First Pioneer Farm Credit: Community: Ag Tours

Is There Life After Dairy Farming?

Just 10 short years ago, the Donaldson Family asked themselves a question — What will we do after dairy farming?

Today, the answer is very clear. They are the proud owners of four separate farm businesses on 250 highly diversified acres in picturesque Warren County, N.J.

Lew Donaldson and his wife, Helen, just have to step out their back door to look over their family's spectacular landscape. They see acres of field crops, and son David's nursery stock and greenhouses. About 25 yards further, they see son Gary's vegetable fields and packinghouse. And off in the distance, they see son Greg's retail market.

Lew: "It's been rewarding to see our sons enter farming. My wife and I would be fully retired if the boys weren't so involved in the business, because we certainly couldn't manage all this alone."

Lew started it all!
Lew works 70 acres of soybeans and corn, and 40 acres of hay. He also grows 70 acres of long-stem rye straw and five acres of corn stalks, both of which he sells as Halloween decorations at the family retail stand. Nurseries and landscapers are also customers of his straw.

Lew: "As a former director for Farm Credit of North Central Jersey, I learned a great deal about how other farms operate. It helped me to prepare for adversities in our business, such as our current drought."

Gary grows field crops
Gary Donaldson oversees 170 acres of field corn, 170 acres of soybeans, 80 acres of sweet corn, 50 acres of pumpkins and 20 acres of assorted vegetables. Gary, his son, Justin, and 14 laborers keep everything running smoothly — especially during peak season. They market corn and soybeans to Perdue and Ise Farms and sell their vegetables on their Route 57 retail market. Gary also converted the old heifer barn to a packinghouse.

The market opens in April with bedding plants, then sells vegetables and cut flowers in the summer, mums in the fall and Christmas trees in December. In addition, Gary can boast that vacationers aboard Carnival Cruise Lines enjoy his tomatoes while en route to the Caribbean!

Gary: "To keep up with market demand, I may need to expand and perhaps diversify into specialty crops."

Greg and the retail market
Greg Donaldson and wife, Debbie, keep busy in the fields with 10 acres of pick-your-own (PYO) pumpkins and gourds, five acres of peaches and five of melons, two acres of PYO Indian corn, four acres of PYO strawberries and about two acres for asparagus and cut flowers. They also operate a retail market, from the first of May to the end of October.

Debbie: "On a typical weekend, cars are parked as far as you can see. On average, we have 7,000 visitors per day during pumpkin season. We also have hayrides for about 3,000 children."

Greg: "Our customers are educated, money-conscious buyers. That's why they come to us, instead of the nearby Shop-Rite. They want better value for their dollar."

David's Greenhouses and Nursery
David started in 1991 with a single greenhouse where he grew annuals and bedding plants for wholesale. Since opening his retail business in 1993, Donaldson's Greenhouses and Nursery has grown to 35,000 square feet of glass greenhouses filled with strikingly colorful perennials, annuals, bedding plants, mums and poinsettias.

In addition, David grows five acres of nursery stock, nestled among fields of crops and views of the surrounding countryside.

David, on what attracts customers to his business: "The atmosphere and the quality of our plant material. My staff and I answer all customer questions — even if it means researching the answer — and we spend quality time helping them perfect their gardens."

No fear of "urban creep" here
Each operation looks out onto urbanization — from housing developments and soccer fields to construction of a new Wal-Mart or K-Mart store. But this farm family is here to stay. Each member of the family works — and lives — on their beautiful and successful 250 acres.

Donaldson Farms & Greenhouses
212 Airport Road
Hackettstown, New Jersey 07840-9809
908.582.2054
www.donaldsonsgreenhouse.com

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