Vegetable Growers News

Love wins for Massachusetts farm family

For Glenn and Karen Cook of Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, Mass., love is at the heart of everything they do - from the crops they grow to the customers they serve. And it shows. "It's all about the love," Karen said as she and Glenn led North American Strawberry Growers Association bus tour attendees around their 145-acre farm in late August. Glenn agreed. "We feel pretty content with what all we're doing right now," he said. And what they're doing is pretty diverse - by design. In addition to growing produce for their retail operation, they also operate a 370-member CSA and u-pick operation. Add to that 400 laying chickens, and the family has its hands full. Sons Gregory, 25, and Chad, 23, also help out when they're available. "We've never had a bad, flat or down year because we're so diverse," Glenn said.…  » Read more

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Arizona farm reinvents to stay successful

When you think of Arizona, you don't immediately think of fruit and vegetable farming. That is probably part of what has made Schnepf's Farms in Queen Creek, Ariz., successful, according to Mark and Carrie Schnepf. This year marks the 70th anniversary of Schnepf Farms, which began with Ray and Thora Schnepf. It wasn't easy and it wasn't always successful, though. Mark and Carrie will be the first to tell you that. Over the years, the farm has evolved and tried many things. "You've got to be willing to reinvent yourself when you and your farm need to change," Mark said. "You have to be willing to innovate and grow with what your customer wants and be willing to accept diversification. Over the years, the farm has changed and what we've grown has changed." Carrie echoed Mark's sentiment. "You've got to be thinking ahead about what…  » Read more

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Bumblebee species might be disappearing

Bumblebees, like their well-known honey bee cousins, are important pollinators of agricultural crops and native plants. But bumblebees are mainly used to pollinate greenhouse plants like peppers and tomatoes rather than field crops. Anecdotal evidence over the past 10 to 15 years has suggested that several bumblebee species are disappearing and that their range is constricting. Coupled with the current decline in honeybee populations, the decline in some bumblebee species has sparked urgent action for finding suitable pollinators so that we can continue to enjoy the various fruits, vegetables and flora that play important roles - nutritionally and aesthetically - in our daily lives.Entomologist James Strange is doing his part to help find new pollinators that can rise to the task of working in the greenhouse and the field. From his post in the Pollinating Insects Biology, Management, and Systematics Research Unit in Logan, Utah,…  » Read more

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Tunnels, varieties double UK berry yields

Strawberries are "far and away" the most valuable fruit crop grown in the United Kingdom, said Dave Simpson, who's been breeding strawberries at East Malling Research (EMR), a fruit research facility in East Malling, England, for 25 years. Strawberries became a "bit of a darling" with UK supermarkets and consumers in the last decade or two. Their annual farm-gate value now equates to about $448 million, compared to about $160 million each for apples and raspberries and about $24 million for pears, Simpson said. Strawberries are grown on about 5,000 hectares in the United Kingdom (equivalent to 12,300 acres), which produce about 110,000 tons of berries annually. The average yield per hectare is slightly over 20 tons, but a good grower would expect to average 25 tons - maybe even 30 tons in a good year, with the right variety, according to Simpson. Thanks to…  » Read more

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Stone heat storage system cuts greenhouse costs

Technology developed in Thailand could have an energy-saving application for North American greenhouses. A University of Guelph researcher said the system employs the use of an underground stone heat sink in combination with solar thermal collectors and a biomass gasification furnace. Mathias Leon spoke at the Growing the Margins Conference in London, Canada in March. "It was a development project ... funded by the British government," Leon said. "The purpose for that system was for drying fruit and vegetables, but I could see the idea working very well for Ontario's greenhouse industry." The idea is to collect the heat energy from both the panels and furnace over the day and release it overnight. The experimental stone storage in Thailand supplied up to 16 hours of continuous heat. The solar panels should be able to raise the temperature of the stone storage to 40-50˚ C. Combined…  » Read more

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Great Lakes EXPO exhibit hall will host more than 400 companies

Planning is well underway for the 2011 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO. We plan to have more than 400 companies located in the exhibit hall. Some of the types of companies that exhibit include seed, nurseries and packaging companies, chemical and fertilizer companies, equipment large and small, processing equipment, lending and leasing, insurance and investment companies as well as greenhouse-related products. There are also many private brand companies and entertainment exhibits for the farm markets. We have many state and federal agencies that also exhibit, updating the attendees on topics relating to regulations, programs and changes that are occurring.In addition to the trade show, there are many educational sessions and special events. The Industry Luncheon at noon on Tuesday brings together grower leaders and others with an interest in issues important to agriculture. The featured speaker will address some of these issues.…  » Read more

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Mechanization, imports might solve worker problem

The value of California's fruit, nut and vegetable crops was $20 billion in 2009, almost 60 percent of the state's farm sales of $35 billion. California dominates U.S. production of these crops and currently accounts for about half of the U.S. fresh vegetable production and about half of total fruit production. Many of these fruits and vegetables are labor intensive; labor costs for fruit and vegetables average 42 percent of variable production costs. Over half of the state's hired farm workers are unauthorized, and most move on to non-agricultural employment within a decade of beginning work in the fields. The California produce industry depends on a constant influx of new, foreign-born labor attracted by wages above those in their countries of origin, primarily Mexico. Enforcement of immigration laws or immigration reform could raise labor costs. Enforcement of immigration laws has increased recently in two major…  » Read more

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