Brittingham Farms was a typical southern Delaware grain farm until the current generation took the reins. The Millsboro business, founded in 1930, yields soybeans and corn on a rotating basis. These crops are called feed grain because much of it goes to the poultry industry. However, there are multiple uses. For instance, crayon manufacturers use soybeans to make the coloring sticks.
In 2019, Jon and Laura Brittingham decided to shake things up. While Jon continued to work on the original acres, Laura added sheep and lavender. She also opened the farm to the public. “I wanted to offer fun experiences—farm-to-table dinners, weddings, and educational opportunities for kids,” she says. “We wanted our kids to grow up knowing what it was like to live and work on a grain farm.” Other Delaware farmers are also seeking ways to survive and thrive in a changing world. “The truth of the matter is that a family of five can’t survive on 350 acres of grain anymore,” Laura says. “The profit margin for corn and soybeans just isn’t very high.”
Lenore Brady of Stag Run Farm in Georgetown agrees. “You need to know how to make money off the farm,” says Brady, who bought the land with her husband, Craig, in 2003.
A Changing Landscape
Farms once sprawled across the state, from northern New Castle County to Sussex County’s southern tip. Although Delaware is small, conditions vary considerably. To the south, the Atlantic coastal plain is flat, sandy, and sometimes swampy. The Piedmont offers rolling hills with rocky soil or clay in the northwest. And terrain affects the choice of crops and livestock.
Delaware produced more peaches in the late 1800s and early 1900s than any other state. When a blight destroyed that crop, strawberries, tomatoes, and melons entered the picture. The produce fueled the growth of the state’s railroad system and canneries. In the 20th century, machinery made it easier to grow corn and soybeans, which supplied feed grains for the broiler industry, started in 1923 by Cecile Steele of Ocean View.
According to the most recent USDA Census of Agriculture, released in early 2024, Delaware has 2,158 farms in total, 72% of which are run by families or individuals. Many have deep roots. Since 1987, the Delaware Century Farm Program has honored 160 family-run farms that are at least 100 years old. Honorees have a minimum of 10 acres of the original parcel, or they gross more than $10,000 annually in agricultural sales.
Although farmland is dwindling, newcomers have stepped up to the hoe, such as Frankford’s Story Hill Farm, founded in 2019, and Cosmic Dog Farm in Ellendale, established in 2022.
Standing Out in a Crowd
Corn is Delaware’s top crop, and watermelons are the leading fruit crop. However, broiler chickens are the most valuable agricultural product, according to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, the state’s nonprofit economic development agency. Other products include wheat, barley, apples, peaches, grapes, peas, and dairy.
Many of the state’s farms are part of a vertical integration system—a single company controls multiple stages of the production process, from breeding to processing to distribution. Farms under contract only provide grain, chickens, or dairy products to that company. The broiler business is an example of a vertically integrated operation. Growers of other crops, such as melons, may work with brokers, auction houses, and shippers to distribute their products.
There are advantages, namely that you’re assured an agreed-upon amount, says Ryan Richard, co-owner of the 24-acre East View Farms in Bridgeville. But he prefers to grow and harvest on his terms and to sell directly to consumers.
To stand alone, farms must market themselves. It helps that Richard has cultivated a specialty. In addition to tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, and tomatoes, East View grows mushrooms, including lion’s mane, oyster, and shiitake. He sells to chefs, including Matt Kern of One Coastal in Fenwick Island, and will produce items for restaurants upon request.
Stag Run Farm specializes in heirloom and specialty fruits, as well as asparagus and butter beans. The farm’s Butter Bean Honey uses beans pollinated by bees. Stag Run also has a proprietary apple-cider vinaigrette, and the Bradys’ daughter, Christina, is the brains behind Rotten Apples Cider, which uses apples deemed too ugly to sell at farm stands.
