To Survive, Farms in Loudoun and Fauquier Break New Ground

In her black Land Rover, with AYRSHIR on the license plate, Sandy Lerner recently shuttled between her Home Farm Store in Middleburg and Hunter's Head Tavern in neighboring Upperville. Both are outlets for the fresh fruits, vegetables and meats produced at her 800-acre organic farm in Fauquier County.

The owner of Ayrshire Farm, Lerner is one of many farmers in Fauquier and neighboring Loudoun County who are trying to expand the traditional definition of farming by using their land in new ways, finding a niche product and promoting their goods through local markets.

Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems and Urban Decay cosmetics, might be in a financial position that is different from most farm owners in the two counties. What she shares with them, however, is a desire to reintroduce people to agriculture, educate them about where their food comes and offer them fresh, locally grown products.

"We as farmers have to take the place of what used to be four or five links in the chain of the food economy," Lerner said.

At her Home Farm store, Lerner offers Ayrshire Farm products along with those grown by other area farmers. That provides exposure for those farmers, who then need to worry less about marketing and packaging. According to the Virginia Farm Bureau's Web site, Fauquier has 1,344 farms and Loudoun has 1,516. The farmers raise soybeans, corn and wheat, as well as cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and lambs. Both counties are also home to a number of vineyards that provide winery tours.

Farmland in Northern Virginia continues to dwindle amid pressures to sell land to developers, along with the growing difficulty of making money by farming. Many large farms are being divided into smaller ones. Small-farm owners are bringing new niche products to the market and trying to restore relationships with the community.

"From World War II up until now, all the ways we distributed food locally broke down," said Deborah Williamson, a board member of the Fauquier Farm Bureau and owner of a lavender farm. "Now, over the last five years or so, we are re-creating that relationship."

Tyler Wegmeyer, owner of Wegmeyer Farms in central Loudoun County, said Loudoun and Fauquier have a tremendous opportunity to be national models of how small farmers can join together and provide a fresh food supply to the community.

Wegmeyer said most farmers benefit from the elimination of middlemen. "If you grow a crop as a commodity, you send it down the line and have nothing to do with it," he said. "If you do direct marketing, you can capture the profit potential from that crop. You get back what you put into it.

"Being based close to D.C. in an area with a higher-than-average income presents this opportunity," said Wegmeyer, whose farm offers pick-your-own pumpkins, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.

Williamson said the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Virginia Farm Bureau Federation encourage farmers to diversify because it not only increases their potential market, but it also diminishes the economic impact of a single crop failure because of weather and other issues.

Ben Rogers, general manager of Heronwood Farm in Upperville, said his farm opened 15 years ago to breed horses. In 2000, it also began raising alpaca. "Don't have all your eggs in one basket or you will be in for a rude awakening," he said.

Williamson said that having a niche product, such as lavender, can help attract visitors to a farm. "I've spent a lot of time publicizing and marketing my product, and there are so many people who are just hungering for a farm experience," she said.

Many agritourism activities at small farms are geared toward children. "Hopefully, we will raise kids who don't think milk comes from cartons," said Lerner, who brings 4-H students to her farm and offers cooking classes after they pick seasonal ingredients.

Kate Zurschmeide, owner of Great County Farms in Bluemont, promotes her farm as an agritourism destination, where visitors can take a hayride, cast their lines in a fishing pond or watch chicks grow.

"People are looking for connections with their farmers again and looking to buy from their local markets," she said. "There is a sense of community and place that farms can provide.

"Agritourism creates experiences in a real working farm that people cannot have in suburbia," Zurschmeide said. "And it is a way that farms can become part of the community."