Small-scale farmer networks build community

Sue Greene, who moved to northern New Hampshire in the last decade after successfully working for years as a certified physical therapist in the Boston area, has forged her own path as an independent farmer at Slopeside Farm on Stebbins Hill Road in Lancaster. Mike, her data scientist husband who works from home remotely, supports her efforts by maintaining her farm machinery and electronics.

Typically, during the warm weather months, most small-scale farmers and crafters living on both sides of the Connecticut River sell their products to fresh-food shoppers at Lancaster’s Saturday morning farmers market and Littleton’s mid-day Sunday counterpart. Some also operate a small farm stand.

Sue, however, has created her own pathway, specifically created to allow her to enjoy hiking in the White Mountains and winter sports outside with Mike on weekends.

He had a serious illness several years ago from which he’s recovered so building a schedule that permits them to enjoy the outdoors together seemed important and “doable,” she explained.

Sue has created three “seasons” of community supported agriculture (CSAs): six weeks in spring, eight weeks in summer and seven weeks in autumn. Each attracts about 20 customers, with many “repeats,” allowing her to be somewhat flexible about pre-payment and delivery.

Sue also wholesales vegetables, herbs and flowers to two retail markets (Littleton Food Cooperative and Taproot Marketplace) plus some restaurants and retail outlets. Super Secret Ice Cream (SSIC) in Bethlehem is the most widely known of the outlets to which she wholesales the herbs she grows.

This year, for the second year in a row, SSIC made the top five list in the “Outstanding Bakery” category of the James Beard Awards, designed to recognize the top culinary talent in the U.S. As a result, local farms in both New Hampshire and Vermont increased their sales to SSIC, which earned its reputation by making all its ice cream and waffle cones on-site in tiny batches, using only real ingredients. Numerous “foodies” drive long distances to enjoy the experience.

“We make our ice cream base in-house, with milk and cream from the neighboring Hatchland Dairy Farm of Haverhill,” its website notes. “Our flavors are born in our kitchen, inspired by ev erything from blueberries to maple sugar, and sourced from our local farm partners.”

SSIC owner Kristina Zontini included the word “Slopeside” when she named the two ice cream flavors that use the not-too-sweet variety of applemint that Sue grows in her garden plots. She regularly fills eight-pound orders of the tasty mint leaves specied in two of SSIC’s summer recipes.

Sue also wholesales herbs and/or vegetables to other niche markets: Baltic Kitchen and Chang Thai Café, both in Littleton, as well as the Polish Princess Bakery and the Granite Grind, both in Lancaster, plus outlets in Gorham.

My own visit to the certified organic Slopeside Farm confirms the accuracy of its name. Sue has about a half-acre under cultivation, including a high tunnel and a “Gothic” caterpillar tunnel. She carefully plans turnover and re-planting.

“My course work and training to learn to be a physical therapist taught me how to comfortably handle academic research,” she said, “so I depended a lot on books on farming. After all, I started from scratch.”

Once she’d decided to give up her a physical therapist career to become a small-scale farmer, she was very fortunate to have David Craxton of Roots & Fruits Farm serve as her official mentor. She worked two days a week in his garden in Dalton.

Dave, now 75, recalled in an in- terview, “I could teach Sue the ner points of what I do – and when I do them – in my own garden.” He’s been growing vegetables there for 45 years. Sue pointed out that Slopeside has excellent “Vermont soils,” which she says gives her farm a decided edge.

This autumn, Sue was the keynote speaker at the annual meeting and potluck supper of the Coös County Farm Bureau. She was one of the local farmers asked to speak at the UNH Cooperative Extension’s annual conference and trade show at the Lancaster Fairgrounds.

She praises her 72-year-old part-time helper, Bill Cardinal of Lancaster, for his valuable contributions.

Sue also grows annual flowers. She’d started by planting three or four easy varieties and now also plants more challenging ones.

“Flowers feed our mental health; they are symbols of love, kindness and care to others and yourself,” she wrote in her mission statement. “We offer seasonally grown wholesale cut flowers to [four] florists (plus individual subscribers) throughout the year, with winter tulips available from mid-January to April.”

Sue ordered 12,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands, many more than the 500 she ordered four years ago. Over summer, she’d been fearful that new tariffs would raise prices higher than local customers would be willing to pay. She was pleased, however, that her supplier will absorb 7.5% of the 15% tariff that’s set to be imposed, and she will match it.

Potting and planting both take both careful planning and lots of time, Sue explained, noting she expects, on average, to sell 700 tulip stems a week. Tulips are still used by many traditionalists to mark Valentine’s Day and Easter.

A new two-story garage, storage, washing and packaging facility that Sue and Mike built at Slopeside Farm, along with some changes to their existing house, now provide most of the infrastructure Sue’s farm requires.

One of the aspects of Sue’s new career that she most enjoys is being part of a supportive community. She regularly communicates on social media channels. She’s learned to make slides using available free templates for when called upon to speak before groups. She uses Canva, although she knows there’re other similar products. She also learned to promote other local farmers and crafters by mentioning their names and products online.

Sue said, “We need to grow our market, and we must work together to make that happen.”

by Edith Tucker