COMMENTARY
It's Fair Time for Farmers, Both Faux and the Real Ones
September 2003
By Donald J. Pfundstein*
for New Hampshire Business Review
It's
fair time in New Hampshire. Actually, late July kicked off the season with
the North Haverhill, Stratham and Cheshire fairs. The '03 Hopkinton State
Fair will be in the record books by the time this column is published. We faux
farmers take this time of the year seriously. It's our chance to rub
shovels with the real guys (and women) for a few days.
Farming is on the move. I recently read about an entrepreneurial organic
farmer from California who has aggressively pursued direct marketing
strategies. Farmers' markets — our weekend oasis of fresh produce—
are sprouting up all over New Hampshire. Folks love the fresh taste and seem
willing to
pay a premium to support locally grown produce. We all stand
to benefit greatly — not only in our waistlines — if this trend continues.
Farm fairs are great institutions. They appear to have been started both
to facilitate commercial enterprise and provide much-needed entertainment.
The Lancaster Fair has been operating for 133 continuous years. The original
predecessor of the Hopkinton State Fair was initiated by the Contoocook Board
of Trade. When you enter “NH farm fairs” in Google, you wind
up at the state Division of Travel and Tourism Development. Makes sense.
New Hampshire fairs celebrate agriculture's important role in our history,
tradition, commerce and entertainment.
So what is a faux farmer? Someone like me who loves his pickup truck, working
a little soil and bragging about his tomatoes that weigh more than a coconut
and explode in your mouth. A faux farmer does not want to sit in a cold barn
all night with a sick animal. He or she actually gets to leave on vacation.
A faux farmer's backyard equipment is really a toy. The tractor you
may use just doesn't cut the mustard with the heat-spewing giants working
the horse and oxen pulling contests.
Real farmers know the difference between pesticide and herbicide but more
importantly, when not to use both. A faux farmer too often unintentionally
uses (repeatedly) fertilizer as a plant assassin. Look out! If you see brightly
colored, hand-painted rubber boots — you've probably got yourself
a faux farmer from Connecticut who headed north to catch some R&R with
us little folks! Faux farmers are nevertheless good. They help support the
real thing.
Did you see my tomatoes at the fair this Labor Day weekend? If so, please
remember that I had already given all the good ones away. Honest. I do the
same with just the big fish I catch. Faux fisherman? Better ask John Harrigan
what that's all about. I hope you enjoyed your summer. Now, get back
to work!
*Donald J. Pfundstein is admitted in New Hampshire.
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