Featured Businesses

Summer 2024 Featured Businesses

August 06, 2024

Von Thun Farms

The agriculture industry, and food production, is considered to be the backbone of the economy, even more important to the well being of the country than any other business product. For five generations at Von Thun Farms, with locations in South Brunswick and Washington, the Von Thun family has been providing Jersey fresh vegetables and fruits grown on their 90+ acres of farmland to the local communities.

It is because of local farms like Von Thun’s that contribute to the Garden State being a top 10 national producer for a wide variety of crops, including tomatoes, peaches, blueberries and sweet corn, all of which can be found at Von Thun’s Country Farm Market or freshly picked during a “Pick-Your-Own” seasonal event. For Bob and Tim Von Thun, the father son duo at Von Thun Farms, while farming, according to Tim “was always in my blood”, it was also an intentional decision, not an obligation, because of their passion for the agriculture industry as well as the pride in upholding their family’s legacy.

Tim’s foray into farming began when he was just six years old, starting with his own little garden, where he grew “different oddities” such as red, sweet corn and purple string beans, items his dad Bob didn’t grow, that he could then sell to Bob to include at the farmer’s markets. As he grew older, his involvement in the farm also grew, from working the cash register standing on milk crates to reach the buttons to driving the tractor and eventually running the farm’s operations and CSA program, which he does today.

Von Thun Farms is part of the farmland preservation, which means the farm’s land will forever be preserved for farmland and helping to keep New Jersey green. The preservation is especially pertinent when it comes to continuing the family business, but for Tim, he looks to his parent’s influence on not pushing farming onto him, but cultivating an environment where “we wanted to be at the farm, and it was something that I enjoyed doing”. It was this hands-off approach that allowed farming to be “a hobby and, you know, work at the same time” that Tim hopes his young son, nephew and future Von Thuns will also gravitate to on their own as they grow older.

The partnership between Amboy Bank and Von Thun Farm was reflective, in part, of the times as the presence of physical banks and the personalized service that came with it, are becoming harder to come by. After the bank Von Thun’s was with was bought out by a national bank, Bob started missing the personalized service and first name basis relationships he used to have that helped maintain the strong sense of community he had prior, as well as to help run his farming business as smoothly and efficiently as he had. Through referrals from other small businesses in the area, Von Thun Farms was introduced to Amboy Bank.

Bob said the initial draw to Amboy was the proximity, with Amboy’s 20+ branch locations throughout Middlesex and Monmouth counties, as well as the community feel, saying, “bigger companies are just a problem…that’s kind of how we run our business, on a handshake, and, you know, we do something, we do it, and now just big corporate leads that I see, they just don’t know.” It is also this sense of community and longstanding history that draws parallels between Amboy and Von Thun Farms. Von Thun Farms was established in 1913 and Amboy has been part of the New Jersey landscape since 1888.

As times evolve, successful businesses are able to adapt to meet current demands and continue to grow. Starting as a potato farm, by the 80s things had shifted and Von Thun’s operations are very different today, focusing on a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits year-round available at their market stand, pick your own and CSA as well as their popular fall festivals. While Von Thun Farms is a small business, their focus on their community and the agriculture community at large makes it even more personal, with Tim commenting that “the goal of agriculture is kind of growing agriculture itself, and there is so few of us left that anything we can do to help each other is almost more important than trying to get a little edge on somebody.” It is this spirit that led to such a successful partnership between Amboy and Von Thun Farms, with community and personalized service being at the core of both businesses.