The Grower Perspective:

        Wisconsin Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Production

Karen Delahaut, IPM Outreach Specialist

       September 2002

 

Introduction

The fresh market fruit and vegetable industry in Wisconsin is large, diverse, and increasing annually.  Production and pest management practices range from conventional to certified organic and the crop is marketed in a wide variety of ways. Approximately 1500 fresh vegetable and 200 berry growers sell fresh produce in Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin conducted a survey of fresh market growers in 2001-02 to understand and report practices used by this industry.

 

Fresh market growers can be defined as those growers of vegetables or berries that market their crop directly to the consumer. Common markets include road-side or farm stands, farmer’s markets, subscription or community supported agriculture, U-pick, retail grocery stores, and restaurants. Growers excluded from this survey include large commercial growers in the state that grow a single commodity that is sold “fresh” such as potato growers raising table stock or cabbage grown for slaw. However, large sweet corn growers that market their crop directly for example, were included in this survey.

 

Funding for the survey was provide by the Pesticide Use Risk Reduction (PURR) project through pesticide overcharge money. The funds were administered by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and distributed by the Center for Integrated Agriculture Systems at the UW.  The mission of PURR is to address both the potential short- and long-term management impacts of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996.  This survey will help determine the impact of FQPA on the fresh market produce industry in Wisconsin and prioritize research and extension programs to help growers make th transition to reduced availability of certain pesticides.

 


The Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service (WASS), a division of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (WDATCP), has conducted a survey of the acreage, yield, and production for large-scale fruit and vegetable commodities yearly. In addition, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) routinely conducted pesticide use surveys, the most recent being completed in 1996. However, both surveys concentrated on commercial producers that typically grow a single crop, but not on diverse, smaller-scale, fresh market growers. In 1996, a production and pest management survey was conducted by WASS via funding by the National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program (NAPIAP). The 1996 survey focused primarily on management practices and pesticide use. Comparisons will be made between the current and 1996 surveys to help understand the evolution of the fresh market industry in the state when appropriate data is available.

 

The survey measured the current production and pest management practices to determine the value of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies to fresh market growers. The survey also attempted to determine what barriers prevented IPM adoption. In addition to  management data, the survey also gathered information on demographics and marketing. All of this information will be used to help guide University specialists as they develop programming and educational opportunities for this group.

 

Apple growers were excluded from this survey because their production practices vary considerably from vegetable and berry growers.

 

 

Survey Background

A database of fresh market growers was created from lists derived from the following agencies:

·       DATCP Agricultural Showcase and Berry Brochure

·       Wisconsin Berry Growers’ Association

·       Wisconsin Fresh Market Vegetable Growers’ Association

·       Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

·       UW-Extension Healthy Farmers Healthy Profits

·       UW Cooperative Extension County Agents

·       Farmer’s Market Coordinators

·       Other growers

 

The fresh market grower database included 901 farms. The survey was distributed to 270 random growers, representing 30% of the database. An introductory letter was sent to potential survey recipients in August 2001 (Appendix A). The first mailing of the survey was sent in September and requested completion by November 1.  A reminder was sent in November that included a toll-free number for growers to contact for assistance in completing the survey. Seventy-three of the original survey recipients were replaced for various reasons including undeliverable addresses, no longer in business, or not growing the crops surveyed. By the end of 2001, 105 of the 270 surveys had been completed and returned (39%). A second mailing was sent out in January and an additional 26 surveys were returned providing a total response rate of valid surveys at 56%.

 

In addition to the bad addresses and transient nature of the industry, there is a concern about how accurately the survey sampled fresh market growers in Wisconsin. Some growers are from diverse cultural backgrounds and do not speak English, making it  difficult to survey Hmong or others of this very important group of growers.

 


This report is divided into the following sections: respondent demographics, farm characteristics, labor, crops grown, marketing, and pest management.

 

 

Respondent Demographics

Of the 131 growers that completed the survey the ratio of men to women as the primary farm operator was 4:1. Farming continues to be a male-dominated industry. However the  20% of female who were primary farm operators illustrates more women are managing fresh market farms.  The age range of the respondents was 33-80 years with an average age of 52.

 

The tenure of the primary farm managers indicates 50% have been farming for less than 10 years which was similar to what was obtained in 1996. The experience ranged 6 months to 42 years with the median being 10 years. Only one woman has been the primary farm manager for more than 25 years. Twenty-two of the 26 women that responded as being the primary farm manager have been that position for 10 years or less (85%). The majority of the male farm managers have been managing their farms between 11 and 25 years. However, there were 16 men who have been the primary managers for over 26 years as compared with the one woman who’s managed her farm for more than 40 years.

 

English is the primary language spoken by fresh vegetable and berry growers.  However 3% indicate that Hmong is also spoken in their home, 1.6% speak Spanish, and 2% listed other languages: primarily German and Pennsylvania Dutch.

