Update: Columbiana farm overcomes sales slump after train derailment
Lamppost Farm in Columbiana is bouncing back after facing business challenges stemming from the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine.
While nearby farms faced the challenge of potential contamination, Lamppost Farm was able to continue their operations without disruption. However, the aftermath of the derailment had a significant impact on their sales, but now the farm is starting to see financial relief.
"I think we're rebounding. The slump we hit initially was a real challenge and if that continued we would have had to make hard decisions," said Steve Montgomery, executive director of Lamppost Farm.
Despite their crops being safe from contamination, nearly 50% of their profits were lost as concerns by customers about product safety steadily grew. With collaboration efforts from local businesses and community support, Montgomery says they're seeing an uptick in sales.
"We'll see spikes where we actually exceed [sales] averages and we have had days since [the derailment] where we've been way low. So, I think our average income is coming back to where it was prior," Montgomery told 21 News.
Montgomery says the land and the animals are thriving, as he looks forward to blossoming fresh crops.