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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA Survey of Agriculture in Southold Town 1970A SURVEY OF AGRICULTURE IN SOUTHOLD TOWN: 1970 J. P. Sullivan PABT I - II~kRODUCTION Southold is a rural tcwn located on the North Fork of eastern Long Island. Agriculture ~ fishing have been the eoon~nic m~instays of the town for more than three centuries; in the twentieth century, tourism has beccme a major economic activity. Tourism has brought many changes to the landscape of Southold. Cu~e_rcial facilities have m~tiplied and expanded to serve tb~ tourist trade° Many tourists, particularly retired persons, have become pexma- nent to~ residents, ~.nd increased residential dev~lo~m~_nt has created a D~=ed for increased municipal services. The tourists and r~wer F~rma- nent residents are the first ripples of a tide of urban developing_hr which has swept the western and central thirds of Long Island during the present century. This tide is likely to crest in eastern Long Islar~ d~ring the next decade or_ ~o. The conversion of farm land to urban land uses has been one of the more conspicuous consequences of urban develoDrent in wes%em and (1) 2 central Long Island. This phenc~enon is ~]ready visible in Southold Tc~n on a smaller scale. A ride t~hrough the town will reveal housing developments sprouting in former potato fields, idle fields of rye grass bending before the winds of change, and many fields, both active and inactive, which con~n "For Sale" signs bearing the ns~es of realtors frcm western Suffolk County. What is happening to agriculture in Southold Town, and what is the future of agriculture in the town likely to be? These questions have been asked often in recent years. A Cornell University study, conducted in 1963, showed that Southold had 145 faxms and 12,555 acres 1 of land in farms. In t/~e Spring of 1970, the town goverrm~_nt decided to gain a current perspective on Scuthotd a~riculture. Thus, this Survey Objectives The objectives of this study ~re to describe the present charac- teristics of farmers and farm operations in Soutbold Town and to obtain information about the %%ews and plans of Southold farmers concerning the future of agriculture in the town. I~Iore specifically, this study sought to collect personal data about each fazlaer's age, nativity, ethnic origins, and the number and ages of his sons. Infozmation collected concerning fazm operations 1. Allee, David Agriculture ~ A Land Use (Preliminary Report: Scuthold Town Planning Studies), Cornell University, 1966. 3 included: tbo{r total number, type, distributional pattern, size, p~oportion and source of rental land, and number and sources of employed workers. In addition, data was gathered on recent and anticipated future trends in farm size, types and methods of prcduction, and marketin~ procedures. Finally, the views and plans of farmers regarding the future of agriculture in Scuthold Town were explored. Each fazmer was asked to identify the drawbacks associated with farming on Long Island today, to estimate the number of years that he planned to continue fanning, to register his opinion as to wb~ther or not Southold's remaining fazm lands should he preservedv to suggest how such action might be accom- plished, and to indicate whether or DDt he would stay in fanz/ng if scme satisfactory prcgr~a of fazm land preservation were developed. Definition of Terminology Wbmt is a farm, aD~ who is a farmer? These seemingly simple questions are actually quite cu~lex. The followinq definitions were arbitrarily devised: Farm O~eration - a tract of land, five acres or more in size, used to cu,~L~rcially produce plant or anir0al products for h~an consumption. 1 1. This definition omits intensive, high-value forms of amenity agriculture such as nurseries and flower gro%;ing. Scuthold has about a half dozen ~nenity agriculture operations, and these fc~ms of agriculture are likely to becc~ Fore significant el~.nts of Scuthold's agricultural scene in the near future. 