From the Farmers’ Mouth to Yours

Have you heard the buzz? If so, it is probably coming from one of the beehives David Graves has been maintaining on the rooftops of Manhattan. Graves is a beekeeper.  He’s also a bar tender, and a cook. Oh, and a farmer.  You may have seen him. He’s the guy behind the Berkshire Berries table in Union Square on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

“We’ve been an operating farm since 1977,” said Graves. “Back then we sold from a wagon built in the late 1800’s by my grandfather. Now the wagon’s in a museum and we sell New York City rooftop honey, maple syrup and jams.”

Graves, his wife and daughter run Berkshire Berries farm, country store and restaurant. There’s no stopping this family-run operation now, not with their celebrity clients, Zagat rated products and good press. And yet there was a time, not too long ago, that Graves wasn’t sure the farm would be able to maintain itself.

Graves had thought long and hard. He decided to adopt a new policy: Berkshire Berries would not serve alcohol to intoxicated customers. Graves didn’t want people driving drunk.  Business plunged. “Word was out,” says Graves. “We needed to find a way to survive.”

After a rigorous application process in 1993 Berkshire Berries was accepted into Greenmarket, a non-profit organization that hosts over 50 farmers’ markets in New York City.  The farm was re-born. Now they could sell their products year-round in the Union Square Market.

“We would’ve been outta business by doing the right thing,” says Graves.  “The alcohol policy backfired, but it forced us to go back to what we know, jams and jellies.  That was a great thing in the end.”

Berkshire Berries is not the only local farm that turned to urban farmers’ markets as a means of expanding business. Greenmarket has nearly doubled the number of its New York City farmers’ markets in just the past eight years.  Meanwhile, the total number of operating farmers’ markets nationwide have expanded from 1,755 in 1994 to 6,132 in 2010. As markets continue to pitch tents in new locations, trends show an increase in participating farmers per market from 27 in 2000 to 31 in 2005, according to Agricultural Marketing Service statistics.

“The farmers have been getting pushed out of the commodities market and it enables them to actually market their product at a price point to make them a profit,” said Mary Dench-Layton, who runs Violet Hill Farms with her husband and children.

This influx of farmers in the market has both its benefits for the local industry, and pitfalls. The increase of farmers means the expansion of business for more farms and new markets for their products.  But, this influx can also mean increased competition, and less profit.

“From a farmers’ market developer point of view, more stands means more fees, it’s good business sense,” says Dench-Layton. “Yet, from the farmer standpoint, it just means more people making less of a profit.  With the rise of feed and hay costs, production costs, loss to predators, it’s harder and harder to sustain a living.  Farmers are having to enter more markets at more cost to make less money.”

Despite some growing pains, most farmers would argue that these markets are beneficial for both the seller and the consumer.

“Supporting local farms helps maintain local community with a better life,” says Jake Samascott, owner of Samascott Orchards. “Fields, trees and open space produce quality nutrient rich produce that most consumers prefer. “

This influx of locally grown fruits and vegetables, and farm-grown meat is an asset to consumers in more ways than one.  The farmers engage with their urban costumers on both a business and a personal level.

“It’s a modern day version of the butcher shop,” said Dench-Layton.  “You would go to your butcher, they knew who you were, what you liked and you built a relationship with them.  Try doing that at your local Whole Foods, for instance.  The connection is becoming important again. ‘Know Thy Farmer’ is more than a catch phrase.  We like that connection, too.”

The farmers, in coordination with Greenmarket, believe in taking an active role in educating consumers about the products, as well as farm life. Greenmarket hosts its own tent at the farmers’ markets stocked with multicolored handouts with information on everything from maple syrup to animal husbandry terms.

Graves’s table has a mock beehive display, and pictures of him on his farm. Graves flips through pictures on his digital camera, showing customers the amount of snow he received this week. “Showing people helps them know what it takes to be a farmer,” says Graves.  “And it’s challenging.”

These family farms aren’t just pounding the pavement, but the keyboards as well.  Local farms have turned to social networking to promote their products, share information, and engage with their customers.  “What a revolution!” says Dench-Layton. “I think for us, social media is less about marketing and more about connections.”

Internet traffic is not the only way that these local farms connect to their asphalt-peddling counterparts.  To further foster a sense of community the farmers donate to help feed the hungry.

“Greenmarket’s farmers donate unsold food to City Harvest,” says Jake Samascott. “This is a great way for farmers to help feed a local, hungry community with high quality produce that may have been discarded.”

And these farmers want to help. Whether it be sharing recipes or answering questions about seasonal farming, they are the experts of the food they grow- the food city dwellers consume.

“The best advice?  Ask,” says Dench-Layton. “Talk to the vendors.  ‘Organic’, ‘Vegetarian Fed’, even ‘Free Range’ probably means less than you think it does.  Ask why they’re different.  Ask how it’s raised, if it’s sprayed, how to prepare it.  Most farmers want to educate.”

This article was originally published on AllMediaNY.com