Pleasant Lane Farms in Unity Township, known locally for its cheese sold at the Ligonier Country Market, was informed at the beginning of the year it no longer qualifies as a small vendor and cannot return for the upcoming season.
The decision by the country market now has the farm calling for a change in how the executive board operates.
This decision by the board in January excludes any vendor whose products are sold out of state or in more than 60 retail locations.
Pleasant Lane Farms co-owner Jason Frye said despite operating as a small, family- and veteran-owned business with 50 cows on 185 acres, its cheese is currently sold in 75 to 90 retail locations. Frye said many of these locations stock only two or three of their products.
The farm has been open about its revenues from the market, Frye said, generating an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 in revenue between the Ligonier Country Market and Holiday Market.
Frye said the sales at the market and retail locations isn’t a cheddar to cheddar comparison. Pleasant Lane Farms sells its cheese through a distributor at a lower rate than their retail sales. In order to make up the loss of not selling at the country market, the farm would need to sell an extra $60,000 to $80,000 in wholesale. The potential loss of revenue could have a tangible effect on the farm, Frye said.
“That is three to four months of mortgage payments,” he said. “It’s most of the salary of one full-time employee.”
Frye said they were never told the board was going to make the changes. Pleasant Lane Farms wasn’t asked to participate in the Holiday Market back in December. Frye told the Bulletin the country market officials told them they were focusing on having crafters there.
Prior to the decision, Frye said he and others at the farm had been inquiring to get attendance numbers and more information about the country market’s educational efforts — one of the two core principles in which the country market operates on.
“We were told (the country market) felt we were being hostile (with our questions),” Frye said of the meeting in which he characterized the board’s position as “hostile” too.
Frye added that the board also pointed out the farm had not shared about the country market frequently, something Frye said was intentional as to not dilute the algorithm into burying future posts. He also said the board had questioned the farm’s veteran-owned status.
Both the retail business and farm are majority-owned by veterans, Frye said. Jason’s brother, Todd, is a U.S. Army veteran and owns a stake of the business with another veteran. Together they hold a majority stake. As for the farm, Todd Frye also holds a large stake alongside his father, a Marine Corps veteran.
The farm has voiced strong concerns about this policy, describing it as “arbitrary” and claiming it unfairly penalizes small-scale farms that have succeeded in gaining broader recognition without substantially increasing in size.
Pleasant Lane Farms noted that despite its retail presence, the United States Department of Agriculture has classified it as a “very small business,” unchanged since it first began participating at the market in 2020.
In response to an email asking to discuss the matter, the Ligonier Country Market only stated that it is providing a space for over 30 small producers to sell their goods.
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