 

Sixty-five percent of the respondents have completed post high school degrees including vocational or trade school, college, or graduate school. Only 3 respondents indicated that they didn’t complete high school. Five people didn’t answer this question. Wisconsin growers are an educated group. Personal experience working with the fresh market growers suggests the post-high school educations of some growers are unrelated to crop production, farming, or agribusiness (e.g. law). The unique challenges to University specialists in educating the industry on proper production and pest management practices is designing basic and advanced programming for the growers. Fresh market growers are often more willing to try new farming methods in an attempt to become more productive and profitable farmers because of their previous educational experiences.

 

The respondents were surveyed how much income was generated from the sale of fresh fruits and vegetables. The data does not represent off-farm income nor is it net income after expenses have been paid. The breakdown of the data across the categories was relatively even and is represented in Table 1. Ten growers did not answer this question. 

 

 


Table 1: On-Farm Income

 

Income

 

Frequency

 

Valid Percent

 

$0-999

 

12

 

9.9

 

$1,000-1,999

 

16

 

13.2

 

$2,000-4,999

 

9

 

7.4

 

$5,000-9,999

 

19

 

15.7

 

$10,000-14,999

 

13

 

10.7

 

$15,000-24,999

 

10

 

8.3

 

$25,000-39,000

 

15

 

12.4

 

$40,000-79,000

 

12

 

9.9

 

$80,000 or more

 

15

 

12.4

 

Total

 

121

 

100.0

 

Farm Characteristics

The farm characteristics obtained through the survey were not surprising. The industry is  diverse and partially described in this section. Fresh market farms ranged from 1-94 years in business with a median age of 12 years. The respondents themselves have been the primary managers for 6 months to 42 years with a median of 10 years. Nearly 25% of the farms have been in existence for 25 years or more with an additional 25% being in operation less than 5 years. The 1996 survey indicated that 30% of the farms surveyed had been in operation for 5 years or less. The high number of undeliverable, returned surveys and the data from this survey and the 1996 survey, suggests barriers to enter these industries are low.

 

Organic production systems were used by 32% of growers whereas 67% of the growers said they used conventional practices. Generally, older operations tended to be conventional farms while the younger operations were more likely to be certified organic or consider themselves organic without having obtained certification.

 


Table 2: Age of Operation and Years in Management

 

 

 

 

Valid Percent

 

 

Total Operations

 

Conventional Operations

 

Organic Operations

 

Primary Manager

 

Male

 

Female

 

< 5 years

 

20.6

 

14.3

 

34.2

 

19.6

 

46.2

 

6-10 years

 

22.9

 

19.0

 

31.7

 

19.6

 

38.5

 

11-25 years

 

32.8

 

38.1

 

26.8

 

45.1

 

11.5

 

26-40 years

 

13.0

 

17.9

 

4.9

 

12.7

 

0.0

 

> 40 years

 

10.7

 

10.7

 

2.4

 

3.0

 

3.8

 

Total

 

100.0

 

100.0

 

100.0

 

100.0

 

100.0

 

Only three of the growers indicated their farms have been in organic operation for more than 25 years compared to 24 conventional operations. The majority of organic farms (65.9%) have been in operation ten years or less. In the 1996 survey, 75% of the organic farms indicated they had been in business 10 years or less.

 

There is an interesting correlation between the age of the operation and whether the crops are grown organically. Generally, the older operations tend to be conventional while organic farms came on the scene more recently.  This may be explained by the recent demand for organic products in the marketplace. This may also suggest that older conventional farms are not likely to convert to organic growing practices.

 

Calculating farm size with respect to crops grown presented a challenge since most growers are not growing a full acre of any one crop except the large-scale crops such as sweet corn or pumpkins. To determine acreage of crops grown on less than 1 acre, we asked growers the number of feet of row grown by crop and typical row spacing. Then we calculated acreage by crop from row-feet and row spacing. When ranges specified and for those categories that represented a range, the mid-point of that range was used. We also compared the years in operation, years respondent was the primary manager, and organic vs. conventional status with farm size (Table 3).

 


Table 3: Farm Size

 

Years in Operation

 

< 5 acres

 

5-20 acres

 

> 20 acres

 

Total

 

< 5 years

 

14.6%

 

4.9%

 

1.6%

 

21.1%

 

6-10 years

 

13.0%

 

7.3%

 

4.1%

 

24.4%

 

11-25 years

 

9.8%

 

17.1%

 

5.7%

 

32.6%

 

> 25 years

 

8.1%

 

5.7%

 

8.1%

 

21.9%

 

Total

 

45.5%

 

35.0%

 

19.5%

 

100.0%

 

The data shows that almost half of the fresh market operations in the state are under 5 acres in size regardless of the age of the operation and _ of farms are 20 acres or less. Farms greater than 20 acres in size are 5 years or older with the exception of two.

 

Farms that were less than 5 acres in size were equally popular between organic and conventional management. Farms larger than 5 acres were conventional operations. This trend continued when we looked at farms over 20 acres in size where conventional farms outnumbered organic farms 5:1. This can be explained by the management intensity necessary for organic farms.

 

Table 4: Farm Size vs. Management Practices

 

 

Farm Size