County Times profiles Dee Harley, Farmer of the Year

Julia Scott has a great profile of Farmer of the Year Dee Harley.  Although other women have received the award with the husbands, Harley is the first woman to receive the award herself.  In nine years, Harley’s farm has grown to 200 goats.

Harley’s operation personifies the way forward for local farmers if they want to survive in agriculture, said local flower farmer Stan Pastorino, who has hosted the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event for nearly a decade.

"The few remaining farmers here have to adapt to the needs of the consumer and not the other way around," he told the crowd of 300 in a lecture that emphasized the benefits of niche crop production and brand self-promotion in a crowded marketplace.

"We have to ask ourselves — are we providing a good product?" continued Pastorino. "Are we willing to change as the market changes? Are we marketing ourselves as well as we possibly can?"