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The Apple of Their Eyes
After five generations (and counting), these Bishops are no pawns in the retail agribiz game
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Business New Haven
1/21/2002
By:
Susan Cornell
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The “big red apple,” a well-known landmark in Guilford, announces the headquarters of a five-generation farmer's market chockablock with history. B.W. Bishop & Sons Inc. is the family-owned and -operated farm corporation on 320 acres of land we know of as Bishop's Orchards.
One of several distinctive aspects of the Guilford-based business is that the same family has continuously owned Bishop's for 130 years. Think about that - not only does a clan have to get along well enough to nurture and cultivate a successful business for well more than a century, but a Bishop today can touch, feel and pick from the land planted by a great-grandfather. Thus the seeds (produce- and business-wise) planted by ancestors are sown in a successful operation today.
The Bishops farm market has grown from a roadside stand in the 1910s to a bustling, award-winning market, handling fresh fruits and vegetables and related farm products while maintaining a back-to-basics feeling.
The Bishop families have roots in Guilford dating back to the founding of the town by Bishop ancestors who first arrived in the New World from England in 1639. Business history commenced in 1871 when Walter Goodrich Bishop engaged in general farming and offered vegetables, dairy and ice to the local community. Walter's son, Burton Walter Bishop, soon joined him and together they expanded the business. In 1909, the two set out the first commercial orchard. Burton's sons, Charles R. and Arthur F., representing a third generation, joined with their father in 1918 and continued to set out additional orchard on land purchased in 1920, 1926 and 1955.
In 1957 the business was incorporated and formally named after Burton, who had passed away in 1942. At this time, Arthur's and Charles's sons, Albert and Gene (Charles E.), entered the business with their fathers following college. Crops were offered for sale at the seasonal market (approximately 500 square feet) and sold wholesale.
Over the next decade, the farm grew as fast as the crops. B.W. Bishop & Sons Inc. expanded the retail operation into a year-round market and offered “pick-your-own” (PYO) produce. They purchased another market, additional orchards, renovated a cider mill and revamped farming operations to improve expansion possibilities and efficiency. PYO was expanded from strawberries to apples, blueberries and other crops as the farm business diversified to become more economically stable and support the consumer's desire to pick their own, and to meet the growing demand for local fruit.
In 1975, Gov. Ella T. Grasso and the state's Board of Agriculture marked the farm's 104th year of operation under the same family ownership by awarding the Bishops and their farm the “Century Farm Award.”
Following his graduation from Cornell, Albert's son Keith joined the business as retail farm market manager in 1977 with a B.S. in farm business management. The following year, Gene's son Jonathan graduated from Delaware Valley College with a B.S. in horticulture and was employed as orchard manager. Albert's sons Craig and David joined after graduation from Cornell in 1978 and 1985, respectively, but later left to pursue other agricultural interests.
Changes continued to occur as the fifth generation of Bishops became more involved and the family needed to keep pace with economics and technology. A major new addition to the main market and cold storage was completed in September 1978. This allowed the movement of products and the more efficient utilization of space, reorganized the cider mill, and moved the apple grading and packing area into the new addition.
A 10,000-bushel CA (Controlled Atmosphere) apple-storage addition was built in 1988 and parking areas upgraded. A 3,800-square-foot addition and remodeling was completed the following year bringing the farm market to 5,600 square feet of sales area with a covered porch and larger parking area. A new post-and-beam barn was built in 1998 for sales of pumpkins and related fall crops. Reorgs enabled the retail farm market to be expanded to space previously occupied by other operations.
At the same time, new crops such as cantaloupes, raspberries and new apple varieties were introduced and/or expanded to extend the seasons when crops are ready. More diverse operations allow the business to make better use of labor and provide an economic safety net. One reason for success is the diversity of crops. The simple adage of “Don't put all of your eggs in one basket” is applied, so even if weather and crop conditions aren't favorable, some crops will thrive.
