- Labor Remains Key Challenge
for Ohio Vegetable Growers
- By Greg Brown
Associate Editor
- Securing reliable labor remains one of the key challenges to Ohio growers, according to the recently selected president of the Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association (OVPGA).
Daryl Knipp, a processing tomato and cucumber grower from Oak Harbor, Ohio says that changes in the migrant labor force have changed his business practices.
“Clearly the most challenging aspect of our business is keeping an adequate supply of labor,” he said. “The second most challenging aspect is maintaining markets for our products.
Early in his career, Northwest Ohio and Southern Michigan had many large and small vegetable processors, said Knipp. Today the region is still home to the largest ketchup bottling facilities, but the tomato paste is imported from outside the area.
While labor is something that may be more in the control of the grower – the help available has been diminishing.
At the peak of the cucumber season the operation will employ 45 people. And in cucumber harvest, a good crew can make all of the difference, said Knipp.
“A good crew can make the difference between making a good crop great and a great crop bad,” said Knipp.
“Previously we were able to rely on the same families for migrant labor year after year,” said Knipp. “Today, we are using crew leaders who bring in groups of young men for our harvest season.
“The scene in our migrant housing camp has changed dramatically over the years,” said Knipp, who joined his father’s farm in 1974. “We used to have several generations living there.
“Today, those younger generations have moved on to take advantage of educational opportunities and work in other fields.”
Knipp and his retired father, Burdell, raise 100 acres of tomatoes for Hirzel Canning Company and 45 acres of cucumbers for Northern Ohio Pickle Corporation, which contracts with Vlasic and Heinz.
The market for those products has also changed dramatically for the Northern Ohio grower who used to supply the likes of Heinz with his processing vegetables.
“My father quit high school to farm,” said Knipp, who graduated from Ohio State University. “And while my father saw the change from horses and plow to tractor and six bottom plow to no-till practices, I have also seen the industry change dramatically.”
Knipp is an active grower, raising a total of 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans on his Sandusky County farm. He is involved in the OVPGA because, he says, it is a great opportunity to meet other growers and learn more.
“There’s always more to learn,” said Knipp. “Even if it is outside of vegetable production, there is more that a grower can learn about management to stay on top of his operation.”
At its peak, the tomato production side of the business uses about 10 employees to harvest the fruit for local delivery. Knipp uses six or seven different varieties of tomatoes in order to deliver tomatoes throughout the processors’ canning season. His contract canner sells whole, diced and skinned tomatoes for a variety of tomato products, he said.
He is involved with the local chamber of commerce, the Farm Bureau, besides the association. “We have a whole lot in common with other small business,” he said of farmers in general. “We’re not a large voice by ourselves, but together we can have an impact on many issues.”
His business has been squeezed by the rising cost of doing business, in general he said. While prices for his products have remained static, his inputs continue to become more costly.
In addition to his work with the OVPGA, Knipp has also served as the president of Sandusky County Farm Bureau. He currently sits on the boards of the Sandusky County Chamber of Commerce, Community Health Services and Luckey Farmers, Inc. Knipp is a past officer of the Fremont Pickle and Tomato Growers Association.
Knipp was named president of the association at their January meeting. Other officers elected were Don Ramseyer, Smithville, first vice president; Loren Buurma, Willard, vice president muck crops; Jeff Gosche, Tiffin, vice president greenhouse; John Brown, Hamilton, vice president truck crops; Bob Jones, Jr., Huron, vice president marketing; Don Bench, Elmore, vice president processing crops; Jeff Huddle, Napoleon, vice president potatoes; and Tom Sachs, Columbus, OVPGA executive director.
