HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeston, Prudence 2025 Input from Prudence Heston
Flower Farm
I sell my product a couple of ways...none involve a traditional farmstand:
1. Wholesale to other florists that are doing events or maintaining a florist shop. Those
folks arrive on the farm daily with refrigerated vans or SUVs to pick up product that is
picked and prepped in bulk for resale.
2. As a value-added FINISHED product for events. This is all off site in the form of table
arrangements, floral arches, huge urn displays, hanging greenery, bouquets, boutonnieres,
floral crowns, etc. Whatever is needed for event decor at one of the local
venues. ie: winery, local restaurant, Hallockville, aquarium, beach, hotel,
dock...wherever a couple has selected as their venue.
3. As a value-added photo shoot. This is on site. These generally involve using our doves,
grounds, and large value added finished floral pieces. These are generally engagement
shoots or maternity shoots or memorial shoots.
4. As an on-site event. In this case the event is actually hosted right here on the farm. No
one is allowed to get married here that isn't also getting all their florals for their event
from our farm. They also buy our honey as guest favors, and guests engage in high end
pick your own activities that can be done in formal attire. During cocktail hour attendees
can visit the dove loft and wander up to an observation hive and see our honeybees
making honey behind glass. They can play lawn games and pick and eat blackberries and
blueberries and cherries and (adding figs this year). We try to offer the perfect farm
themed garden party wedding. All laid out in a way that folks can interact with it in high
heels or a tux!
5. CSA. This is something we added on for locals. It gives community members a chance
to have access to the same florals used for big events for their own backyard parties. This
is called "bucket of blooms." CSA members can sign up for 4, 8, 12, or 20 weeks of
florals. It's floral bargain shopping. Each week whatever color is NOT being used for an
event goes into a one gallon bucket for participants. So, if the wedding color of the week
is peach and pink then the BOBS will be blue and purple, or white and red or whatever I
have excess of that week. Again, no farmstand. Currently participants pick up at our
picnic table.
Like all farms, the on-site sales are really, really important to keeping our farm
profitable. Harbes, Wickham's Fruit Farm, Water Drinker, Lewin, Lavender by the Bay, etc. all
really depend on their pick-your-own operations. The wineries really depend on the public
coming and going from their tasting rooms.
Our on-site sales are equally important. They just happen differently. And, honestly, in a much
more controlled and community friendly manner. A traditional farm can have thousands of
people on the farm at any given moment, causing massive traffic delays, noise, etc. We restrict
the number of people to a maximum of 300 at any one time. And our guests arrive in their best
clothes (which helps to keep them out of trouble). Wineries have folks coming and going all day
long for tastings. They have no idea where those folks have been prior to arriving at their facility
and how many other "tastings" they have enjoyed at other farms before tasting again and then
jumping in their car once more to move on to the next. Yes, our guests get a meal and have
access to alcohol while on the farm. But, they also have available arranged transportation at the
end of the evening to keep the folks that have had a lot to drink off the road.
What a farm, like mine, needs is for the farm zoning to allow for a building for public gathering
and eating/drinking. Wineries already have this. Raphael, Bedell, RGNY, etc. My farm has a
product whose sales are equally dependent on events. My farm's ENTIRE business plan,
growing, and sales is based on events. I've been farming with this business plan now for almost
20 years. Most of the town regulations with regards to events are a reflection of the way we run
our business. Yet, I don't have the same rights as the guy growing grapes, and I have more fees
than the guy doing traditional pick-your-own. All while having less negative impact on the
surrounding community.
Adjusting Ag zoning to allow for this kind of building would (1) gives farms a way to host
events that is QUIETER for neighbors. All the music could be kept indoors. (2)it stabilizes
their rainy day business (3)it gives farmers, like myself, a multi-use heated space to workout of
in the winter months. This would be helpful with regards to equipment repair, flower bulb
storage, winter floral work, etc.
It's EXPENSIVE to live out here. It's even more expensive to farm out here. If we want to keep
the farms in our community we need to come up with new ways to farm that allow for a high
dollar return without just bringing more and more people out to our east end in one big traffic
jam. We want the farms with the pick-your-own operations. They are great, and fun, and good
for the community. But we don't need any more BIG PYO operations right now! And, small
PYO is no longer a financially viable option. We want the wineries. They keep lots of land in
open agriculture. But we don't want every farm to turn into a winery (or agricultural drug
dispensary...if the town wants something to worry about...look out... it's coming). We need farms
with new business plans that are looking for community and family friendly ways to farm.
Zoning and town fees and restrictions are currently unfair to businesses like mine. I get fees
where other farms don't(and shouldn't). My event operations are monitored to the minutia
where other farms have thousands of people rolling through with minimal oversite. I'm asked to
provide a level of insurance that other farm operations are not being asked to provide. And yet,
their liability is far higher. I'm not allowed to have the infrastructure wineries are afforded even
though my agricultural business plan is equally dependent on that infrastructure for my core
farming business plan and operation. We are not a new farm business. We've been actively
farming here for 20 years. Please, can we adjust the zoning to help fairly even the playing
field?
I am happy to walk any board member, planning personnel, whatever through our farm if it helps
folks understand. We need small family farms that can support themselves in a high dollar
area. It can't happen moving forward without some zoning change. Sure, I could open a huge
PYO operation here on New Suffolk Road. My zoning should and does allow for that. But,
that's not a good fit for my surrounding community. This is. This isn't a negative change. It's a
win : win for both farmer and community.
Prudence