Additional Articles for November 2003 Issue

Arbours take growing business to heart
Story and photos by David Munson

For Larry and Georgene Arbour of Weskeag Farms, surviving as a small business is all about evolution.

The traffic on Route One brought many new customers to the Weskeag farm stand.

Charles Darwin called it natural selection: the unavoidable process by which an organism finds a niche, makes it work and adapts itself to its surroundings in order to survive. The environment, Darwin said, would select one organism over another based on its ability to modify itself in the face of change. Those creatures that were unable to adapt to changes in their environment became just another nameless entry in the fossil record.

A small business, too, must be able to adapt to change. For Larry and Georgene Arbour of Weskeag Farms in Thomaston, the ability to evolve over time has kept their business alive at a time when many Maine farms have gone fallow.

“ If you get stuck in a rut, you’re just not going to make it,” said Arbour as he tried to make room for a quick lunch in his busy schedule. “As a farmer, if you don’t diversify, you might as well quit.”

Ever since Arbour and his wife began their agricultural odyssey in 1982, they have worked hard to balance the art of operating a successful business with the additional risks and demands of a working farm. Over the last 20 years, the couple has guided their farm business through a long series of transformations aimed at making their passion profitable. But, as Arbour is quick to point out, profits are rarely what keep farmers in the field.

“ I don’t think many farmers farm to get rich,” Arbour said with a laugh. “Farming is a lifestyle—and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Pursuing that lifestyle, the Arbours began their adventure as sheep farmers, building one of the largest farms of its kind in the state. Unlike many Maine farms that are the product of generations of family ownership, the Arbours built the Weskeag from scratch, reworking business plans and crunching numbers until they were able to find a piece of raw land that was both financially and agriculturally promising.

Over time, the sheep began to make way for greenhouses and vegetable fields, and the farm began to build a reputation as a source for high-quality flowers and produce for both wholesale markets and retail buyers. While the wholesale operation became fairly extensive, serving a large number of midcoast restaurants and markets, the extra overhead became too much to bear.

“ We had to grow 11 to 12 acres just to support the pay for the added work force,” Arbour said. “We realized that we needed to get down to the bare bones in order to be in tune with the numbers.”

So, the farm evolved yet again, eliminating the additional workforce and cutting back the acreage. By shifting the focus back to the retail side of the operation, the Arbours were able to make the business much more profitable. With about 20 acres of vegetables and five large greenhouses, the fifty-acre farm now keeps the business’s Route One farm stand well stocked with tasty seasonal veggies and eye-catching flowers. In addition, the stand provides a broad selection of additional items from other Maine farms and the Boston market.

The Arbours opened the Route One location eight years ago when the retail store at the farm on Buttermilk Lane in Thomaston became too small to meet parking demands. Building its clientele from the customers that frequented the farm location and the new customers provided by the increased visibility of the Route One stand, Weskeag Farm’s retail store has flourished, filling the customers’ needs in a number of areas.

“ We try to give our customers everything they want,” Arbour said. “We try to make it a one-stop-shopping experience so that people don’t have to go to the supermarket to get quality produce at a reasonable price.”

Whether it’s offering more color selections in their flats of spring pansies, guaranteeing a fresh, sweet, homegrown tomato or ordering a case of avocados for a customer celebrating Cinco de Mayo, Arbour works hard to keep his customers happy.

By finding a careful balance between selection, price and profit margin, the Arbours are able to compete in a produce market that is dominated by large corporations. By offering consumers a closer connection to their food, they also are able to appeal to those that are concerned about where their food comes from and how it is produced.

The Arbours take pride in growing plants and produce in an environmentally responsible and health friendly way, and feel that Weskeag customers feel good about it, too. Using integrated pest management techniques, crop rotation and other responsible farming methods, the Arbours gain the confidence of customers who want to avoid the over use of chemicals and other ills ascribed to profit-driven, corporate farming.

Between running the farm stand, growing the crops and managing the business side of the farm, free time is in short supply for the Arbours. Larry and Georgene run the entire operation, getting help from their two daughters during the busiest times of year. Working seven days per week from March until January and averaging 60 to 70 hours per week, Arbour and his wife have a work schedule that would make most people cringe. Even during the slow days of winter, the couple keeps busy, cleaning and prepping for next season and working second jobs to help pay the bills. However, with an independent spirit and a love of the land in his veins, Arbour says that the sacrifices are worth it.

“ We don’t keep track of time, we lose track of time,” Arbour said. “In the 25 years my wife and I have been married, we’ve gone on two vacations, and that’s tough. But there is a lot of satisfaction in being a farmer. When you walk through the snow to the greenhouse in the middle of February and it’s 80 degrees in there, and there are green plants all around, and the air smells fresh and crisp, it really recharges your batteries—it’s just great.”

That type of passion for the business is what keeps Arbour an agricultural entrepreneur. In fact, his next project is aimed at helping his customers enjoy that connection to the land for themselves. Arbour and his wife plan to build a new farm stand complex back at the farm location, offering retail flowers, produce and Christmas trees as they always have, along with the addition of new products and farm-related activities like corn mazes, hayrides, pick-your-own and the like. Still on the drawing board, the project is the latest evolution of the ever-changing business.

’Tis the season—soon

As the pumpkin rush dies down, Weskeag farms will be gearing up for their holiday season: a flurry of cold weather activity including wreath making, Christmas tree sales and the creation of a variety of other popular holiday symbols.

“ We started out cutting and selling balsam fir tips for wreath making, and we’ve evolved into a full-service Christmas shop,” Arbour said. “We have wreaths, trees and garland that everyone can afford. People can watch us make the wreaths right here. It’s our favorite time of year—it’s a lot of hard work, but everyone who comes through the door has a smile on their face.”