Vegetable Growers News

Growers Should Prepare for a Credit Crunch

As growers prepare for the new production year, there are a few things they need to know about money. First, money this winter could get as cheap as it will probably ever get, so if you have good plans for expansion and growth, it’s a good time to borrow money and go for it. Second, however, credit is tight – an odd counterpoint. The $700 billion rescue of the financial system was supposed to loosen credit, especially long-term money for homeowners in distress, but the money failed to trickle down through the layers of fear and greed that sucked it up without apparent benefit – to the amazement even of gurus like Alan Greenspan, who believed the free expression of individual self-interest would make everything better. While there’s been a lot of “happy talk” about how good farmers’ balance sheets and bottom lines are, and some assurances…  » Read more

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Keeping up With the Growers

Think of your favorite Web site. I might be putting myself out there a bit by asking a bunch of farmers to do that, but even the oldest, most tradition-bound vegetable grower among you must have a favorite Web site by now. Or, if not a favorite, there must be a site you visit often. Has that site ever changed its look or its content? I’m guessing it has. If the site doesn’t change, what’s the point of follow-up visits? As I indicated above, there’s a bit of a stereotype out there that farmers never change. In some ways, that’s fair. There’s a decent chance you dress for work more or less the same way your grandfather did: jeans, flannel shirt, work boots, John Deere cap. But in other ways – especially if you’ve been farming for a while – you’ve been in a constant state of…  » Read more

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Ohio Sweet Corn

McMaster Farms grows and sells 250 acres of fresh sweet corn in Columbiana, Ohio. In addition, McMaster Farms runs about 100 acres of sweet corn from a neighboring farm through its packing shed, which also serves as a retail outlet. The corn is sold to farm markets, roadside stands and chain stores, said Dave McMaster, who runs the business with his wife, Carrie. The farm has a wide variety of customers. “An older gentleman comes to the farm and buys two ears almost every day,” Dave said. “Others take full semi loads.” The McMasters grow primarily bicolor, augmented supersweet varieties. Harvest usually runs from early July to early October. The corn is irrigated. After picking, it’s brought to the packing shed, where it’s packaged any way a customer wants it, he said. Carrie said the sweet corn often is packaged five-dozen per bag. Dave, a third-generation farmer, oversees mainly the…  » Read more

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