanted to raise some money to expand their Lumber and Hardware business and build an entire new store. At the time Skip was working as their manager for the Lumber division and Carol was managing Farm-Way. Paul was President of the local bank, the livestock & custom meat business suffered a fire in 1975 and Paul switched to banking. Bobbie was backing us all up and babysitting Paul and Shelby who were born in 1985 and 1986. Basically everyone kept doing what they were doing and put in as much free time as they could spare. Remarkably the business grew and with it the need for the other partners and one by one they came and with them brought their passion for the business and the lifestyles it represented. Farming, gardening, hunting. kayaking. Horseback riding, cooking, snowshoeing etc. and then of course the footwear, clothing and equipment to perform such tasks

 

You can’t think of Farm-Way without thinking of the other two couples that work there. John Phaneuf and Millie, John has worked at Farm-Way since 1988 his senior year in High School and knows where everything is buried and how it works, John also runs the Fencing division. Millie works in almost every department in the store and can sell fencing with the best of them too if needed. The other couple is Mark and Diane Hood. Mark is our internet and computer guru but not someone who cares to spend the day on the computer so be found anywhere in the store including the boot room where his wife Diane works. Mark has been here 10 years and Diane 8 years. Farm-Way currently employs 31 full time people and 4 part time people, many who have been here well over 5 years.

 

Generation 3 Paul and Shelby each graduated college in the spring 08 . Paul with a bachelor degree in  Business  from Castetleton  and a love of the outdoors now spends his time in and the footwear and camping section of the store . Paul is an avid snow boarder and and enjoys hiking and kayaking in the summer.   Shelby graduated Champlain College with a  bachelor science degree in Accounting with a huge passion for the clothing end of the business and is involved in the purchasing and merchandising of that area of the store . Shelbys first order of business when she graduated was to surround herself with animals so she purchased a 5 year old morgan mare  "Imme "  and a border collie cross puppy Fiona .

 

People say the best thing about Farm-Way is the friendly atmosphere and knowledgeable caring people, for us it’s not just a job it’s a lifestyle and we learn from our customers everyday and enjoy their company and hearing about what they are doing. Once in a while somebody say why don’t you open another Farm-Way somewhere else but for us the joy is being in one location and paying full attention to that, not to mention that there could never be another Farm-Way for us. It is a unique business in a uniquely wonderful location with enough parking for any size horse trailer to turn around in even if they drive one like Carol which means you need some space to turn around !