LITCHFIELD – One of the town’s oldest and most popular farm sites was foreclosed on in December and later purchased by the federal government at the ensuing auction.

Its fate is still unclear as the farmland will be up for sale again soon.

The land formerly owned by the Rodonis family sold for $516,500 at a foreclosure auction on Dec. 20, 2010, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency in New Hampshire, according to the Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds.

Joe Rodonis and his daughter, Marilyn, signed the foreclosure deed.

Keith Farrell, district director at the New Hampshire Farm Service Agency, said there will be an open house on Wednesday, May 25, from 1-3 p.m. for interested parties to assess the land and put in sealed bids for the property.

All buildings and greenhouses are included in the sale, although not the large house next to the Rodonis Gardens retail store, Farrell said. The smaller house in the back corner of the property is included, he said.

Farrell said the New Hampshire Farm Service Agency works “specifically with farm properties,” but this is the first time in more than a decade that the federal agency has foreclosed on property in the state.

“This is very rare for our agency,” he said. “There are not a lot of farm foreclosures.”

Farrell would not disclose any financial terms or the agency’s desired price for the land.

There is no minimum bid price, Farrell said, and he hopes other people in town or nearby organizations will make a serious attempt to buy the land.

“Hopefully we’ll get some interest and move the property,” he said.

Farrell said the agency will open all sealed offers on Friday, May 27, at 10 a.m. The agency will decide after reviewing each bid whether to accept or reject any of the offers.

The property was foreclosed on by mortgage holders Joe and Marilyn Rodonis, who held the mortgage for Litchfield resident Donna Kehoe after buying the property from her in June 2005 for $400,000, according to deeds records. Both numbers listed for Donna Kehoe are out of service.

The auction was publicized in the New Hampshire Union Leader and also sent directly to Kehoe, Hudson resident Mark Boisvert, the Farm Service Agency, and the Nashua law firm Hamblett & Kerrigan.

The site was popular for decades in town, owned by Bill Rodonis and his father before him, who bought the 500 acres initially in 1949.

“It’s a signature piece of farmland in Litchfield,” said resident Claudette Durocher, a former longtime editor at The Telegraph.

Brothers Joe and Bill Rodonis both declined to comment on the current state of the land but said they went out with an “excellent reputation” in town.

Victor Dahar, the Rodonis family’s attorney that was listed on the foreclosure deed, also declined to comment.

Bill Rodonis was known for his world-record-caliber pumpkins, which often won prizes at local fairs and competitions for their enormous size and weight. Even recently, his 1,471-pound pumpkin won at the 2009 Topsfield Fair giant pumpkin contest.

Joe Rodonis worked the land for many years as well. He and his daughter Marilyn were the farm’s most recent owners.

Workers at McQuesten Farm and Wilson Farm did not return calls to comment on the impact Rodonis Farms has had on the community.

McQuesten Farm has been operating in Litchfield since 1744 and Wilson Farm has done the same since 1884, growing crops on the open land.

Cameron Kittle can be reached at 594-6523 or ckittle@nashuatelegraph.com.