Sheppard Family Hosts Holstein Convention Tour
Progressive N.J. Vegetable Growers Build On Three Centuries Of Family Farming
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
CEDARVILLE, N.J. Broth
ers David, Erwin, and Tom Shep
pard have inherited a long tradi
tion of farming in southern New
Jersey.
“We have a three-day
jump on California.” Tom
Sheppard shows off head
of fresh iceberg lettuce.
Their great-grandfather, Timo
thy, bought the family’s first
farm near Cedarville beside the
salty tidal marshes of the Dela
ware Bay in the early 1800 s. But
the English family had left its
Ramon Vera, left, and Javier Almanza harvest Romaine
lettuce on Sheppard Farms. The lettuce is contracted to a
ready-made salad distributor.
farms in Ireland and migrated to
southern New Jersey more than a
century before that.
“Sheppards have been farming
in Cumberland County since
1682,” said Tom Sheppard,
youngest of the three brothers
who manage the 1,500 acres of
vegetable fields and packing fa
cilities near Cedarville.
The Sheppard’s hosted a group
of National Holstein Convention
goers Tuesday as part of a tour
schedule that spotlighted the di
verse agriculture of New Jersey.
While for many people New
Jersey may evoke images of
urban sprawl, this part of the
state is remarkably open and
sparse. In fact, the area around
Sheppard Farms has seen its
population shrink in the last half
century, as small farming opera
tions gave way to larger farms.
“There are not half as many
houses on this street as when I
was a kid,” Tom said.
“New Jersey is the highest
populated state in the union per
square mile except for here.”
The Sheppards own about
1,000 of the 1,500 acres they farm
here, producing bell peppers, cu
cumbers, zucchini squash, aspar
agus, and various types of lettuce
for wholesale buyers up and
down the east coast, Canada, and
as far west as Texas.
According to Tom, each of the
Crew plants peppers with waterwheel planter on Sheppard Farms.
brothers applies his own natural
expertise to growing and selling
the produce. David is the agron
omist, Erwin the engineer, and
Tom the marketer.
Their grandfather, Gilbert
Sheppard, was the first in the
family to focus on vegetable
farming, introducing Boston and
iceberg lettuce to the area. In the
19205, he bought the family’s first
“tractor,” a steam engine that
was used mainly to power and to
steam-sterilize greenhouse beds
on the farm.
Being located beside the Dela
ware Bay offers both pros and
cons to growing vegetables.
While the large body of saltwater
helps moderate temperatures and
reduce the risk of frost, high tides
can also bring an influx of salty
water into nearby fields. To pre
vent the salinity from harming
crops and to aid drainage, the
Sheppards have constructed a se
ries of gated channels along fields
bordering the bay. These gates
automatically close during high
tide, but open to let any water in
the fields flow out to the bay dur
ing low tide.
The sandy soils in the Shep-
Crop Insurance
Public Meeting
Income Protection
Insurance: Should it be
Continued, Discontinued,
or Modified?
Your Opinions Will
Determine the Outcome
1:00-3:00 pm,
Monday July 8,2002
Lancaster County Farm
& Home Center
(auditorium)
1383 Arcadia Road
Lancaster, PA
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 29, 2002-A35
pards’ fields offer good drainage
for the crops but are low in or
ganic matter between .5 and 1
percent.
“The soil around here doesn’t
naturally have much organic
matter,” Tom said. One of the
techniques the Sheppards are
using to increase organic matter
is growing cover crops such as
sorghum, Sudangrass, and crim
son clover to plow down between
vegetable crops. Wheat and other
small grains are also rotated with
the vegetables.
Irrigation is a mainstay on
Sheppard Farms.
“Every acre of ours has under
ground line,” Tom said. Both
drip and spray irrigation are
used, depending on the type of
crop.
The vegetables are planted,
picked, and packed with the help
of modem machinery and about
160 seasonal workers, many of
them Hispanic. Some of the
workers are employed year
around and have been able to
bring their wife and children to
live in the area, Tom said.
Vegetables plants are started in
19 LP-gas-heated greenhouses on
the farm until
planting out
side by means
of “water
wheel” plant
ers.
“Anything we transplant we
start ourselves,” Tom said.
Deer, geese, and wild turkey
are a threat to new crops in the
field, causing an estimated
$lO,OOO to $20,000 of damage
each year, according to Tom.
Another challenge to the thriv
ing vegetable business is volatile
markets. While wholesale lettuce
prices soared to a “historic high”
in February and March, it “hit
the skids” at Easter, Tom said.
One way to manage the risk of
fluctuating markets is by con
tracting some produce to buyers.
This year, for example, the Shep
pards have contracted their crop
of Romaine lettuce to a company
that distributes ready-made and
packed salads to retail outlets.
While producers from warmer
areas such as California and
Florida have certain advantages
—such as longer growing sea
sons— Tom pointed out that New
Jersey’s proximity to eastern cit
ies allows Sheppard Farms’ pro
duce to reach major outlets in
much less time. For produce such
as lettuce with a short shelf life,
the difference in freshness can be
significant.
“We have three-day jump on
California,” Tom said.
One innovation that helps
maximize freshness of product
Roof Systems/
Painting • Coating
All Types Interior/Exterior Painting 6- Coating
Specializing in:
• Spray Painting 'Hand Painting
* Water Blasting 'Water Proofing
• Deck Restoration & Coating
• Stone fir Brick Restoration
■Roof Restoration fi- Coating
Liquid Applied Roof Systems
* Seamless -Cure-in-place - Cold Process,
No Flame - Renewable - Leak Proof
* No Need to Tear Off Old Roof Systems
* Coating to Cool Roof
(Save up to 20% on Cooling Cost)
* Metal - Flat-Asphalt - EPDM - Modified
We have the right Product fir Solution to
Solve your Roofing Problems
Ten year manufacturers Warranties Available
Sfc Capital Painting
7* 717-768-0979
(Turn to Page A 37)