The rest of what they sell is all on a retail basis. Their
season starts in the spring with the asparagus harvest. Later
in the year they have pick-your-own blueberries and raspberries.
They also offer strawberries, vegetables, tomatoes and pumpkins.
In the fall they accommodate school tours and offer hayrides.
Their certified kitchen pumps out such favorites as pies
and candied apples.
ALISON JASWELL and her brother, Chris, stand in front of some of the modern cider making gear they recently purchased, the only flash-pasteurization system in the state which produces natural tasting cider. Alison and Chris are carrying on a farming tradition started by their grandfather in 1899, working long days but today they also seek advice from other farmers and URi fruit expert, heather Faubert.
"We enjoy what we do," says Alison who noted,
however, that the work is hard and the 12-hours days get
to them at times. The Jaswells have a regular clientele but
they use direct mail and a website to promote themselves.
They both say their business education is a big plus in
this day and age of farming. They also credit people like
Heather Faubert, an outreach agricultural specialist at URI
and Richard J. Schartner Sr., owner of Schartner Farms for
advice and assistance over the year but most the help comes
from their parents—some things in farming don’t
change. Farming in Middletown
At the other end of the state in Middletown, Jan and Michelle Ekhart have turned their Sweet Berry Farm into a favorite stop for their Aquidneck Island clientele.
”Retail is the trend in agriculture in this state and others where farm tracts are small. People want to buy directly from a farm”, says Jan, who holds bachelors and masters degrees in business from URI.
Running a farm is something new for the Ekharts who took over the property five years ago. Jan, in his 60s, was in the restaurant business (Yesterday’s in Newport) for a while and was also a teacher in business. But then he decided to convert his hobby into a business and Sweet Berry Farm was converted from potatoes, silage and dairy to a place where customers will find pick-your-own apples, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, pumpkins and even Christmas trees.
At first the Ekharts sold their produce at farmers’ markets but they only attend one now that they have a farm stand. They started out using the back of a truck, then expanded to tables under a canopy. Their stand today is a rustic post and beam structure of imposing architecture. Michelle explains that she visited a lot of farm stands before coming up with the design of theirs which includes an atrium.
Like the Jaswells, the Ekharts put in a huge certified kitchen which they lease out. |
Michelle, a graduate of the RI School of Design where she met Jan, notes that value-added products such as making pies and preserves greatly help the business. Their kitchen also produces ice cream using their own fruits.
“We’ve been pretty successful,” says Jan. ”Diversity is the key,” he adds noting that what is helping also is the public attitude toward local farms and local produce. “There’s awareness now and a commitment toward preserving open space, keeping local farms in business.”
”It really makes a difference when things are grown locally,” says Jan, noting that it certainly makes a difference when crops are ripened naturally rather than using methods to force ripening. ”With our produce, the main attribution is taste, not shipping,” he adds referring to the techniques employed by major growers to sell produce that does not bruise when shipped thousands of miles.
Jan and Michelle have done most of the work themselves and this is the first year they are going to have ”real help,” notes Jan. They better—they have 1,500 dwarf apple trees and this year will be planting 1,000 more Canaan firs for the Christmas business.
They appear to have fun with their business. As if she does not have enough work, Michelle this year is growing fun crops such as peanuts, roses and cotton—if for nothing else then to entertain visiting school groups.
Jan is particularly happy with some of the help that is being offered to push agritourism in the state, the success of Rhody Fresh milk and the efforts others are making to collaborate such as the local beef raisers.
Part of his success he ascribes to his preference for Integrated Pest Management practices which represent the middle road for pest and disease controls. He estimates that more than 90 percent of his produce is no-spray, which his customers appreciate, but to go totally organic with fruit is a tough call.
He had tremendous problems with his peaches the first year, he says, and had it not been for URI’s Heather Faubert who advised him on controls it would have been a disaster. ”She was a godsend,” says Jan.
Jan said he remains pretty upbeat about agriculture in the state although some of the help now being offered is in his opinion ”20 years too late but we can save what’s left.”
As for people who want to be successful at farming in the future, Jan has some advice: ”They better take business courses.”
HEATHER FAUBERT, a URI research associate, provides outreach advice to farmers all over the state, including many orchard owners.
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