Small farms thriving amidst pandemic reopenings | News, Sports, Jobs

“The pandemic didn’t affect the bees,” said Brenda Aucker, owner of Aucker’s Apiary. “(As far as sales) We thought everything was going to slow down and breathe, but to the contrary…it didn’t happen that way.”

Aucker’s Apiary primarily manages bees and produces and sells honey at farmer’s markets, small businesses, mom and pop stores, etc. Brenda and her husband both store and sell the honey from their bee hives.

“With the shut down, it forced people to stay home,” she said. “A lot of people were doing their own cooking. With the pandemic, people became a little more health conscious…became aware of where they were getting their food and connecting to people.”

She added that the farmers markets were still able to be held as it was an outside and socially distanced event and that the “customer base wants to know the farmer they are buying from” and would come to the market.

Brenda added that at times, it was even “challenging to keep up” throughout the year.

Now as the world is starting to reopen and the farmer’s markets are more populated, she said that sales have returned to “what they were in 2019” but have not decreased in any way.

Similarly, Greenwood Farm, located in Millville, is a 15 acre mushroom farm that has seen a large increase in individuals wanting to support small businesses and farms, helping their production grow.

“I think more people are cooking at home, which is great,” said Carlyn McKee, farmer. “We have seen an increase in demand for mushrooms.”

The farm grows oyster, lions mane and chestnut mushrooms and also makes medicinal extracts from the lions mane mushrooms that help with nerve and brain health as well as reishi mushrooms for vitality, longevity and anti-anxiety.

PHOTO PROVIDED
Oyster mushrooms, middle, are one of the varieties sold by Greenwood Farm.

“We started to focus on having more product and higher quality, focusing on the farm instead of just educational outreach,” McKee said. “We are learning how to really use all of the resources; making a full-cycle.”

During the pandemic the farmers have done outreach in connecting with local networks as well as studying agriculture to hopefully “move to more biodegradable” ways to grow at their farm. They have done this through more climate controlled areas and growing mushrooms in bags to protect the mushrooms and then use the bags to help fertilize the fields and be used as soil.

“Being more regenerative and sustainable,” McKee said.

Susquehanna Mills Co., located in Muncy, had their fair share of challenges from universities and restaurants closing, but have been working hard to further develop their agribusiness.

“We managed to weather it well and have taken the opportunity to reevaluate and take the time to do things we need and want to do from a business perspective,” April Line, manager, said.

Susquehanna Mills Co. is a “full circle” agribusiness that farms canola and sunflower crops that they turn into cooking oil that is supplied to restaurant and university kitchens and retailers, then they pick up used oil and it gets sold to biodiesel manufacturers.

Line expressed that their “rag tag team of misfits” goal is to “make it so more people have access to farm to fork food” while also maintaining sustainability.

Their largest business is selling oils to regional universities and restaurants, and then recycling the waste oil, which was a challenge as many were closing their doors during initial pandemic closures. The agribusiness also participates at farmers markets and events with their french fry trailer, most of which were at a decreased rate due to pandemic regulations.

“We managed to grow through the pandemic but at a much slower rate,” Line said. “We benefited a great deal from subscription based food service.”

Susquehanna Mills Co. had already established relationships with different distributors in the region like Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative and Headwaters Food Hub in New York, but also got their oils in Misfits Market, a well known way to order online organic and local produce and groceries, and a few other smaller co-op based subscription services like Harvie Farms in Pittsburgh.

Even amidst the pandemic, they were able to hold two sunflower events on fields they lease to grow oil seeds, which Line described as “successful” and “delightful” as “people were eager to get out”. The business is looking to develop more festivals and agritourism events including a Canola Fest.

“We are doing well now,” Line said. “We anticipate doing better as things continue to open back up.”