Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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that's for sure. His thing is growing and maintaining; my thing is marketing
and collections. He doesn't like doing that part, and he is not as good at it
as I am, and I don't like going out there and hoeing trees, and he does, so it
works out perfect.”
Rob points to a box imprinted with their brand name, Eagles'Nest Grove.
“Right there it says tree-ripened fruit. If I don't eat it, I don't sell it. If it is
sour, we don't sell it.”Mary agrees. “We don't sell a single orange until we sit
down and eat six to twelve of them apiece. And when they are really good
and we run out to get more to eat, that's when I pick up the phone and tell
people we're coming online.” Rob explains, “We don't pick and store. You
don't call here and say I need this, this, and this tomorrow. It don't work
like that. You give us three or four days because we have to pick it, pack it,
and then it is ready. Do you want it fresh, or do you want it three weeks old?
How do you want it? We deal in fresh fruit. Now all our competition, most
of them pick and store.”
Rob and Mary describe how most citrus growers try to sell their crops
early, to get a jumpstart in the market, but taste is sacrificed. Synthetically
formulated ethylene gas is applied to fruit that is completely green in order
to ripen it. Rob says, “Oh, they will have them on the market in September.
They will be emerald green on the tree, they'll gas them, and they throw
some color to them. They may look good on the shelf, but you go buy them
and you won't be in any hurry to go buy more. Growers wonder why they
can't make any money. Orlando tangelos, if you ship them in November,
they are like battery acid; if you wait until December they are pretty damn
good. We have a lot of markets, like in Chicago and the Northeast they
can't give away Orlando tangelos. I said, 'Well, you bought them from the
competition. Organic Orlandos, if you buy them inNovember, they ruin the
market. Everybody knows if you want a good Orlando tangelo, you come
here. You get the best.' ”Mary agrees. “We have the best product in Florida.
Because we hold it until it is naturally sweet and tree ripened and the sugar
content is there. As far as selling to grocery stores and wholesalers, we have
the USDA #1 product. Not only does the interior have appeal and color, the
exterior has the color. You know a lot of growers down here say it can't be
done. Well, yes, it can.”
Rob proudly says that the only citrus he knows is organic citrus. “People
say, 'You have a niche market.' I say, 'I didn't know there was anything else.
That is all I know. I didn't know there was any other kind.' People start
talking to me about chemicals, and I am like, 'What is that?' I heard of these
things, but I don't know anything about them. I don't want to know.” They
grow eleven varieties of citrus (various oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit)
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