[CH] look what moved on the AP wire
bradley ellis (h0t5auce@home.com)
Wed, 30 Jan 2002 08:44:36 -0600
I'm pretty that I've seen the name Robert Farr in my inbox from time to time
...
FARM SCENE: A chili farmer is among those showing the way for small-farm
success
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer
ROUND HILL, Va. (AP) - The hottest land in all Virginia, to taste buds
anyway, is the 2-acre plot farmed by Robert Farr.
A former business executive, Farr has transformed himself into The Chile
Man. Last year, his small organic farm produced about 800,000 hot chili
peppers, which he turned into 17 varieties of hot sauce and salsa under The
Chile Man label.
He expects business to double this year, growing up to 2 million peppers and
selling 40,000 bottles of hot sauce at $5.50 a pop.
He is one of a growing number of small farmers in the mid-Atlantic region
who have discovered how much they can increase their profits by processing
and marketing their own products.
Farr estimated that his revenues would be one-fifteenth of what they are if
he merely sold his habaneros and jalapenos on the wholesale market.
"There's no way conventional farmers can make a living doing produce," he
said. "You have to have a value-added product."
In Farr's case, it's turning peppers into gourmet hot sauce. For Beverly
Morton, it's a five-course dinner served at her farm and made almost
exclusively with ingredients she has grown herself.
Her restaurant, Dinner in the Garden, draws people to her Lovettsville farm
who may buy the jams, jellies and herbs she produces, allowing her to skip
the farmers' market circuit. One attraction is her farm's stunning view of
the Potomac River, and interest has been high enough that she's expanding to
serve more diners each night.
"It was just easier for me to promote the farm, rather than going to all the
farmers' markets," she said. "It's very serene here; it's an incredible
piece of property."
The mid-Atlantic region is a good place for small farmers because of the
large population, said Bruce Mertz, director of Future Harvest, a nonprofit
network of farmers that helps farmers learn to retail their products.
"These small farms are out in the country a bit, but people are willing to
make a short drive," Mertz said.
Both Farr's and Morton's farms are in Loudoun County, an outer suburb of
Washington, D.C., that is the nation's third-wealthiest county and one of
the nation's fastest-growing.
Many of Loudoun's farms have been replaced by housing developments, but Farr
said he thought fewer farmers would sell out if they had any hope of making
their land profitable. And he said there's money to be made if farmers
become creative marketers.
He worked as a marketing executive for software developer Oracle and a
government contractor called GTSI until he "tired of the whole corporate
grind."
An avid cook, he had always grown peppers and made sauces for his own use,
and his friends told him he ought to go into business. So he did, buying his
own farm in 1998.
In the macho world of hot pepper sauces, Farr carved a different niche,
emphasizing flavor rather than heat. Some sauces are laced with cinnamon,
honey and elderberries.
For Farr, the production of hot sauces is a perfect fit. The pepper plants
can be picked two to three times a week, allowing a heavy yield on a small
plot of land. He grows 80 different peppers.
Also, the sauces are classified as an acidified food, which reduces the
amount of government regulation and paperwork because it's impossible for
the botulinum food toxin to thrive in an acidified product.
But Farr said any number of niche markets are available to all types of
farmers willing to take a creative approach.
"I've been successful enough to hold myself up to conventional growers as a
case study," said Farr, who recently spoke to farmers about his experiences
at a conference organized by Future Harvest. "And the conventional farmers
are starting to become receptive. He's realizing he doesn't have to sell his
land."
___
On the Net:
http://www.thechileman.com
http://www.futureharvestcasa.org