alafarmnews

Goshen Farmer to
‘Keep on Trucking’
by Jaine Treadwell

Goshen farmer Steve Stroud laughingly says that his cows got about as much of his farm fresh produce as he sold.

He’s joking, of course. The many days of heavy rain put a damper on his first year of truck farming but the rain certainly hasn’t dampened his spirits or his enthusiasm for venture.

"Oh, I love it," the president of the Pike County Young Farmers said. "Valerie and I both have really enjoyed our venture into produce farming.

"It’s hard work and it seems like we haven’t slept much all summer. But this first year has been a real learning experience for us; and it was tough, but we are already making plans for next year."

Steve Stroud has added truck farming to his existing poultry and hay-growing operations.

"Next year" just might be the most used two words in a farmer’s vocabulary.

Even in the toughest years, a farmer who is rooted to the soil always believes that "next year" will be a better year.

Stroud grew up on a farm in the small Pike County community of Goshen, so he knew from the time he was knee-high to a grasshopper that farming is a roll of the dice with Mother Nature. But he also knew that farming ran deep in his blood.

He graduated from Troy State University in 1996 with a degree in business, but he never doubted that the business he would be about was farming.

"I always knew what I wanted to do," he said. "When I graduated, I bought two poultry houses and 20 acres of land from my dad, Royce Stroud. We had already gotten out of the peanut business, so poultry was the way I decided to go."

A little more than two years later, Stroud added four

more poultry houses to his farming operation and bought an additional 140 acres of land to run cattle and begin hay farming.

"It’s easier to grow grass than it is peanuts," he said, laughing.

It wasn’t until this year that the Strouds made a decision to diversify their farming operation to include truck farming.

"We started with a greenhouse and potted some seeds and really enjoyed that," he said. "Then we decided to plant a small garden, but in talking to people I got more interested in truck farming. Farmer’s markets are getting more popular and Valerie and I thought we might be able to have some success with truck farming."

Steve Stroud helps a customer with his purchases from a selection of various produce he offers at several market places in the Goshen area.

Stroud is a member of the Goshen Farmers Co-op board of directors and he didn’t hesitate to get input from other board members and the staff at the Co-op as he ventured into an unknown area of truck farming.

Steve’s customer told him that the Stars and Stripes watermelon he had were “the sweetest watermelons they had ever tasted.”

"We kind of got a late start but I thought that might work to our advantage," he said. "We would have some produce coming on when other farmers might be winding down. Especially our watermelons. We planted a Stars and Stripes variety in June in hopes that they would come off around Labor Day. Most watermelons come off around the Fourth of July and we just felt like there would be a good market for late watermelons."

The Stars and Stripes variety is a 90-day melon but with all of the rain, the melons came off in 65 days.

"They came earlier than we had expected but everybody says that they are the sweetest watermelons they have ever tasted," Stroud said. "That makes me feel good. Don’t get me wrong, the money from truck farming is nice; but when people come up and tell you how good your produce is and that it’s some of the best they’ve ever eaten, that’s the real reward. That keeps you going."

Stroud plans to keep going and growing but he’s learned a lot from his first year of truck farming that will make "next year" an even better year.

The Strouds planted squash, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow crooked neck squash, okra, eggplant, tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelons and two acres of sweet corn and two acres of field corn.

"We used the plasticulture method for most of the produce and, with all the rain we had, I think it really helped us this year," he said. "With plasticulture you can regulate the water but there were days when we got seven inches of rain. I would be out there picking produce standing ankle deep in water. The plastic shed the water and that really helped. If it hadn’t, the garden would have been under water."

Although Steve planted the Stars and Stripes variety of watermelon in June to come off around Labor Day, the heavy rainfall this summer ripened them by early August.

The lessons learned are ones for the book and the Strouds will keep notes — written and mental.

"We planted way too much squash and cucumbers," he said. "They all came off at the same time and it’s hard to sell three or four bushels of squash at one day’s market. I did do it a few times but it’s hard. The cucumbers were the same way. After a couple of days, the produce will ruin and the cows will get it. They like it but that’s no way to make money."

Stroud’s plans for next year include staging his crops so that he has produce coming along all summer.

"Next year, I plan to plant 400 foot rows but I’ll plant a third of a row and wait two or three weeks and plant again and wait another couple of weeks and plant again," he said. "By staging the crops I won’t have everything coming off at the same time and will have produce for the farmer’s markets throughout the summer."

Tomatoes have been a big seller for Stroud and customers make their way to his farm to get "some of the best tomatoes around."

"I don’t have many tomatoes for the market because I sell most of the tomatoes at home," he said.

The farmer’s markets have been good market places for Stroud. During the peak season, he and his wife participated in the Pioneer Farmers Market in Troy and Brundidge and markets in Luverne and Union Springs.

"Valerie and I enjoy meeting and talking with the people who buy our produce and the markets are a lot of fun," he said.

Next year, Stroud said he’ll know more how to do and when to do and what not to do and when not to do. And, he gave credit for his know-how to experience and his friends at the Goshen Farmers Co-op.

"I’ve been to the Co-op with a million questions and every time they have come up with an answer for me," he said. "I get my seed, fertilizer and advice from them. I was looking for a way to boost the protein level of my Russell Bermuda and they help me find a way. Now, after I cut, I wait until the green up stage before I fertilize and that has really increased the protein level."

The Co-op has helped Stroud with insecticides for his vegetables and better ways to treat his cattle. So he knows the value of the Farmers Co-op.

"The Farmers Co-ops have long been the pillars of the rural communities but with the decline of row crop farming, we are having to look for more ways to keep the Co-ops profitable. They are still an important part of the agribusiness community."

One thing the Co-op has not been able to do is find a way to keep the coyotes out of Stroud’s watermelon patch.

But when he continues to grow the sweetest watermelons around, everybody and everything will beat a path to his patch.

Jaine Treadwell is a freelance writer from Brundidge.

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