Food, Home and Style

Recipe for Recession-Proof Tomato Farming

While the Recession has a lot of businesses trending down, organic farmers like Patrick Horan say their debt-driven business is riding a contrarian wave. Horan’s farm, Waldingfield, specializes in heirloom tomatoes, which he uses to produce a special heirloom sauce. His Connecticut farm has been in the family since the 18th century and is now one of the largest certified organic operations in Connecticut. Horan talks to RW about weathering the downturn and America’s shifting attitudes towards organic food.

RW: How has the Recession affected you?

PH: As a farmer, I’m used to dealing with constraints. A lot of the farming business is debt-driven. If you’re in the northeast where you have a smaller growing season, you have to plan carefully. So far, I haven’t seen a downturn in my business, but that is partly because of something called CSA (community supported agriculture). In this system, people buy a share and get a box of vegetables every week. It’s a shared risk, and the system offers protection to the grower. We try to sell wholesale and retail, but CSA has been very important to us. Demand is exploding. We have waiting lists. In tough economic times, a certain kind of person wants to keep money close to home by investing in local growers.

RW: Have you noticed more people looking to get into farming during the downturn?

PH: People are definitely thinking more about organic farming, both as a full-time enterprise as a supplement to their income. Becoming attuned to the rhythm of nature and changing your lifestyle sounds alluring to people. Having a guaranteed economic platform like CSA is also attractive for people getting into farming. Growers have a way of hedging risks – if nothing grows, you’ve already presold your product, and a certain percentage of your income has been guaranteed.

RW: How do you think the cost of organic food affects consumers during a downturn?

Organic prices are more competitive than they’ve ever been. But, on the other hand, Americans have a sense of entitlement about cheap food. We’re addicted to cheap food, just like cheap gas. We want bang for the buck. Americans spend only 10% of their income on food, while Europeans spend 20%. Organic farming is a multibillion dollar industry, but at a local level, the percentage of people buying organic America is still small. Organic frozen products are taking a hit, because they are labor-intensive and expensive to produce. That’s why Wal-Mart, which is a big organic seller, and Whole Foods are having difficulty. You can only lower the prices so much, particularly when you’ve expanded as much as they have.

RW: Do you anticipate any recession-driven shift in attitudes about organic food?

PH: I think the Recession will make us appreciate food more. We’ll be making larger meals, and eating will be a less fractured experience. Cooking larger quantities is cost-effective, and it encourages the whole family to eat together. As a culture, we really need to look at the value we place on healthy foods. Eating cheap foods that don’t nourish us and make us obese is very costly in terms of our long-term health, and particularly, the health of our children. We have a serious child diabetes issue and we actually have children in danger of heart disease. Their health is an investment we can’t afford to skimp on. We can also treat ourselves well by eating great food when we can’t afford spas or other luxuries. There’s fantastic value in eating things that are truly nourishing. The better you eat, the better for your wallet in the long run. You don’t need a flat-screen TV, but you do need food. Hopefully as our priorities shift, we’ll reconsider where we want to spend our money.

Tags: heirloom tomatoes, organic farming, organic food, recession-proof