At Brittingham Farms, planting lavender has paid off in multiple ways. The farm has a distillery for essential oils, made from Grosso and Riverina Thomas plants, the “workhorses of the oil industry,” Laura Brittingham says. She also grows savory varieties and frequently collaborates with other local businesses. For instance, Forgotten 50 Distilling in Berlin, Maryland, uses her lavender to make vodka. Revelation Craft Brewing in Rehoboth has featured the lavender in beer, and Salted Vines Vineyard & Winery in Frankford has used it for a sweet riesling.
The Frozen Farmer uses Brittingham’s Royal Velvet lavender in ice cream. The chilly business, seen on “Shark Tank,” is another example of diversification, started by Kevin and Katey Evans of the nearly 2,000-acre Evans Farms.
The third-generation Bridgeville farm is best known for sweet corn and watermelons shipped to grocers and wholesalers. Because Kevin’s mother grew up on a Camden dairy farm, the Evanses decided to make ice cream and sorbet featuring their produce. “It’s a neat way to honor the heritage and legacy of both sides of his family,” says Katey, whose first job was on a farm.
One on One
When Katey joined the family in 2006, she put her marketing background—she’s the former public relations director for the Delaware Farm Bureau—to good use. At the time, the family’s humble farmstand primarily sold excess produce. She ensured that the offerings were attractively arranged, and interest grew.
The Evanses now operate two Bridgeville markets: Evans Farm Produce and T.S. Smith Orchard Point Market, formerly part of Charlie Smith’s orchard operation. Wares include jarred goods, baked items, and preserves sourced from area vendors. “Our direct-to-consumer business has been phenomenal,” Katey says.
Jenny and Zach Dittmar hope to experience the same growth. Dittmar Family Farms in Felton encompasses about 50 acres, including leased land, on which the family grows tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, greens, cauliflower, onions, blackberries, and asparagus. This year, they added a farm store with a First State Food System Program grant. A new garage has a 20-foot walk-in cooler, and they purchased equipment from Hattie’s Garden, a small Lewes farm that closed.
Brady is pushing the on-site shop at Stag Run Farm this year. “So many people want to experience the farm,” she says. “They want to see you. They want to talk to you. ‘Hey, can I see what the orchard looks like?’”
These farm stands and shops are replacing community-supported agriculture (CSA), in which participants buy “shares” at a fixed amount and pick up items each week. In many cases, you take what you’re given. Although the CSA format spiked during COVID-19, farmers agree that customers prefer to buy what they want—and can use.
Farm stands and stores aren’t the only way to interact with customers. In 2024, Delaware’s community-run farmers markets experienced record-breaking sales of $4.46 million. “Without farmers markets, we wouldn’t be here,” Brady says.
The farms have varying application requirements. For instance, the Historic Lewes Farmers Market only accepts growers; you can’t purchase produce in Philly and resell it. Richard says all markets should concentrate on growers instead of third-party vendors.
Dittmar Family Farms does four markets a week in summer. “That’s our limit, unless we hire people and buy more vehicles,” Jenny says. Cosmic Dog Farm must balance the market with working the farm. For instance, owners Christian Coody and Jena Murray harvest on Fridays, so they can’t attend markets on those days.
Cultivating Smart Practices
Coody and Murray were living in Colorado when Coody felt a “calling” during the pandemic. “I saw how insecure our food system was and wanted to do what I could for the community.”
Because Colorado land was cost-prohibitive, they moved to Delaware, Murray’s home state.
Their Ellendale property is zoned for agriculture, but given the couple has only a quarter of an acre, they need high yields. Consequently, they practice biointensive agriculture, which promotes biodiversity and soil health. “All our plants are really close together, so we maximize the space and outcompete the weeds,” Coody explains. “It helps with our yields, and when we harvest, we plant right behind it for another crop or two in the season.”
Cover cropping is a priority at East View Farms. Certain plants—legumes, oilseed radishes, and oats—protect and nourish the soil between the primary crops’ growing seasons. East View uses organic practices whenever possible, but it’s not a certified organic farm. The certification process can cost up to $3,000, and there’s time-consuming red tape, Richard says.
Jenny Dittmar uses the term “regenerative” for her farming practices. “We focus on plant diversity, native species habitat, and cover crops to deal with pests, disease, and weed pressure,” she explains. “We integrate livestock for natural land management.”
