Farming evolves at Tom Tower’s market
By Danielle Forsyth; photos by kc kratt
Tom Tower of Tom Tower’s Farm Markets.
“Hey, Tommy Tower!” a woman shouts to the proprietor of Tom Tower’s Farm Market as we chat. “Whatcha got growing this year?” It’s a simple question, but it gets this Niagara County full-time farmer and part-time philosopher excited. Tower knows his against-the-grain farming method speaks loud and clear to his customers. Now in its twenty-sixth year of business, Tower’s Farm Market in Youngstown is an agricultural diamond in the rough. Here, Tower shares his insight into the evolution of farming from the 1800s to the present.

Can you tell me a little bit about what farming was like in WNY in the early days?
If you go back far enough, to around the early 1800s, it was all subsistence farming; people grew what they needed for themselves and their families. About a century later, city markets in Niagara Falls began to appear. My grandpa had a team of horses that made the trip into Niagara Falls with the extra produce he was hoping to sell. There was no way one team of horses was going to make it all the way in to the Falls, so after the dreaded climb up Peaken Hill, he had another team of horses waiting to take the load and finish the trip. When the 1920s rolled around, he bought one of the first Ford pickup trucks, which made life a little easier.

So how did we get from markets in Niagara Falls to where we are today?
The whole mindset about farming changed in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. When I was attending the agricultural school at Cornell they drilled it into our heads: “Bigger is better, bigger is better.” Farming became concentrated. It was all about a one- or two-crop show. So after graduating, I did just that. At one time, I had 110 acres of wine grapes; at another time, eighty-five acres of apples. Even today this philosophy is the be-all-end-all with most of the giant agricultural companies. “Bigger is better, bigger is better.” But with this mindset, quality and taste is lost in the tractor-trailer loads of produce, and I realized this was wrong. Twenty-six years ago, I built my farm market in Youngstown and started the Elmwood and Bidwell market in Buffalo with four other local growers in an effort to bring awareness to this new focus on locally grown food grown on smaller farms.

Your philosophy has certainly evolved over the years. Has the customer evolved in the same way?
Forty years ago, it was simply economical to purchase from your local farmer. Then we hit the era of the supermarket where the prices were low, but the produce suffered. The grocery store was not meeting the need for quality, flavor, and freshness. Instead, everything was sugared, canned, and preserved. So in the past ten to fifteen years, people have been looking back to the farm in need of a change.

What do you think are the benefits to buying locally?
There are two very positive avenues local farming is helping to create. The first is the interest in local foods used as nutraceuticals. Locally produced honey, for example, can reduce the symptoms of pollen allergies. Blueberries, packed with anti-oxidants, are most powerful when picked fresh. The other avenue customers are realizing is that the local farm is not only good for the environment, but also for the local economy. It keeps employment in the area where the local kids have an alternative to commuting into Buffalo for a summer job. I am happy to say I have a two-wheeled farm crew—most of my employees ride in on their bikes at 8 a.m. to start work.

The “Arrivals and Departures Board” features “flights” and “status.”

Technology has evolved over the years as well and has become a part of our everyday lives. How do you get by without a cell phone or computer?
I will always remain a farmer. There is so much concentration in what I am trying to do that I think of it as a type of art form. I consider myself a Luddite. I don’t shun technology; I simply have no need or want for it. The anonymity of cyberspace can’t capture the essence of the farm market. Customers don’t eat e-mails, and you can’t put a text on a salad plate.

So what can we expect to see this fall in the line of produce?
To add to our array of heirloom tomatoes, I am trying a new cherry tomato we named “chocolate berry” because of its outward, milk-chocolatey hue. The farm is no longer a two-month summer deal, so I’m putting more focus on products that are harvested in November and December, such as Brussels sprouts and leeks. I always want to stress the fact that everything we grow here has a specific growing season. Our “Arrivals and Departures” board is a great tool for this. Just like an old-fashioned airport board, you can check on the status of your “Flight,” meaning the type of fruit. Is [it] “Ripe and Ready,” or has the season already past and we’ll “See Ya Next Year”? It is the idea of the seasonal fruit and vegetable that is so important to me and for the benefit of the customer. That’s why I love the question of “What are you growing?” If we reach that crucial step, both of us are better off at the end of the day.

Spree summer intern Danielle Forsyth is a junior at Hamilton College, and has worked for Tom Tower for the past eight years.


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