Agbusinesses

Call For Signs

By Kendra Bobowick

They never knew it was there.

“I would say about 70 percent of customers yearly say they had no idea we were here,” said Sue Shortt. She and her husband Jim Shortt own Shortt’s Farm & Garden Center located — as the roadside sign indicates — 500 feet down the driveway off Riverside Road in Sandy Hook. Just prior to Memorial Day celebrations Ms Shortt attended a forum inviting those directly involved with agriculture, farming, and equestrian-related businesses in Newtown. She and others are trying to find the trick to getting foot traffic to march through her plant nursery, as well as local creameries, farmers’ markets, and vineyards, for example, rather than making a trip to the supermarket.

Ms Shortt considered the public’s perspective and said, “I don’t really think a lot of people know a lot of Connecticut’s agriculture. No one [in the agricultural field] is really ‘out front’ so people are not aware.” By out front she means prominently recognizable to the public eye. She feels that frequenting department and grocery store chains are second nature to consumers.

Ms Shortt explained that she and her husband run newspaper advertising and have a sign at the end of their nursery’s driveway in the hopes of drawing attention.

Despite their efforts, “People can’t find us,” she said.

 More signs would help, however, “Newtown is strict about signage,” she said.

She would greatly appreciate the chance to place a directional sign at the corner of Queen Street and Church Hill Road, for example, indicating which way to the nursery, the vineyard, the creamery, to help get local business noticed.

Luckily, the state allows for signs, but the available parcel with a posted sign on Church Hill Road leading to Riverside Road is easily missed when the spring and summer foliage fill in.

“Everyone says, ‘What sign?’” she said. “I know that exposure is a problem.”

Ms Shortt hopes the Economic Development Commission, which sponsored the recent forum, can also help the local agricultural and farming business gain recognition. Ms Shortt feels that consumers out with the grocery list in hand, for example, are not avoiding local growers, just overlooking them.

“People are so used to the supermarket and it’s convenient,” she said.

 

What Works?

Shirley Ferris of Ferris Dairy Farm said the farm has been active since 1864, and the creamery, which has become a popular summer stop, has been running for three years with large success.

“The shop has really taken off and we’re doing well,” she said.

Ms Ferris offers her thoughts on the basics of business.

“The bottom line in any business is you have to have a product the public is willing to purchase at a price they’re willing to pay and still make a profit,” she said. The equation has worked well for Ferris Acres Creamery on Route 302, she said.

A recent article submitted to the Newtown Chamber of Commerce by Director of Community Development Elizabeth Stocker explains that the recent agricultural forum focused on farms with land preservation as an additional goal.

The release states, “The EDC is interested in this sector because of the large impact that this small group has on Newtown. An impact that may not be that easy to quantify in dollars but whose impact on community character, preservation of open space … is so important to our quality of life in Newtown.”

Similarly, Ms Ferris said, “For us, our product comes from the land, and we need [the land] to produce,” she said. Noting the correlation between agriculture and land preservation, she said, “Farmers, like anyone else, have to have a profit to stay in business, and we’re the ones to keep the land open.”

Also increasing the odds of success is the amount of exposure a business receives, she explained.

Speaking on behalf of many local farmers, she said, “Most of us do a great deal of advertising.”

She also combines business savvy with advertising saying, “It’s always a challenge to have a new and exciting product.”

Consumers in Newtown may also be looking for ambiance, such as the special atmosphere found at the creamery’s farmstead, Ms Ferris said.

Adding atmosphere to her list of reasons people may patronize local business, she said, “I think people are looking for a little extra.”

The forum “was a good start” to discussions about Newtown’s agriculture, farming, and equestrian related business, she said. Further, “It speaks to the fact that people in a position to make a difference have become aware of the value of agriculture in town.”

Hoping for permanent support from the Economic Development Commission, along with many other special interest boards and commissions, Ms Ferris said, “Maybe the time is right for an Agricultural Commission.”

Crediting EDC member Brian Aumueller, who organized the forum, Ms Ferris said, “He really went through a lot of hard work.” Ms Shortt also commented on the mount of time Mr Aumueller spent preparing for this forum.

 

Taking Action

Joining Ms Shortt at the forum was Pat Gregory from Fox Ridge Farm, who also hopes to bolster agriculture, farming, and equestrian business locally.

Walking away from the forum with a specific near-future goal in mind, she said, “We’re going to try to make [public] perception more favorable.”

Her idea literally involves a taste and tour of Newtown from the kitchens and fields of its local business community.

Ms Gregory discussed hosting a dinner on the Fox Ridge property inviting guests to a dinner prepared with food grown in town, and then a walk or horseback ride through the trails. She already has received permission to hold the event, but has not yet set a date, she said.

Envisioning the evening, she said, “Everything will be locally grown; desert from the creamery, wine from [McLaughlin Vineyard in Sandy Hook], and dinner totally grown in Newtown.”

She hopes to rally support for the local businesses that rely on the land. Ultimately, she seeks to spare the land, saying, “Hopefully people will preserve the farmland.”

Ms Gregory has seen enough deterioration in agriculture, she explained. “I have watched the farms disappear, there is hardly anything left of bridle trails, and no one keeps horses at home anymore.”

Hoping to draw attention to the local businesses, she said, “Hopefully the dinner will do that.”

Also starting up again for its fourth year is the St John’s Organic Farmers’ Market, which will open Tuesday, June 27, from 2 to 6 pm. The market is set up in the parking lot and grassy area behind St John’s Episcopal Church, on Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook.