County's future depends on agriculture and tourism

FRANKLIN-Development and its pressures notwithstanding, the county's future still depends upon two things very different from that: tourism and agriculture. That was the main thrust of a presentation by a ranking county economic official to the borough council last week. "This is going to be our future," explained Mary Emilius, the director of client and community services for Sussex County's economic development partnership. "It's about tourism; it's about agriculture. When people stay overnight, they start looking for things to do. There is a real market here now for overnight stays." Emilius, who was received well by the council, stated that the county's still-bucolic areas are perhaps the county's biggest asset, and that keying on that point will help the county move forward economically. "We have to create new revenues for the farmers in order to keep them here," she continued. "The agriculture community in the county is very strong. And doing a Sussex County milking tagging program where they're going to do their own pasteurization here, and selling it here so people will know they're buying a local product …I'd pay more money if I knew it was supporting my local farmers." "That's one of the recognized assets that we have, agri-tourism," agreed councilman Steve Oroho, who is also a county freeholder. "Being a four-season destination place is one of the biggest assets Sussex County has. And I think a lot of people have done a good job in making sure the word gets out. I think Mary's brought a lot of energy to her job, and I think she's hit the ground running." According to the 2002 national Census of Agriculture statistics—the latest ones available—there are 1,029 farms in Sussex County totaling 75,496 acres, an average of about 73 acres per farm. That represents a 12 percent increase from the 920 farms documented in 1997 numbers, which show the average farm size then to have been at 88 acres. However, the market value of farm production was $14.8 million in 2002, down from $19.8 million in 1997. There were big drop-offs in the amount of corn for grain or seed and for silage harvested, along with a drop in dairy cattle and beef cattle. Production of chickens increased dramatically as did production of hay. Oroho and Emilius also said the county should make a great effort to attract businesses that can better utilize the county's workforce, an estimated two-thirds of which is employed at out-of-county locations. "Another asset that we have is the talent pool up here in Sussex County," Oroho said. "(But) 65 percent go out-of-county. So I'd like to see us focus on using that talent pool that we already have. We know we have a high-quality workforce, and let's see us bring in the kind of companies that will utilize that workforce." One idea that Emilius brought up was using the borough's Westwind Hall as a possible bed-and-breakfast enterprise, a possibility that interests some borough officials. Built nearly a century ago on Main Street by the New Jersey Zinc Company as a special residence for mining superintendent Robert Catlin, Westwind Hall has been used as a licensed residential health-care facility for some time. Recently, however, its owner, Ron Keller, passed away and rumors are circulating that his estate may sell the property.