Ripe for Business

By MARC SHAPIRO Staff Writer

County farmers’ markets and produce stands are open for another season, including the one at the Centre at Glen Burnie that begins today, bringing fresh produce to consumers at affordable prices despite economic woes taking a toll on growers.

“Profit is very thin because costs are so high,” said Jim Schillinger, the fourth-generation owner of Schillinger’s Farm in Severn.

His company’s stand opened yesterday with prices that do not reflect the rising cost of farming. “We try to give the public the freshest and the best produce,” he said, emphasizing that the farm has tried to keep its prices down despite rising costs.

Boxes used to ship produce in that he used to pay 62 cents for are now a dollar and not made as well, he said. He spent $87,000 on fertilizer this year already. The average cost of fertilizer was between $38,000 and $42,000 a year for the last three years.

Schillinger’s Farm grew vegetables on 360 acres of land three years ago, but this year the farm is using only 180 acres. Even the farm’s work force has been cut in half, with about 25 employees, 14 of whom handle the farming.

“There were times when we had 60,” Mr. Schillinger said.

Sixty to sixty five percent of the farm’s products are sold at its stand at 8065 New Cut Road in Severn. Five to six percent go to local Graul’s Market stores, and the rest is sold to chain stores by brokers. Brokers are given 25 percent, which is cheaper than paying the fuel costs that it would take to deliver the produce, something the farm used to do. The farm’s products include corn, berries, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, cabbage and onions.

The burden of rising fuel costs hits farmers’ markets even harder the farther the produce has to travel.

Jason Ashburn, manager of Vince’s Farm and Nursery in Linthicum, said things keep getting worse, mainly due to fuel costs.

“We’re got a lot of product in Florida and Georgia right now and it’s just sitting on the farms,” he said. It costs about $3,000 to get a truck from Florida to Maryland and about $8,000 to get a truck from Georgia.

“You can’t make up for that,” he said. “You raise your prices on your customers and they stop buying.”

Vince’s, located at the corner of Schulamar Road and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, also makes daily trips to its farm in Denton, on the Eastern Shore, from July 1 through Halloween for tomatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons and pumpkins. At about $5 a gallon, diesel for the trucks costs about double what it did last year.

“I just hope that when this local produce becomes available the freight cost won’t be as bad and we can get back to our original sales and make a decent living,” Mr. Ashburn said.

Vince’s has also cut back on employees, and trimmed the hours of several employees. The nursery currently employs 25 workers. Although Vince’s is doing as well as it should, Mr. Ashburn said, prices will stay low so the stand stays competitive for customers.

Fran Schmidt, executive director of the Northern Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, thinks the public should support local farmers’ markets, adding that the fruits and vegetables are convenient and healthy.

“They’re bringing the produce to you. It can’t be any more convenient,” she said. “Why would you buy produce that’s been sitting in a grocery store?”

Ridgely Boyer, co-owner of Boyer Farms in Severn, has been making small adjustments to his routine to save money. To conserve fuel, he rides his tractor to the fields less often and since it’s been raining recently, the farm hasn’t spent much money on irrigation. He equates the rising cost of fuel to many other things he can’t do anything about, like storms and droughts.

“It’s just another factor in farming that you don’t have any control over,” he said.

Boyer Farms sells produce at its farm at 1500 Severn road and at the farmers’ markets in Glen Burnie and Annapolis.

The farmers’ market at the Centre at Glen Burnie, 6711 Ritchie Highway, will be open from today until Sept. 24. Located in the parking lot of the Best Buy, it is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays.

(c) 2008 Maryland Gazette. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.