July 2024 Newsletter
Goodbye July, Welcome August!
I hope you are having a fantastic summer and staying cool in the midst of this heat. During June and July, I have been busy not only on the farm, but also in identifying ways of supporting agriculture in Sussex County, and I'm excited to share a new initiative I came up with!
In collaboration with Hunterdon and Warren counties, I am looking at developing a project to highlight and promote our local agricultural farms and agritourism businesses. What we came up with is a focus on County Route 519, a scenic route that travels through Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon counties. Although farms and agribusinesses do not need to be directly on this route to participate, it will serve as the backbone of our efforts, guiding visitors to various destinations off the main route.
Inspired by the successful 579 Trail in Hunterdon County, our tri-county initiative aims to attract new customers from across New Jersey by promoting our unique agricultural presence. This includes drawing visitors from Mercer, Middlesex, and Union counties to Sussex County and encouraging residents from Sussex, Passaic, Morris, and Bergen counties to explore businesses further south to Hunterdon. Centrally located, Warren County stands to benefit from visitors traveling in both directions.
We've held productive meetings with county administrations and the Sussex County Board of Agriculture, receiving positive feedback and support to continue this effort. Our second meeting included a staff member from the Highlands Council, who was enthusiastic about our regional initiative. We assigned tasks to advance our efforts, including outreach to farms to identify those interested in participating. In Sussex County, I will be taking on this role, contacting farms to gauge their interest. As of today, I am already receiving interest from a number of farms across the county who would love to be a part of it.
We're thrilled about the potential of this initiative to enhance the visibility and patronage of our local farms and agritourism businesses. While the direct benefits of this initiative primarily support farms, it's important to note that these farms and agribusinesses also provide significant economic advantages to other local businesses as farms have a high economic multiplier effect.
I’ll continue to keep you informed as this initiative progresses. If you have any questions or know of a new farm that might benefit from participating, please feel free to reach out. Thank you for your continued support—it’s greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Jack DeGroot