Estate farms are nothing new. Farms have been a part of communities ever since civilization began. Yet, their roles in communities today are becoming more important than ever. Not more than an hour away from New York City, nestled between the mountains of northwest New Jersey, one may stumble upon Ort Farms in Long Valley. The farm has been operated by the Orts since the 1800s. Similar to many estate farms sprawled across America, they reflect all that is good within a community, and helps communities thrive.
In small towns throughout the United States, estate farms are a vital part of the town’s culture. In fact, in many ways the town’s culture revolves around the farm! As each season changes, bringing new holidays and festivals, the farm embraces old traditions and ushers in new ones. There is a reason why their motto is “A Place for All Seasons.” Ort Farms is at its cultural peak in October, as thousands of families come to pick their pumpkins, take a hayride, and purchase some apple cider. The town even hosts its own fall festival, which is never complete without a parade of John Deere tractors puttering through the town center. People know that Christmas is around the corner when sponsored wreaths, with money going to a local food pantry, adorn the farm’s white wooden fence that runs through the main road in town. Spring and summer are highlighted with greenhouses full of fragrant flowers and crisp summer vegetables along the roadside stand. While some towns seem identical with their big box stores and corner coffee chains, the family farm makes a town and its culture unique.
The estate farm is also essential to the economy of a community. Forget the amount of family members that work at Ort Farms; it employs plenty of other people that need seasonal work. College students may find work in the summer working at a market, or some people will work through the pumpkin season to have some money to purchase their Christmas presents. While many jobs are being outsourced or replaced by technology, there is always a need for someone to feed the pigs, or for someone to carry a crate of Jersey tomatoes. Additionally, when there are fundraisers to sponsor, every organization can count on the farm to lend a helping hand (or to donate a dollar!) Also, as the crowds come to the farm, other local companies benefit too, whether it be the nearby gas station or the general store.
While many communities are embracing the “green movement,” the estate farm also plays a vital role. The farm maintains many acres of land that will not be the site of the next condominium complex or highway strip mall. It allows local residents to eat fresh foods that did not travel hundred of even thousands of miles to get to their dinner table. Even more, it is a place where you can “see green.” Many people love coming to Ort Farms because regardless of the season, they see a gorgeous view of tree covered mountains atop a luscious valley full of corn or pumpkin fields.
In January of 2010, in the old white farmhouse which has seen six generations of Orts, Ort Farm’s matriarch, Edith Ort, lost her battle with cancer She raised her eleven children on the farm along with her husband, Harvey. There was never a day that went by that the farm was not being taken care of by one of their many children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren. When she passed away, the pastor of the church right next to the farm said that Edith was “the grandmother or mother to everyone in the town. Everyone in our town is an Ort.” There is no better statement that explains the importance of farms to a community. “When anyone needed help, when anything had to be done, people always knew where to go, and who to see…at the farm”