4 Fa~ Operator - any person who operates a farm as defined above. Methodology The s~_dy objectives w~re clearly fozmulated and a questionnaire 1 was designed according to an open-ended question format. This type of questionnaire is mc~e difficult to evaluate, but it provides a greater opportunity for original replies by respondents. In addition, such a fonnat is better suited to a casual personal interview situ- ation where the interviewer and respondent are not bound by precise time limits. A list of farmers was cc~piled by cross-checking the m~mbership list of the Suffolk County Extension Service, the personal knowledge of Town Building Inspector Howard Terry, and the custcmer lists of Agway representatives Bill Terry and John Koroleski. To protect the privacy of the individual farmer, each was assigned an identification number which was to be affix~ed to the questionD~aire at the time of the interview. With the aid of Inspector Terzy, t~he distribution of farm operators was plotted on a town map. Then~ on the basis of this distributional pattern and local physical ar~ human settlement patterns, Southold was divided into seven farming districts. These districts are Orient, East Marion-Greenport, Southold, Peconic, Outchogue, East Mattituck, and West 1. A sample questionDa~re is foun~ in the _Appendix of this report. 5 Supervisor Albert Martocchia provided this writer with a letter of introduction which explained the nature of the survey and which requested that the fau~rs c0operat~ to the best of their abilities, and this letter proved to be very b~_lpful. Field work was conducted by moving fr~n east to west within each farm district, starting with Orient. Three ~u¥~lete sweeps were m~ in each district in order to interview as many fazmers as possible, with tb_~ ideal aim being to cc~plet~ a hundred percent searle. Nearly 95 percent of the farm operators were contacted, and about 84 percent 1 PAR~ II - FINDINGS There are about 100 farm operations in Southold Town. The number 2 of operators is in the vicinity of 130. An est/mated 9,331 acres of 3 land are currently being farmed. About sixty percent (5,040 ac~es) of this ~m~unt is rented land. 1. This approach was more time-consuming and expensive than a smaller s~le, bet it was more cc~plete a~nd i~formative. 20 This est/mate includes various cmlbinations of male relatives. 3. About 10,000 acres woald be more accurate, because an undeten~dned number of Rive=head farmers farm Southold land. 4. Most of th/s rented l~nd is owned ~ Suuthold residents. R~gional Distribution of Fan~s farming district Orient ....... East Marion-Greenport S~thold ....... Peconic ...... East Mattituck . . . West Mattituck . . . A~e of Southold Fazme~ 70+ 60-69 50-59 40-49 30-39 20-29 Nativity of Southold Farmers place Elsewhere Suffolk County . . Nassa~ County ...... 1 Els~ere USA ...... Europe .......... number of fan~s 6 3 2O 14 40 10 7 ~ercent 6 24 32 28 4 6 peroent 88 4 3 3 2 1. Incl,~-s a fazmer originally from Brooklyn. 7 Ethnic Origins re~ion East Ahirope ....... incl,,~ing ..... British Isles ...... including .... Mi~ed Origins (largely fr~u above groups) Sons fanmers havin~ 1 2 5 ~ercent 62 Polish Lithuanian 20 Encjli~h Irish 7 10 percent 34 28 25 7 4 2 * The majority of sons are in the ~der 20 and 20 - 29 age groups. The fozmer are more numerous, while most of the latter have not chosen faxming as a career. 56% 4% 2% 14% 6% Fazm Size acres 300 + 200-299 100-199 50-99 25-49 under 25 Fau~ Types mostly potatoes, scme vegetables ........ potatoes only ....... vegetables and berries . . . potatoes, vegetables and berries ........ diversified ....... sod and potatoes ..... eggs .......... other ......... percent 13 44 30 6 5 ~erzent 5O 3O 6 7 1 1 1 4 9 Labor 20 fazm operations ~nployed no hired labor. In addition, 6 farm operators said that they exchanged labor with r~ighbors. The total number of fazm workers e~ployed for the 1970 season is estimated at 300. About 57 percent are seasonal nc~-residents, m~ nly from Puerto Rico. About 25 percent are seasonally ~loyed local residents, while the remaining 18 percent are local resi- dents ~mployed on a y~a_ r-round basis. 72 percent of the farmers said that they would ~,~loy m~re local help - if qualified, willing, local help were available. 20 percent said they would not hire any more local h~lp. Fazmers need workers who are able to operate tractors and other machinery. In a~ition, farmers desire willing, able workers who can work with a rain/mum of supervision and instruction. Bxm~ver, given the relatively low returns received for farm products, fazmers can not afford to pay wages and offer benefits cu~arable to what employees in non-farm occupations receive. In addition, most fazm jobs are cf variable, temporary duration. As a result, many farme2~ believe that they are only able to attract marginal workers. Trends in Southold Agriculture The Past 10 Years 1 faxm size rzm~er of responses no cbmnge ..... 