Semi-retired dads Al and Gene serve on the board of directors and work part-time. Keith and Jonathan now hold the top management positions as co-CEOs. Department managers are responsible for various parts of the operation as well, including Al's daughter, Bakery Manager Diane van der Grinten, who coordinates demands for fresh baked pies, muffins, cookies and breads, as well as Carmel apples and fudge. The operation has from 35 to a seasonal high of 90 employees during the harvest and PYO season. The sixth generation can be found working on the farm.
Responsiveness to consumer needs and diversity of products are the keys to Bishop Orchard's success. These are just a couple of reasons why the family business now embraces a sixth generation, and why the families strive to be able to continue to maintain an economically viable farm offering quality, fresh-grown produce at reasonable prices to friends and neighbors. In doing so, the family hopes be provided an income comparable to non-farm neighbors as well as a rewarding lifestyle.
Fourth-generation co-owner Al Bishop has never had a second thought about his farming vocation. Mostly, he just sounds like a good ol' Yankee from yesteryear.
“I started at 11 or 12 picking strawberries…then beans. Through high school I picked up brush after pruning.” That was high school “sports” for Al. “I never took time to participate in sports. The importance wasn't around then.”
Somewhere, though, Al developed plenty of team spirit.
Teamwork, Al believes, is one of the reasons behind Bishop's success. “Pulling together as a team effort - working together - and having your own responsibilities. Team-wise you can do a lot more than by yourself.” He adds: “ Our wives are important backers and supporters. And they pitch in when needed.”
Al attended UConn and focused on fruits and vegetables (a/k/a pomology and olericulture). “I did a two-year stint in the Air Force and was back in 1956.” He had no second thoughts, no backup plan - farming has always been his choice. “I was always brought up on the farm, enjoyed the climate, the family atmosphere, and liked the business.”
Making the business an industry leader is “a combination of facts,” he says. “We try to keep on top. Location is favorable to us. There was getting into retail - avoiding the middleman and basing on retail sales. We try to be a good community organization, really community oriented.”
Before entering semi-retirement, Al was “in charge of all small fruits and vegetables, then the cider operation and the packing arm.” Now, he consults, attends board meetings and pitches in during busy times. “I do odd jobs,” he puts it modestly. Outside of the business, Al is the president of the Alderbrook Cemetery Association, a director of the 4H Farm in Bloomfield, and active in the First Congregational Church Business Committee. Volunteering, after all, is a Bishop family trademark.
Perhaps the most unusual fact about Bishop's isn't that it has been continuously family-owned for so many generations. Rather, what makes the orchards unusual is that the trees are decorated with red plastic fruit awaiting the season's first customers: flies. Bishop's is the probably the largest in the country to “trap out” a serious pest in the Northeast - apple maggot flies. The conventional wisdom is to spray a series of insecticides to prevent the flies from laying eggs. The Bishops take a different approach: They coat 1,800 spheres with a recipe of sugar water, paint and trace quantities of insecticide. The hanging spheres attract the apple maggot flies that feed, fly off and then die.
Explains Jonathan: “I believe firmly in an integrated pest-management approach and employing strategies so that we are not endangering the environment or health.” Even so, he adds, “Spraying is my least favorite thing to do.”
Al believes that environmentally responsible farming is important because “We figure we're stewards of the land. If we're going to have it for future generations, it's got to be viable. We try to use the best methods for the environment with education.” Education on the latest and greatest includes “attending meetings by horticulture and fruit organizations, trade shows, speakers and through extension services.”
What will Bishop's need to do to sustain its success ten to twenty years down the road? Al, frankly, doesn't pretend to know.
“Over the ages, things have changed,” he allows. “There was the ice business that deteriorated when refrigerators came along. We've just got to shift with the times and, hopefully, make a success with what we're doing.”
Keith believes that the business' structure is an asset. “There's cooperation, because nobody has a majority control. There's enough work to keep everybody busy and out of each other's hair.” He adds, “Nobody has enough free time to look over other people's shoulders.”
Jonathan agrees. “Too many people doing similar things breeds conflict. We have separate areas of responsibility and autonomy.”
Another key to success is that the co-CEOs meet for a weekly breakfast for planning, explains Keith. “It's important to set aside time every week where nothing interferes.”
