- Florida Grower Diversifies in Spite of Water, Development Pressures
- By Bill McNutt
Ohio Correspondent
- Central Florida growers are facing the same problems as their counterparts throughout the United States: increasing urbanization and regulations on pesticide usage as well as price competition from global markets.
Although other region’s growers might envy Hank Scott’s ability to grow two or more crops a year, the fact that he is now the only specialty grower in the Zellwood, Fla. area, should concern other agricultural producers.
When the St. Johns Water District was organized to clean up nearby Lake Apopka they immediately found enough pollution and warned area growers to limit pesticide usage. In a counter move growers obtained special legislation to enable them to sell their land to the state for public use, though part will probably be resold for private development.
But grower Scott elected to stay, since he had been part of a family owned corporation all his life, and is now the president. His father Rich came to Florida in 1963 to join a lifelong friend and college classmate in setting up the Long and Scott operation on both muck and sand ground. When the marriage of a Long brother to a Scott sister took place, a true family operation came into being.
With the state buyout Hank became sole proprietor of Scott Farm, a 1,200-acre operation in Orange and Seminole counties with 900 tillable acres. Pickling cucumbers and sweet corn were the original crops grown after the land was cleared, and are still mainstays in the production cycle. The operation also includes cabbage cilantro, kale and parsley, plus a relatively new sod production enterprise. Incidentally a relatively cheap fertility source for the sod production is sewage sludge from nearby Disney World, which cannot be used for fresh market crops.
After 30 years of wholesaling fresh market crops, Scott is giving serious thought to direct marketing. For several years a lean-to produce stand has been set up on a seasonal basis to attract customers driving by. The operation’s sod operation was started to meet market demand from the area’s housing boom, with an estimated 1,500 homes going up each year within a 20-mile radius, which includes Orlando, one of the fastest growing areas in Florida. (Florida’s population growth in the past 10 years means two new congressional representatives, while Ohio and Michigan together will lose the same number.)
Scott is also experimenting with “subscription farming “ where urban neighbors pay in advance for what is essentially a neighborhood garden. Customers can remove a basket of produce each week during the harvest season. Hank is hoping to double the amount of customers from 25 to 50 to make the subscription farming a sustainable enterprise.
Double cropping at Scotts begins in August, which is also the beginning of the corporation’s fiscal year. That’s when the “fall “crops go into the ground for October/November/December harvest. About 700 acres of pickling cucumbers, sweet corn and cabbage, are planted, with sweet corn and pickles harvested in October, cabbage in November and December, along with later leafy crops such as cilantro, kale and parsley. Since there is less sweet corn demand in the fall, 200 acres are harvested then, with double that amount planted in February for “spring” harvest, hopefully beginning by Memorial Day.
Like Midwest growers, every effort is made to even out the season with staggered plantings; this year the last sweet corn was harvested the week before Christmas. The cycle starts again in late January and February, on the same ground, though usually not the same crops. Cabbage will follow corn, followed by a leafy crop, some of which will be harvested three times a year. A cover crop mixture of sorghum and soybeans, sowed between crops and plowed down to provide organic matter, will often extend the number of crops succeeding each other in any one year.
For a number of years the Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival has drawn thousands of people to the one-stoplight town in mid-summer, similar to strawberry and sweet corn festivals in the Midwest. Scott now is the only supplier in Zellwood, but all are pleased with the eating quality of the crop. All his plantings are super yellow sweet varieties. Although he has experimented with white, Scott says it does not do well on sandy soil. Bi-color corn has been planted in the past and not sold well, though Scott says demand seems to be improving. He says the company constantly conducts their own variety research, in order to keep up with varying consumer tastes. Cabbage has not done well in the marketplace in the past few years, and he suspects they may be cutting back in the future.
A year-round mostly Hispanic labor force of 25-30 is needed to keep this operation running smoothly, with 90-120 contracted harvest workers filling in when needed.
When asked about vacation time, Scott laughed and said there might be some slack time in June and July for repairing equipment, planting cover crops and some time for him to get away to do some midget auto racing, a favorite and relaxing hobby. He invited other growers with a four to five month lighter workload time to visit Florida, and stop in and help out at Zellwood.
In the next few years he plans to have about half the tillable acreage in sod, which is self-renewing; with careful management, sod can be harvested every 10 months. If for any reason this enterprise does not work out, the land can always revert to specialty crops.
Scott continues to look closely at what the future may hold, especially the water situation, and any possible restraints this might bring. Water used for irrigation is monitored by meters placed on all pumps, and the amount used must be reported quarterly. Florida is just coming off a four year drought, and remains in water deficit status. If a choice has to be made between water needs of the Florida’s expanding population and its agriculture, unfortunately there is little doubt which side will have the most influence.
