Don
Hi, my name is Donald Grandmaison. I am a 27 year old graduate of UNH with a bachelors degree in plant biology, a graduate of Thompson School of Applied Science with an Associate's Degree in Environmental Horticulture, and an Associates Degree in Ornamental Horticulture. I am currently the farm manager at Dimond Hill Farm and have been working here for 11 years. The farmer in me began to see the light and to grow during my childhood. At the ripe age of 10, I planted my first row of corn, harvested my first cluster of tomatoes, and dug deep into the soil with my bare hands in search of that dark orange carrot.
When I entered high school, I became consumed with plants and biology through several of my freshman classes. I searched for a horticulture program in several high schools around the state and found one in the newly renovated Pembroke Academy. I enrolled in the program and my junior and senior years turned out to be two defining years that would mold my love for plants. Destiny would have it that my junior year through this same program, I was introduced to a woman named Jane Presby who owns and runs a beautiful farm atop a hill in Concord, NH. She interviewed and hired me to work as a summer farm hand and I have never left. This opportunity to actively engage in farming helped me to develop new knowledge and skills and led me in straight shot to the Thompson School at UNH.
The next two years would lead me on a great path where I met intelligent professors, mind expanding classes, and jobs both at Thompson School of Applied Science as green house assistant, the four year Plant Biology department as a green house data collector, the Fairchild Dairy Research Center, and the Swine Research center. These positions enabled me to get gain experiences beyond Dimond Hill, to differentiate between research-based work and applied field work, and to work with animals as well as with plants. I graduated with high honors from the Thompson School in 2005 and was accepted into the 4 year Plant Biology program at UNH as a second semester junior. The four years spent in this program stretched my brain beyond the boundaries of plants to the arenas of history and anthropology. I have been blessed with great teachers and wonderful chances to make important life choices. Without the farm and UNH I would not be the person I am today.
I love my experiences at the farm, here I am surrounded by wise elders (as I call them, although they advise me against such references of their ripened age) who work harder than any beings I have ever encountered. I am also aided by intelligent, hard working youth from surrounding high schoosl and colleges. They all have a great sense of humor and wit to them which make the sometimes long, hot days of summer a breeze. The simmering days melt away as if they were scoops of ice cream in the sun. I hope you visit the farm, for the great vegetables and for the intriguing conversation you may have with any who work here.
Thank you,
You can contact me at Dimond Hill Farm via the contact page.