43 larger (by renting).. 24 smaller ...... 14 no change ..... 36 more vegetables · · · 9 2 out of vegetables . . 11 more p~tatoes, less vegetables ..... 18 other ...... 7 ~rcduction methods combine for potatoes . 33 no change .... 33 more potato storage. 4 marketin~ no change .... 65 includ/ng ~m~l~_r pack- aging, star, Is, etc.. 7 10 1. The section on trends is, perhaps, the least sa~fac~ory portion of this study. Part of the problem may lie in the fact that the respond- ents ~a not have adequate t/me to reflect an the questic~s relat/rg to past changes. 2. largely due to labor problems 11 ~ends - The Near Future number of responses no changes anticipated 54 undecided .... 22 build more potato storage .... 2 decrease size of farm ........ 2 haul own produce to market o o o 2 will adapt as necessary ...... 2 Drawbacks Assocxated with Fazming on Lor~ Island Today drm~ack number of responses iow returns ...... 47 labor situation ...... 46 rising production costs . . . 29 high t~xes ....... 19 A smaller number of farmers mentioned various factc~s which may be as, or more, sigmificant as the factors identified by the majority of far~ers. For insects appear to be beccming more of a problem and greater varieties and quantities of pesticides and other chealiC-mnl~q are needed for insect contro!~ farmers ~have no voice in p¥icing? selling on a supply-den-=a~d basis is a hazard; there is not enough c~,~etition betaken produce buyers; welfare programs drain a~ay potential ~hor; the public is not sufficiently ~;are of the problems that farmers face; loc~! farmers are not organized. They seem im~le of cooperation; rising land values force many fazmers to quit; interference of various sorts of "do-gooders," such as the health depa~(~nt and co~ervatio~ists, creates tensions; over-generous yield f~ts published by government agencies contribute to tb~ low returns which farmers receive for their Should Scuthold's Rema{ning Farm Lands Be Preserved? response ~rcent ~es ........... 66 no ............ 14 ,undecided .......... 8 no response ........ 12 How Might the Remaining Farm Lands Be Kept in Production? higher returns .... 24 tax relief ....... 24 Dx) response ..... 23 don' t know ......... 6 more aD~ better l~bor .... 5 farmers orgallize and control prcduction .... 3 stable pr ic~ ...... 3 b~y la~d, then rent it back to those wanting to farm . . elect agricultural-mir~ government representatives . average tax returns of farm- ers c~er 5 year periods . . negative easements ..... How Many More Years Do You Plan to Farm? less than 5 years ...... %~ncertain ........ ~ long ~s able ...... (all ten years or more) 2 1 ~ercent 28 39 33 If Sc~e Sat~-~factory Progr~ of Farm Land Preservation Were Developed, Wcu]__d You Stay in Farming? response ~_rcent yes ........... 82 uncertain ....... 15 ~ AND CONCLUSIC~S The nu~nbe_r of farms and tb~ ~mount of land in fazms in Scuthold Town are declining. Further decline can be expected in the near future. About a third of the fan,ers can be expected to leave farmir~ within the m~-xt five years. However, nearly a third of the fazmers plan to remain in fazming as long as they are able. About two-thirds believe that Southold's r~ma~nin~ faun lands should be preserved, and more than 80 percent indicate that th~=y would probably stay farming if scme sa~-~factory pzugr~n of fanta land preservation were devised. Despite tb~ fact that many sons of fanmers are either too young to farm in the near future, or appear to be entering non-farm careers, there is an ~ple supply of willin~ and able farmers in Southold Town. On the negative side, the supply of farm land is limited. Of the nearly 10,000 acres of farm lar~ currently being worked in Southold Town, about 60 percent is rented land. Furthezmore, the current agri- cultural scene is characterized by an extremely fragmented pattern of rented and owned farm l~nd which is an obstacle to efficient fanning operations. As u~an de~velopment continues, reD~ land will ~robably bec=me mo~ scarce and