           |
|
- Pennsylvania Grower Expands With Pumpkins to Wal-Mart
- By Karen Gentry
Managing Editor
- It took 20 phone calls to find out who to talk to,
- but in the end it was worth it for Brian Campbell, a Pennsylvania vegetable grower and farm marketer.
 |
| Brian and Erika Campbell, were the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s recipient of the Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award. |
He successfully reached the right buyer at Wal-Mart and this year has dedicated 150 acres of pumpkins to be sold at Wal-Mart Supercenters.
“We got involved with them three years ago. They (Wal-Mart) have a distribution center in Pennsylvania that is the sole supplier of supercenters,” said Campbell, who farms more than 600 acres in Berwick, Pa., one hour from Wilkes-Barre and Scranton in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Last year, 50 acres of pumpkins were sold to Wal-Mart and this year Campbell decided to go large scale with pumpkins and tripled their acreage for pumpkins to Wal-Mart that meet the corporation’s specific requirements. Although yields are down this year because of extremely dry weather, Campbell plans on shipping 3,000 bins of pumpkins to Wal-Mart, totaling 60-tractor trailer loads.
“Pumpkins can be profitable if raised properly,” said Campbell.
Campbell, age 36, says he stresses to buyers that he is a young, family farmer. “I use that to my advantage. They appreciate that and help me out,” Campbell said.
Sweet corn has also gone large scale at the Brian Campbell Farm. “We normally do 20-30 acres for our roadside stands,” said Campbell. Last year he increased the acreage of sweet corn to 150 acres and sells to some chain stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.
Because chain stores require sweet corn to be cooled, Campbell put in a hydrocooler last year. With the hydrocooler sweet corn that can reach 80-90°F can be chilled down to 40-50°F, according to Campbell. Cooled corn extends the shelf life by keeping the sugars in the corn longer. He grows only bi-color varieties, all sugar enhanced.
In gross dollars sweet corn almost equals the pumpkins, Campbell said. As all of the pumpkins and sweet corn are hand harvested and packed in crates, he relies on migrant labor. He said it has been difficult finding workers, but needing labor for sweet corn in July helps him attract and keep workers busy through the sweet corn season.
Campbell also contracts with a processor and grows string beans that are machine harvested. He also grows field corn and soybeans, primarily for rotational purposes. The operation recently added a greenhouse for hanging flower baskets to sell at their roadside markets and he planted some Christmas trees and peach trees.
A significant profit-generating center of Campbell’s is his roadside stand, Farmer Moofy’s in Bloomsburg and now a second new one in Berwick. Customers encouraged him to open up his second location in Berwick, about 15 miles from the Bloomsburg location.
Campbell said the roadside stands represent approximately 25% of gross sales for his business. They sell 2,000-3,000 ears of sweet corn per day on Route 11 in Bloomsburg in a 20 x 50 foot building.
Besides sweet corn Campbell sells tomatoes, cantaloupe, strawberries and many other vegetables. Customers typically come from a 45-mile radius and as far away as New Jersey.
He sticks firmly to his price of $4 per dozen for sweet corn. Fresh picked every day, customers know they will get a dozen perfect ears of corn, so they don’t quibble on price, according to Campbell.
He has actually been operating the roadside stand since he was 14 years old. The Farmer Moofy name came from the nickname “Moof” his father, Ernest gave him as a youngster. Campbell credits his father, a medical doctor and part-time farmer, with giving him encouragement and a start in farming. He said he is the only one of five siblings with an interest in farming.
“It’s a way of life. I really love what I’m doing,” said Campbell. He is helped in his operation by his mom and aunt who help with the roadside markets and his wife, Erika, who helps with the markets and bookkeeping. Campbell said he hopes to give his children, now ages, two, four, and six the option of being able to farm if they want to.
After graduating from Penn State University with a degree in agriculture, Campbell started farming with 200 acres of rented land in 1990. While in college he continued growing some vegetables and working at the roadside market, which helped with college expenses.
Later on he also started renting his father’s acreage and he and his wife purchased two farms last year. It’s been within the last three years when he has jumped up to over 600 acres. He’s now in the process of buying his father’s acreage.
“The roadside stand has increased and grown on its own,” said Campbell. He said he has needed to branch out and figure out ways to be profitable.
It’s rare for a young grower like Campbell to be able to farm full-time. He said many of his college friends work on family farms yet have to have other employment to make it financially.
“Anybody can raise a crop. You got to know how to market. That’s what I’ve seen with my personal operation,” said Campbell. He believes he can do a lot more with marketing when it comes to pumpkins.
Campbell’s efforts and accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Brian and Erika received the Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s annual meeting in 2001. Contestants were judged on their farm operation’s growth and financial progress, their Farm Bureau leadership and leadership in other organizations. With the award he received free use of a Kubota tractor for a year.
He is active in his community, serving as chairperson of the Columbia County Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher Committee, associate director of the Columbia County Conservation District and president of the Columbia County Crop Management Association and the Pennsylvania Crop Management Association. Campbell is also a member of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association and the Farm Bureau.
|
|