Another plus is “The fact that we're locked in with the land situation,” says Keith. “You just can't pick up a farm - which makes you deal with what you have. We've got to take good care of it for the future.”
Adds Keith: “Part of our challenge is to balance the demand by consumers with taking care of the land - with rotation of crops, for example. There isn't much opportunity for land nearby because of housing and other development over the past two to three decades.”
Jonathan advises other family-run businesses to plan transitions meticulously. “With tax laws, it's important to structure the business so that it can be passed down without the need to sell part of it,” he says. “Estate planning is vital.” He adds: “From the standpoint of the next generation - being assured that there was going to be something there as well. We knew there was a place there for us.”
“Especially in the farm business, to get to retirement, you do it as well as you can and then sell,” says Jonathan. “In our case, we had estate-planning strategies in place.”
Gene's recommendations for other family businesses include “the ability to accept change is critical.” Further, it's important to keep the long term in mind. For example, in planting fruit trees, one needs to realize that he or she may not reap the benefits for years. “Just keep planting those trees and anticipating that someone will benefit,” he says.
Gene finds that “It's thrilling that the business you've worked hard for will be passed down. My father and grandfather must have felt the same way.”
Four individuals managing a substantial business without major brawls or stepping on toes? Most households don't even operate that way. Al says that this spirit was “handed down from the generations.” After all, he and cousin Gene operated the business with their fathers. “The four of us jointly hashed out things,” he says. “There were no arguments, really. Only once in a while someone would raise their voice.”
Nevertheless, the Bishop forebears would scarcely recognize the business today. “My father and great-grandfather would be very surprised to see the developments over the years. There are new technologies and activities [such as] the use of computers. There are barcodes and ATMs.”
There are other new words on site such as “kiosk,” too. Today's outfit is complete with an Internet-enabled kiosk where shoppers can research recipes, order gift packs of fresh fruit and baked goods for home delivery, and apply for a preferred customer card. They've come a long way from horses with reins to wireless technology.
A customer database, developed and managed internally, contains some 15,000 names, Al says. This is a point of pride for the single-unit operation, adds son Keith. The kiosk technology, naturally, is from a Branford neighbor, Netkey, a provider of software solutions for Web-enabled kiosks.
The historic farmer's market can redouble its efforts for Education 2002 with the Netkey solution. Education 2002 is a fundraising program that benefits arts and enrichments programs at local schools. Customers complete a simple form on the kiosk, select a school, and apply their purchasing power to help improve local education. Bishop's will donate a portion of the proceeds for each sale to the participating school of the customer's choice.
“The kiosk is like having an additional helping hand,” explains Keith. “Customer service has always been an essential factor in the success of the market over the past 130 years.”
It is for special achievement and distinctive company history that Business New Haven gives its 2002 Founders Award to Bishop's Orchards. Bishop's has received national recognition as well as a recipient of MassMutual's 2001 National Family Business Award. Winner in the under 50-employee category, the University of New Haven's Center for Family Business nominated Bishop's, one of its charter members, for the honor. The selection criteria include success of the business, positive links between family and business, contributions to community and industry, multiple generation involvement and innovative business practices.
UNH Center for Family Business Director Paul Sessions explains that Bishop's has been a center member for almost six years, nearly from the Center's beginnings. Sessions finds that the Bishops have been involved in “a thoughtful kind of work in terms of how they want to make the transfer happen and how they want to do it for both the family and for the business. They've been careful and not in a big rush. They take a look at the issues and talk to each other. They get outside help when they need it - they know what they don't know.”
It's about intent, discipline and knowing what's important and making it happen, Sessions believes. “They are disciplined in their approach to succession and have a clear vision: This farm will stay a farm - and stay in the family. There's strong agreement and commitment. It's been like that for generations.”
From roadside stand to a national award-winning fruitful business. Will the sixth generation carry on the tradition? Al, a grandfather of 11, hopes so. And Keith adds, “We all would like to continue on and there is interest among the next generation to come into the business.”
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