At the Jarmoc farm, the key to success is balancing what’s worked for generations with exploring unhackneyed methods and new revenue streams.
Steve Jarmoc is the third generation to run Jarmoc Farm in Enfield, CT. His grandfather Stanley, an immigrant from Poland, founded the farm in 1907. “When he first started,” said Steve, “he had 42 acres. He used 36 acres for growing tobacco, and on the remaining six acres he had two houses, four barns, seven cows, two pigs, 19 chickens and his pasture land.”
Steve’s father, Edwin, was born in 1926. After serving as a tank mechanic in the Korean War, he studied electrical engineering at UConn. He married in 1957, and Steve was born in 1962.
Steve received his degree in agriscience from UConn in 1983. He and his father incorporated their holdings into Jarmoc Tobacco LLC in 2002.
During the 1960s, the farm began its rapid expansion as the family began buying up some of the neighboring farmland. They added 14 acres in 1965, 22 acres in 1966, 10 acres in 1968 and a pair of 12-acre plots in 1968. Today the farm sits on just over 1,000 acres, 525 of which are used in the growing of tobacco.
“We don’t grow shade tobacco. A farmer who grows shade tobacco has a license to lose money!” Steve laughed. “We grow broadleaf tobacco. The broadleaf tobacco grown in Connecticut is unique, and regarded highly for its sweet taste. No one can seem to replicate it anywhere else. So we focus on it.”
This has been a somewhat trying season for his tobacco operation. Steve gave his summary: “We started dry – and tobacco loves it dry. We had a late May planting, ending in late June. Then on the July Fourth weekend it got very, very wet. We got four inches of rain in one day – and eight inches in three days. There was root saturation and nitrogen loss. As a result, our overall weight is down 22%.”
Starting about 30 years ago, the Jarmocs began bringing in seasonal help from Jamaica. Today, the farm hosts 110 workers, mostly from Jamaica, under the H-2A temporary agricultural program.
“Twenty-five workers begin on April 15, to help with maintenance. When that work shifts to planting, we add another 25 workers,” Steve explained. “On June 15, when we concentrate on maintenance and hoeing, another 25 are folded into the mix. And a final 35 workers come for July 15 and stay through the end of November to help with harvesting.”
To house these workers, the Jarmocs built a 60-person dormitory in 1999 and a duplicate facility in 2018.
In 2017, Steve decided to participate in Connecticut’s Farmland Preservation Program (FPP). The objective of the programs is to keep too much farmland from being lost to development and to help agriculture remain an important part of the state’s economy.
“A participating farmer sells his development rights to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture,” Steve explained. “Then a permanent restriction on non-ag uses is placed on the deed to these properties.”
Applications are evaluated according to state regulation criteria, which recognize the benefits of clustering farms with a high percentage of prime farmland soils in active farm communities.
“The amount that that farmer receives from the state is based on how valuable that land is for prospective development,” he added. Through FPP, Steve was paid $6,200 each for 44 acres and $4,500 each for 80 acres.
Four years ago, Steve leased a portion of the land on his farm to NextEra Energy Inc. for the purposes of solar installations. “It’s a net metering setup,” he said, “which credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid.”
The 40-year lease for 36 of the farm’s acres brings in about $3,100 per acre annually. According to Steve, “it’s nice to have that income, especially if the tobacco is having a bad year.”
Along the way, Steve has experimented with other crops, experiencing a variety of results. Six years ago, he planted 60 acres of hemp to be used for CBD oil. He invested $600,000 in the effort, and he graciously describes the results as “not successful.” Pumpkins, on the other hand, are more promising. Although the 75 acres of pumpkins he planted this year were ruined by the weather, he expects that he will try them again next season. In the past, he’s supplied BJ’s Wholesale Club, ALDI Grocery Stores and Trader Joe’s with the gourds.
And then there’s the airfield.
Steve has two runways, an 1,800-foot grass strip dating back to 1958, and a paved 2,500-foot runway just finished in 2022. In his hangar, Steve has two airplanes, a 1947 Piper Cub and a 2012 Cessna 182. He uses the planes for field operations, assessing his land and crop viewing.
“It’s more fun than a drone,” he laughed.
Steve also makes himself available to his neighboring farmers, should they want to go up and get a bird’s-eye view of their own properties. Steve has used his airplanes to make emergency runs for parts from suppliers as far away as Maryland. He is also considering adding a six-seater Meridian turboprop plane to his fleet.
Steve’s son Owen now works alongside his father, ensuring that, as in the past, the farm will successfully transition from one generation to the next.
