(Editor's note: New Era Correspondent Wendy S. Caldwell is completing a co-op in applied anthropology at Millersville University. The program is aimed at understanding sustainable agriculture in Lancaster County. She is contributing stories related to the project throughout the summer.)

Take a drive in any direction along the back roads of Lancaster County this summer and you are bound to see the signs — some hand-painted on old planks of wood, others with fancier graphics on custom-made banners.

All of them lead to one mouth-watering destination: the local roadside produce stand.

Produce stands are an integral part of sustainable agriculture in Lancaster County, providing farmers with a source of revenue, while preserving a cultural tradition for local residents.

Roadside produce business operations are too numerous to count. Some aren't even along the road. They are at the end of a farmer's driveway. They are housed in converted sheds, barns, or, if the farmer is fortunate enough, inside large, air-conditioned buildings.

Andrea and Daryl Martin have operated Brecknock Orchard for 11 years in northeastern Lancaster County, near the Berks County line. Andrea Martin said produce stands are symbolic of the county's agricultural tradition.

"We know that we are surrounded by other roadside stands, and that's OK, because we each have our own niche," she said, adding that local residents make up 80 percent of the stand's customer base. "We all need each other so that we can preserve this tradition."

Martin said her family's roadside stand began as a self-service business, where customers could select produce from a few small tables and drop their money in a box. Today, Brecknock Orchard has 10 employees and plans to add air-conditioning to the converted barn in which the business is located.

Hoping to pass along the tradition of farming to another generation, the Martins enlist the help of their five children, ages 2 to 10, on the 60-acre farm. Their daughter, Elizabeth, 4, even has her favorite jobs.

"I like picking apples," she said. "And I get to help my mom put stuff out on the stand in the market."

Brecknock Orchard features pick-your-own strawberry, peach and raspberry fields each summer. One Brecknock Township mother, who asked not to be identified, said she brings her children to the orchards to help her pick 20 to 30 quarts of raspberries to be used for homemade jam. She also wanted the children to learn a little about farming.

"This is very educational for them," she said, watching her three children carefully pick black raspberries off the bushes. "I want them to see that someone actually grows the food that we eat, and that it takes a lot of work."

Carl Sabal of Ephrata acknowledged he had driven by Brecknock Orchard dozens of times, but had never stopped. He decided to finally shop at the farm stand because of his hunger for sweet corn.

"My own corn wasn't ready, and I saw they had sweet corn here, so I stopped in," he said.

Sabal relocated to Lancaster County 30 years ago from Long Island, N.Y. His favorite part of living in the county?

"The food," he said with a hearty laugh. "Corn. Tomatoes. It's all good."

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On the other side of the county, Tom Culton operates Culton Organics on Marietta Avenue in Silver Spring, West Hempfield Township. He agrees that the more roadside stands, the better.

"I like when people stop at all of the different stands," he said, standing outside of the bright-green shed from which he sells his produce. "If they always went to the same one, they might never discover mine, where they can try something different."

At 26, Culton might be considered an anomaly of his generation. He opted not to sell the farm, which he placed in preserve with the assistance of the Lancaster Farmland Trust and the Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board.

"My grandfather owned this farm, and he still serves as my 'consultant'," Culton said of his 77-year-old grandfather, Pete Herchelroth, who is recovering from a recent heart attack. "And I was inspired to take on this job of running the farm after my mom died a few years ago. She would have wanted me to do this."

Culton Organics is a one-man farming operation. Culton, a 1998 Hempfield High School graduate, researches which seeds to plant, then he alone harvests 50 acres. He also delivers much of his produce to restaurants specializing in organic produce, including John J. Jeffries in the Lancaster Arts Hotel, and to the Headhouse Square open-air market in Philadelphia.

Culton uses no pesticides to eradicate bugs and no chemicals to control weed growth. His organic approach attracted Devon Hernandez of Lancaster City to visit his roadside stand. Hernandez said she is an adventurous eater, but she won't support genetically altered produce.

"I do my research so that I know which roadside stands don't sell produce that is grown with chemical fertilizers," Hernandez said. "Sometimes, I end up driving all over the county to get my food, and I spend more money on organic food, but it is worth it."

Culton often travels around the world to research crops grown in Europe, and in the so-called "fertile crescent" of the Middle East. He believes he is sustaining agriculture one seed at a time.

"We bring back heirloom seeds from overseas, seeds that have not been hybridized for 50 years from fields that might have been destroyed by war, and we can grow them here so that they are not lost forever," he said.

Jacque Gustafson of East Hempfield Township, who stopped at Culton's stand for red, white and blue tomatoes and some Lodi apples, expressed her appreciation for Culton's commitment to agriculture.

"He is using this farm for what it was intended," Gustafson said. "I really enjoy Tom's many varieties of tomatoes, but I do try to visit as many roadside stands as I can because I like supporting all farmers."