She and her husband, who is becoming a certified master naturalist, visited Coverdale Farm Preserve to see best practices in action. The Greenville-area farm is part of the Delaware Nature Society, and it was fallow when the society took ownership.
Coverdale has 380 acres, about 170 of which are designated for agriculture. The farmers let the hilly Piedmont land be their guide. “We grow vegetables and flowers on about 4 acres, and we have 55 acres of pasture where we raise egg-laying birds, chickens, Thanksgiving turkeys, a small herd of cows and sheep, and a couple of goats,” says Michele Wales Quinlan, site director and farm manager.
One acre is devoted to a flower garden with herbs, which serves as a pollinator field for bees.
“We demonstrate that food can be grown with environmental integrity,” she continues. “We’re very focused on practices that restore and replenish natural resources. We’re working with nature, not against it.”
Where the Animals Roam
Cows, sheep, and goats keep pastures in check, and chickens supply another source of revenue. For instance, Stag Run Farm sells eggs from a variety of birds to create a carton of various sizes and colors.
Dittmar Family Farms raises Belted Galloway cattle, Berkshire cross pigs, and Katahdin sheep on its pastures. The cows and sheep are grass fed throughout their lives, and the pigs graze on cover crops.
Standard white turkeys—the common commercial breed—strut around Coverdale Farm until Thanksgiving. The farm takes reservations for the birds, picked up in the on-site market. The store regularly sells eggs from pasture-raised chickens.
The animals can have another purpose. Mop-top lambs are the stars of Brittingham Farms’ annual Lavender & Lambs Festival, scheduled this year for June 21 to 22, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Brittinghams first encountered the docile Leicester Longwool sheep on an anniversary trip to Colonial Williamsburg. George Washington valued the breed for its sturdy wool, now called Liberty Cloth, Laura Brittingham says.
She contacted a Maryland breeder and soon had three ewes. Now there are 17 sheep, which are valued for their wool—unless too many rams are born. “They get pushy with the girls, especially if [they’re] pregnant,” Brittingham explains. “Usually, if I call them by name, they stay here forever.”
One lucky boy is Charlie the ram, who is in the 2023 holiday issue of “Victoria” magazine.
Far From Romantic
The ram with the sandy-colored ringlets paints an idyllic picture. But farming is hardly that.
“If my son wasn’t around, I don’t know, at our age, if we could keep this going,” Brady says of her orchard. Apples and tomatoes must be hand-picked, and willing workers are hard to find. “If I were to take it all down, I’d put grain in, because you can use machinery,” she says.
Evans can understand. “A lot of people don’t realize the sacrifices that farmers make to put food on the table—personal and financial sacrifices,” she says. “Farmers certainly don’t do it for the money.”
When farms pay workers close to $20 an hour, and the price of fertilizer and supplies goes up, the cost of produce rises, Brady notes. Fortunately, many customers don’t balk at paying more for local produce directly from the farm. Moreover, as grocery store prices increase, area farmers have become competitive. “Every now and then, you hear someone complain about the pricing, which is to be expected as you get closer to hometown areas,” Coody says of markets in small towns. Conversely, the resort farmers markets attract affluent visitors willing to pay.
Development, particularly in coastal Delaware, brings in more customers. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it consumes leased land, which is how many farmers add to their yields. Development also displaces wildlife, which venture onto farmland to snack on plants.
Then there is the weather. “There’s a difference with climate change,” agrees Wales Quinlan of Coverdale Farm. “A storm blew through here like a freight train, and we lost about $9,000 worth of crops. It took two minutes to wipe out a year of planning and planting. We always know nature is going to win.”
The key to survival is flexibility, she says. Stay in step with ever-changing conditions. Diversify the food sources. Understand what the landscape can handle and produce. In other words, don’t paddle upriver, she says.
Increasingly, that job will fall on small farmers’ shoulders. “You don’t need a lot of acreage to make an impact,” Wales Quinlan concludes. “You just need a good plan.”
And a lot of passion.
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