Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
and buying exactly what they want. They are used to walking in the store in
the middle of winter and buying a green pepper. That is hard to beat.” He
knows from his member surveys each year that “a big reason for our CSA
turnover each year is people are not used to cooking with different things.
That is a big challenge.”
This is where Steve's communication skills help out. “In our newsletter,
we make sure there is a recipe so they know what to do with it. Sometimes
we go as far as identifying things in the bag. Well, especially new members,
they may have never seen that vegetable before in their life. Say, like kale or
collards, a lot of people don't use them. And maybe some of our peppers,
if we throw in some hot ones, we'll say, 'Be careful these are hot,' so they
don't go and bite into one.” The fact that their farm is certified organic “is
quite important. I think it is a good selling point, but I have never asked that
in a survey. I would say most of the people we are getting in the program
are better educated, a lot of younger families and I think they are very
concerned with what they eat, especially for their children. And a lot of
people like bringing their kids out and showing them that food doesn't just
show up at the grocery store, it has to be grown and all of that.”
This is a busy farmproducing vegetables for CSAmembers and wholesale,
grains sold regionally, and livestock for direct marketing. They also grow
some melons, and for now “that is the only fruit we grow. I think having
some fruit like apples or pears in the program would go over huge. I have
no fruit-growing experience, so it is something to learn.” It sounds like
this farm will continue to evolve, with Steve and his brother at the helm,
following in their father's footsteps. They are managing well today, while
looking toward the future.
[103], (13)
Lines: 200 to 243
———
6.5pt PgVar
———
Normal Page
PgEnds: T E X
[103], (13)
O NLY THE BEST CITRUS
Rob and Mary Mitchell, Florida
As a visitor drives into the yard of this fourteen-acre citrus grove, two dogs
ru n up in greeting. Rob is zipping around on his fork-lift, filling a semitruck
that is waiting with its engine idling. In a short time, another semitruck
drives in - it's a day early. Rob starts yelling about it and Mary yells back,
telling him to switch out parts of completed pallets so they can fill this early
truck with citrus now, then they can make up these orders once the workers
come in the afternoon. The place is hectic. Both Rob and Mary are high
energy, strong-willed people, so yelling is common. They are proud of their
delicious citrus. Mary says, “In terms of organic citrus; we wrote the topic!”
Search WWH ::




Custom Search