SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. - The future of small farms in Delaware is hanging in the balance.
That's what farmers in Sussex County told WBOC, after Delaware deemed farmer's markets non-essential businesses.
In a letter obtained by WBOC from the governor's office, it states that "Currently, the farmers’ markets in Delaware are not able to operate until the governor’s state of emergency is lifted, or the public health threat of COVID-19 is eliminated. We are encouraging agricultural producers who participate at farmers’ markets who are looking to sell their products to their valued farmers’ market customers at their farm stand or directly on the farm to add or update their listing for the DDA Farm Stands Guide and the Delaware Grown website to help facilitate connections with the consumer."
"Really we're just asking to feed people," said Henry Bennett, the sixth generation to run Bennett Orchards in Frankford. WBOC found Bennett out checking on his crops Wednesday. While the peaches still have a few months to go, some of his blueberry crop will be ready to harvest in just a few weeks. "If there's no market to sell then you can't really - it doesn't make sense to pay someone to go in there to pick them. So somebody's going to be out of a job, we're going to have no income. And as a farm, we have expenses for 12 months, and we rely on three months for income," Bennett explained. That income, now non-existent. Bennett Orchards is a harvest to consumer business. They won't be able to make a profit until farmer's markets are allowed to reopen. "In an open area farmers market you can space people out further than you can in grocery stores, you can have one way and one way out, limit the number of customers and all these proposals have been submitted to the state. We just haven’t really received any feedback except that we’re not essential and farmers markets can’t operate until the state of emergency is lifted," said Bennett. "If farmers' markets are not allowed to open, a lot of farmers unfortunately on the Delmarva Peninsula from Delaware selling in Delaware markets are going to have tremendous losses and might not be able to make it another generation," he added. Over in Georgetown, Lenore Brady is in a similar situation. Brady owns Stag Run Farms, and produces a variety of crops. But she's already had to cut some of her harvests at a loss. "I've shut down my asparagus field I have no way of selling it. We are a direct to consumer farm, so I need those farmers markets to sustain the farm," said Brady. Brady has over 600 tomato plants ready to go in the ground, but she wonders if she should plant them at all. If there's no one to buy them, the produce will just go to waste. "We'll have to get other jobs. My kids are going to have to get out of the farming and do something else. This is not... there's no way we can sustain this farm without those farmers markets." Brady says she has been taking some of her crop to the farmer's market in Ocean Pines, Maryland. She said she doesn't understand why Delaware will not open its farmer's markets. "We have New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland that all deemed their farmers' markets as essential businesses. But not this governor," she explained. "It's devastating that our governor doesn't recognize they are essential businesses." Planting season is right now, but farmers are having to take a hard look at what they will or will not plant. You could see the effects later on this summer, with a smaller selection of produce made available for local sale.