» Grower & Marketer || i9L
I] A Promoting The Eastern Vegetable, Fruit, Nursery, And
Tomato Processor Honors Growers At Luncheon
BJ Farms, represented by Gregg and Frank Bait
inger, right, receive an outstanding grower award
from James Kohl, left, at the tomato luncheon.
Three Generations Part Of A Growing Business In Landisville
MICHELLE RANCK residents’tastes for fresh pro- purchase the product has led fields. disview Produce stand
Lancaster Fanning Staff duce from the farm, as cus- to a full-time job for the Landis’ father, John S. David Landis estimates that
LANDISVILLE (Lancas- tomers forego their daily stop Landis family. Landis, 85, and mother, 90 percent of what is sold at
ter Co.) Urban sprawl, at the grocery store to pur- David and Lois have four Anna, also still help at the the stand comes f rom the
though a challenge to farm- chase food grown on the acre- children David, Sharon, stand. farm’s fields,
ers, can also be an opportu- age behind the roadside stand Danny, and Darvin plus Sweet corn, potatoes, to- Tomatoes, along with
nity, as David and Lois at Landisview Produce. eight grandchildren. Darvin, matoes, peppers, green beans, silver King and Argent sweet
Landis have discovered. Consequently, the combi- who lives on the home farm, e gg plants, and zucchini are coril) are t he hottest sellers
Warm summertime tern- nation of availability of cus- helps with the cantaloupe, j us t a few of the varieties of f or Landis. “That’s what
peratures seem to stir local tomers and their eagerness to watermelon, and pumpkin produce sold at the Lan- (Turn to Page 4)
Geraniums, Impatiens Fill Plots At ‘Flowering’ Research Center
LANDISVILLE (Lancaster Co.) About 800 different flower
varieties were on display in trials here last year at the Penn
State Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
In this photo from mid-July, the two largest trials involved
geraniums and impatiens at the entrance to the facility, accord
ing to John Yocum, research and extension center manager.
Yocum said the variety studies, on about an acre at the center,
ANDY ANDREWS
Editor
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co,) A man who
has saved the tomato processing industry
“countless thousands of ' dollars,” noted
James Kohl, vice president of Furman Foods,
was honored with a service award in early
February.
Cyril Smith, professor emeritus of plant
nutrition, was honored for 42 years of service
by Kohl of Furman Foods.
The award was presented in front of about
50 growers and agri-industry representatives
at the annual Pennsylvania and Maryland
Tomato Awards Luncheon during the Mid-
Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention at
the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.
Smith’s band fertilizer placement was cru
cial in cost savings and improvement in nu
trient use by the plant, now adopted widely
have been under way close to 10 years, when “we stopped
growing tobacco at the station,” he said. Alan Michael, Penn
State horticulture, is coordinating the trials.
Last week the center was busy transplanting new varieties in
the greenhouse. Work last year looked at full sun and partial
shade impatiens varieties and a wide variety of other flowers.
Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
by the industry.
Smith’s contributions “saved us a substan
tial amount of money in our cultural prac
tices,” Kohl noted.
The Master Grower Award for 2001 was
presented to BJ Farms, Bridgetown, N.J.,
represented by Gregg and Frank Baitinger.
Kohl spoke about the recent acquisition by
Furman of Tri-Valley Growers in California.
Furman Foods now owns all brand Tri-
Valley labels, Kohl said. Tri-Valley processed
about 800,000- 850,000 tons of tomatoes per
year, compared to Furmans’ 65,000 tons, but
Furmans has plans in place to ensure con
tinue production at similar scales.
“You have to move forward, or be left
behind,” said Kohl. “We expect to get better
at (processing), and be bigger at it.” This will
enhance their total East Coast processing.
(Turn to Page 2)