Market Farming

["Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>]

 What business
>did I have, serving this "robot" food to real humans who trusted me >as a
business person.
>For this list, whether you grow organically or conventionally, your
>fresh produce, in it's natural state, is the very best contribution
>you can make to this world.  The more people garden/farm, and sell to
>others, the more we can change this "fast, robotic, manufactured, fake
>food" society.   Just be judicious in your cleanliness & we'll all
>stay in business for a very long time.
>
>Liz Pike
>Morningstar Gardens
>Pollocksville, NC


Liz

    I agree. As someone who has worked with commercial vegetable growers for
years, I've always been bothered by the push to make produce last for weeks
between the farm and the consumer's refrigerator. The technologies employed
are fantastic and the effort has resulted in a food chain that preserves the
(appearence of) produce for unbelievable periods of time. But you only need
to visit the typical supermarket to see that real quality; culinary value
and nutritional content; is suffering horribly. The word fresh has been
sucked dry.

    The market gardener selling to the consumer directly has such an
opportunity there. It would be a disaster to not do everything possible to
preserve quality in every sense of the term. Keep it safe from contamination
during production and handing. Grow quality. Wash it, sort it and cool it
after harvest. Package it attractively and display it so that consumers are
drawn to it. Sort out continually and don't hold over product that is
deteriorating. But first and foremost, don't compromise on quality. It will
kill your customer base. Quality will grow your customer base and your
margins. And you'll contribute to a healthier, happier society.

    There is a wonderful grassroots movement taking placing with food right
now, especially fresh produce. It would be tragic to see this opportunity
squandered.

Bill Shoemaker
Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
Univ of Illinois - St Charles Hort Research Center