"Be good to the land, and the land will be good to you."
	Philip James Jones, farm founder 1821-1912

Philip Jones, a Welsh-Irish immigrant, and the five generations that followed have taken good care of the land he began farming in the 1850's. And, as he predicted, the land has been good to the Jones family.

The Jones Family Farms, nestled in the White Hills of Shelton, Connecticut, is under the stewardship of Terry Jones, Philip's great-great grandson, his wife, Jean and their son, Jamie. Known to many as the Jones Tree Farm, the name was changed in 1996 to reflect the way things have grown in the fifty years since Philip and Elisabeth Jones began selling Christmas trees in 1947.

We invite families to visit our 400 acre working farm to harvest other seasonal crops. Presently under cultivation are 200 acres of Christmas trees, 15 acres of strawberries, 15 acres of blueberries, and 25 acres of pumpkins, gourds and squash. The Jones family harvests these crops from three different farm locations known as the Christmas Tree Farm, Strawberry Valley, and Pumpkinseed Hill. The farm also manages 50 acres of hay land and 50 acres of woodlots. Several acres of grapes are in production for the farm's winery.

Terry Jones graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1969. As a child, he lived on the Jones dairy farm, then called Broad Acres Farm, but preferred gardening to dairying. At age 12, he sold pumpkins, his first crop at a little stand by the dairy. Terry earned money for college by selling organic vegetables, but after planting strawberries, he found folks preferred the luscious berries to vegetables. Terry joined the family Christmas tree farm and with Jean, a public health dietician, added blueberries and pumpkins for families to harvest.

Terry and Jean have two children - Jamie and Gwyn. A graphic designer, Gwyn creates many items for the farm and winery. Jamie graduated from Cornell University with a plant science major and currently works as a full-time farm manager. As his contribution to the farm, he planted a vineyard in 1998 and opened the Jones Winery in 2004.  Jamie and his wife Christiana have two sons, Jackson and Samuel, who are the 7th generation of the Jones family to grow up on the family farm.

Christmas Tree Manager, Will Jones, a cousin of Terry's, also grew up on the farm. Will graduated from the University of Connecticut with a history degree, but the love of the land drew him back to his roots. Additional farm managers, Bill Shafransky, Pat Keegan, John Lomanchinsky, Keith Padin, and Jerry Hoot play critical roles in operating the busy farm. Terry's father Philip is still active operating a custom sawmill on the farm.

Our Farming Methods
The Jones farmers are committed to growing high-quality and wholesome food and farm products. We believe we grow the best agricultural crops in an environmentally sustainable way. We have worked over the years to keep our soils healthy and productive. We employ multiple year crop rotations and use winter rye and nitrogen-fixing clovers as cover crops to improve organic matter and soil structure. We use the latest techniques of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for control of insects, diseases, and weed problems to reduce the use of farm chemicals whenever possible. Assistance from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station scientists who help devise methods to monitor the size of insect pest populations or disease infections then decide the most efficient treatments is an essential IPM measure. We select pest-resistant strains of plants and choose appropriate planting dates to avoid certain pest cycles. Hand weeding, mulching, vegetation suppression and mowing is done so we can minimize amounts of external inputs. Our farm's growing methods follow the Jones family philosophy that we are stewards of the land, serving to pass the land on to the next generation in better condition than we inherited it. "Be good to the land and the land will be good to you."

JONES FAMILY FARMS SUMMER INTERNSHIP APPLICATION