Lee Newspapers, Author at Country Folks Grower

Merging tradition with the new helps farm stay competitive

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T12:24:15-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower East|

Lowell, Dawson and Delvin Yoder represent three generations of the Yoder family that work their farm. “We try not to put all of our eggs in one basket and serve several different high value, niche markets,” Lowell said.
Photos by Rebecca Jackson

by Rebecca Jackson

A farm founded on faith and hard work five generations ago by a family near the central Virginia community of Rustburg stays competitive in the agriculture market today by wedding tradition with contemporary marketing strategies and products for today’s consumers hungry for the back-to-the-land experience. (more…)

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Flower growers living the dream

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T12:18:22-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower West|

Russ and Sarah Lunstrum saw their opportunity to grow in Boise as “farming kismet.”

by Courtney Llewellyn

BOISE, IDAHO – Cityscapes often bring up visions of tall buildings, cement sidewalks and lots of cars. Rarely does that first imagining include green oases dotted with a rainbow-hued assortment of flowers. But that’s what Dream Farm Flowers brings to Boise. (more…)

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Building a healthy enterprise from the ground up

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T12:13:34-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower West|

Todd and Rebecca Ulizio have owned and operated Two Bear Farm in northern Montana for 12 years.
Photos courtesy of Two Bear Farm

by Enrico Villamaino

Since 2007, Two Bear Farm, located in Whitefish, MT, has been providing high quality, healthy, nutritious vegetables to its community while also focusing on improving soil health, wildlife habitat and serving as good land stewards in general. (more…)

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Farmers markets: It’s showtime!

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T12:05:50-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower East, Grower Midwest, Grower West|

Performer Gypsy Geoff performs at the Bay View South Shore Farmers Market.
Photo courtesy of BVSS Farmers Market

by Gail March Yerke

Competition. Even farm markets are feeling the pinch as more consumers want to know where their food comes from and communities across the country add their own markets. The USDA’s most recent National Count of Farmers Market Directory reports an increase of over 4,000 such markets nationwide in the past 10 years. (more…)

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Picture perfect: Farm market presentation

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T11:01:11-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower East, Grower Midwest, Grower West|

Color theory – specifically the color wheel – can be used to display fruits and vegetables in different ways.

by Courtney Llewellyn

If you sell anything, you may intuitively know the basics of marketing: branding your product, articulating why people should buy from you, having appropriate pricing, knowing your target customer and figuring out how they will find out about your farm. (more…)

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Nematodes for biocontrol in greenhouses

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T10:54:17-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower East, Grower Midwest, Grower West|

by Tamara Scully

Surveys suggest that an increasing percentage of greenhouse growers are utilizing biocontrols to combat pest issues. An informal survey of New York state growers found that 40% were using insecticides alone to control fungus gnat. (more…)

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Tax changes for growers

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T10:51:32-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower East, Grower Midwest, Grower West|

by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Ever-changing tax codes challenge business owners, including growers. That’s why AmericanHort recently presented “Cracking the Code on Taxes that Affect Your Green Industry Business.” (more…)

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Growing with customers’ needs

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T10:49:24-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower Midwest|

Daemon Coughlin strives to offer the appropriate stock for the nursery’s Zone 4 location, and said some of the popular trees people successfully grow include hardy redbuds, maples and oaks.
Photos by Sally Colby

by Sally Colby

Although Daemon Coughlin grew up in the nursery business his parents started 40 years ago, he didn’t necessarily see that as his future. But after earning a degree in landscape design from South Dakota State University, he’s back. (more…)

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Wisconsin farm market celebrates 100th season

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T10:42:33-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower Midwest|

Market Manager Caitlyn White works with one of the market’s longest-running vendors, Cindy Chapman. The market is open three days a week to allow vendors to bring fresh-from-the-field product harvested that morning.
Photo by Gail March Yerke

by Gail March Yerke

Whether it’s a birthday or an anniversary, the 100-year mark is a special reason to celebrate. That’s the case for the West Allis Farmers Market, the metropolitan Milwaukee area’s largest open-air farm market in continuous operation since 1919. (more…)

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Growing from scratch

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T10:36:50-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower Midwest|

by Karen Van Wyk

Rick and Michelle Grosek, the owners of Bear Butte Gardens in Sturgis, SD, sprouted the business from scratch. Simple family living has grown into a certified organic vegetable and meat farm. (more…)

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Pumpkin Production Pointers

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T10:35:28-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower East, Grower Midwest, Grower West|

Soon it will be time to start planting pumpkins. Generally for the eastern U.S., the planting month is July (or between June and July for western growers). Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes cucumber, muskmelons, watermelons and squash. (more…)

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Seeing Spots

Lee Newspapers2019-07-05T10:33:14-05:00July 5, 2019|Grower, Grower East, Grower Midwest, Grower West|

Thanks to the excessively wet weather in many growing regions, tree fruit growers have been (and are continuing to) contend with all types of diseases which favor wet conditions. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), regional precipitation ranks for May 2019 show that every region overall, with the exception of the Southeast, which is in a slightly below average rainfall pattern, had excessive rates of precipitation. (more…)

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