e~pensive and the distributional pattern of depend heavily on rented land will be faced with severe operntional difficulties which may even~]!y force them to leave faming. Faxming has all but ceased in the East Maric~-Greenport district. The Southold and Matt/tuck districts appear likely to develop within the next 10 years because of a lack of operators who plan to stay in farming for a decade or lor~er. The Cutchogue, PecoPic, and Orient dis- tricts show prc~ise of remain/rig in agriculture, for a longer period of t/me, because these areas have a large r~Tber of operators who are intent 15 on z~ in fanning for as long as possible. Also, these latter 1 districts com~a~n f-~rly large blocks of contiguous fann land. However, the future of a~3riculture in Southold Town is not fazmers attempt to meet the future. C~operation and innovat/c~ will be necessary fc~ those who desire to remain in fanning. In addition, ~n-fanvers can not empect that fanm~rs will be able to r~n in fazm/ng, aga/nst ovezwhelmi~3 c~, unless some fora of public encourage- ~ent d~_lops. A fozmal pzugr~ of farm la~ preservation will be ~r~a~ if Southold Town is to retain agriculture as a major landscape feature. The ~aut na~,~e of such a progra~ ~-~ ~o be carefully explored. Many fazmers dread the thought of any fc~al progr~n of fanta land pre- sezvation because they fear that their o~e "ace in the hole"--the sale value of their land--will be taken ~ay. The ~ux of the matter is that sc~e way m~st be four~ to adequately ~ fairly cc~pe~lsate the sh~rt-range needs of the fan, ers, while providing for the long-range ~ and needs of this and f~ture generatic~ of Southolders. There is an ~r of urgency about this and so many other env~ mental issues. T/~e is not on cur side. Yet, we can not plan f~ the future without attempting to anticipate Uhe i~plications of our action. H~wever, th~ longer we delay ir. resolving ~tal issues, the more 1. These thoughts are nothing more than subjective projecti~ cf current trends a~d should be re~ as 16 e~pensive, difficult, and, perhaps, impossible will be the ~olu~{__c~s. If agri~ultur~ is to r ~e~in a dominant feature of the cultural landscape of Scuthold T~m, some progr~ of f=m land preservatio~ will of farm land and to assist in the consolidatic~ of diverse f~m hol,~'ings. A ~ajcxity cf the farmezs say that Southold's remaining fazm lands should be saved. What about the other residents ~f the town? The gove~nt and people of S~uthold Town are strc~lly urged t~ e~plore and decide the issue of farm land preservation. Othezwise, the issue will likely be decided by default. J. P. Sullivan August 24, 1970 J. P. Sullivan is an Instru~*~ of Geography at South~on College. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he received the Master of Arts degree from the Uni~=~ity of ~ota. Durin~ h~s ~o years at South~Lon, he h~s developed a c~reb~_nsive map of pollutic~ areas on Lcr~ Island, an~ has worked with also written for the East End Env/ron- ~-fa~ily live in Cutn%~lue. APPt~X: $~ QUESTIOi~AI~E ~a~ber Sumner 1970 Personal Data 1. 2. age years Southmld native? if no, native of: 3. ethnic origins? 4. nunber of sc~s? 5. their ages? Farm Data 6. total size of farm operation? (inc],~ n~ rented land) 7. ~: aux=s owned au~=s rented . a. )frcm a local resident b.) from an absentee owner c.) to another farmer 8. total number of workers enployed? local, seasonal out-of-town, seasonal local, year round 9. would you hire more local labor, if it were avai~hle? 10. Wb~t do you pr~,-ce on ycur faxm? Estimate acres devoted to type of product es~imated acres (2) 11. Where and how do you market your produce? 12. During the past 10 years did yeu make any changes in the following: (if yes, please elaborate) farm size ma.r~et.i.ng 13. DO you anticipate any changes in these areas during the next few years? (elaborate) 14. %Fny did you become a farmer? 15. ~nat do you like most about faxming? 16. In your opinion, what are the dr~nacks associated with fanuing on Long Island today? 17. How many more years do you plan to fazm? years (estimate) 18. (3) If you are leaving farming, why? 19. What will be~u~ of your land when you leave farming? 20. Sb~ld Sout~hold's re~aining farm lands be preserved? 21. How?. 22. If a satisfactory progran of farm land preservation were developed, would you stay in farming?