Our purpose and continuing goal at Coutts Berry Farms is to provide a pleasant, relaxing and unique experience for our customers. We believe that if our customers are exposed to this environment they will return year after year and bring their friends and families.

History of the Paupack Blueberry Farm

In 1964,  Donal & Shirley Coutts purchased 41 ½ acres of land from Mr. Charles T. Oughton, Sr.  It included the three fields presently under cultivation.  Field One was approximately 4/5 cleared and planted with high bush blueberries.  Field Two was planted with blueberries in what is presently sections A, B & C.  Field Three had the first 14 rows planted.  The remaining sections of fields were grown up in trees, brush, or weeds.

Blueberry  Bushes
The three fields contained nine varieties of High Bush Blueberries.
Jersey, Rubel, Stanley, Rancoccus, Pemberton, Atlantic, Dixie, Concord and Berkley.  The Berkley variety were young plants not yet into production.

Machinery
Only one piece of machinery was purchased with the farm.  That was a Model 40 John Deere, cleat tract, tractor.  That same tractor is still owned and used at the farm today.

Blueberries
Most of the berries were picked by hand.  Pick your own had not yet begun other than by a few local people who knew the farm even existed.  Pickers were paid 15 cents per pound.  For pick your own, we charged 15 cents a pound.  Berries packaged in one pint pulp baskets sold for 35 cents a pint.  To cover the baskets of berries, we used  printed cellophane sheets fastened with #14 rubber bands. 

Once we began “Pick Your Own”, one of us, usually Shirley, would simply wait around for a customer to show up.

Building
The only building with the farm was that portion of the existing packing shed constructed of cinder blocks.  It was 24’ x 4o’.  One half of the building was used for a garage with a dirt floor, the other half for a packing shed.

 Shipping Crates
The 12 pint shipping crates were made from wood.  I cut the ends and dividers from ½ inch scrap plywood.  Sides were each made from two  ¼” x 2 inch slats.  Tops, and bottoms  each consisted of three ¼”  x 2”  wood slats  all fastened with nails.  Around 1980, still using wood ends and dividers, we developed a folded, printed, cardboard to form the sides, bottom and top.  This we continued to use for approximately 20 years. 

 WHERE  WE ARE  PRESENTLY

 LAND
Because each of our four children were give a parcel of land off the farm,  the remaining property consists of approximately 27 acres.

Blueberry Bushes
The entire fields are now planted with high bush Blueberries.  Some of the oldest plants are being replaced with newer varieties.  We presently have 25 varieties  planted.
Atlantic,  Berkley, Bluecrop, Bluejay, Blueray, Bluetta, Brigitta, Chandler, Concord, Coville, Dixie, Duke, Earliblue, Elliott, Herbert, Ivanhoe, Nelson, Jersey, Patriot, Paupacken, Pemberton, Rubel, Sierra, Spartan, Stanley, Toro.

Drainage
The original drainage consisted of a ditch around the perimeter of Field #2.   Soon after purchasing the property, a blasting friend agreed to blast irrigation ditches across the field using black powder.  With charges in place, he lit the fuse.  The black muck flew a few feet in the air, then settled back down where it had previously been.  Obviously it didn’t work.  Next, after building two 8’ x 8’ pallets, and using a  JD 350,  John Deere backhoe, I dug the five drainage ditches across  the field.  As the tractor rested on one pallet, the other was placed in front in preparation for the next move forward.  The two original culverts had collapsed so had to be replaced.  The culvert between field#1 and field #2, I replaced in 1994 with the covered bridge built using a modified post and beam construction.

Buildings
Sometime around 1976, we built the first large addition on the packing shed.  Walter Shoenagel from Greentown, drilled our well approximately 130 ft. deep, and we added a kitchen and two outside bathrooms.  At the same time, after pouring a concrete floor, we converted one half the garage  into the present pick your own weigh station area.  The gift shop was increased, a snack bar added along with the sale of home made ice cream and fresh baked goods. 

About 1980, we purchased the old Camp Brooklyn work shop for $1 from Gumble Brothers, who had purchased the Camp Brooklyn property and wanted all the building removed or demolished.  After sectionalizing the building, I hauled it over to the farm using our 1936 1 ½ T. Ford flatbed truck.  Next I reconstructed it and used it for a tractor & storage shed.  Also built a small chemical shed which, with Ken’s help, was moved to its present location.  The year of 2000 we added our second large addition which increased the kitchen and  store size and installed two inside bathrooms, a walk in freezer and walk in cooler.

Marketing
Even at 35 cents, it was difficult to sell the berries retail.  Customers   would not travel clear out to Paupack just to buy berries at that price when the ACME Store in Hawley was selling them “ 3 for $1.00.”
To attempt something different, Shirley decided to process some of our berries into baked goods, particularly muffins.  This proved the beginning of a revelation.  When customers came in to buy blueberry baked goods, they would also buy a few pints of fresh berries. 

Wholesale  
At first we sold wholesale to Pocono Produce in Stroudsburg. Although they took most of the berries we could produce, their price was ridiculously low.  Next we sold to Rosenstein’s in Scranton who paid more and wanted all the berries we could produce.  Finally, wholesalers from around the area were calling for our berries but we could not produce them in that quantity.   12 pint shipping crates are now entirely made of cardboard printed with our logo. 

Equipment
We now own three wheel tractors (2 Kubota & 1 John Deere) plus the original John Deere cleat tractor, 1 harvester, 1 mulcher, 2 rotary mowers, 1 sickle bar mower, 1 post hole digger, 1 Fertilizer spreader, 1 tiller, 2 sprayers (1- 1oo gal. air blast & 1-120 gal. w/hand held nozzle),  1 wagon, 1 dump cart, 2 reg. carts, 1 truck, 1-10 ft. tow trailer, 1 packing machine and 1 golf cart.

Pick Your Own
Pick your own blueberries starts about July 20th each year and ends around Labor Day. Nearly all the fields are now for pick your own.  As a result, we find it more and more difficult to provide fresh picked berries for sale to the local stores.  Wholesale has become nonexistent because supply just cannot keep pace with demand.   The parking lot is filled with cars nearly every day during picking season.  This year (2007) we increased the parking area for the third time since buying the property. 

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