Ohio’s Proud Produce Sells

Farms deliver fresh variety.

With its enviable trade position in the Midwest, Ohio produce offers abundant choices for both local and far-reaching retailers. The variety and quality accommodate the most discerning aficionados.

Ohio producers cover an extensive range of growing methods: Vegetables in fields and greenhouses, large and small fruit in orchards, greens and seeds in indoor hydroponic houses — they all contribute to familiar or specialized in-demand products.

What’s more, the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s marketing program, Ohio Proud, helps consumers find food and agricultural products made and grown in the state.

SUCCESS OF OHIO PROUD

Ohio Proud offers an affiliate program where any retailer or foodservice operator can use the Ohio Proud logo for marketing or selling products from Ohio Proud partners, according to Meghan Harshbarger, chief of communications, Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).

“Additionally, we host events throughout the year, such as the Ohio Proud Food Show, to connect retailers directly with our local partners who are growing or processing an Ohio product,” Harshbarger adds. “These events allow us to create a one-stop shop for grocers and retailers who are looking for new products that fit their operation.”

VEGETABLES APLENTY

From May to October, Buurma Farms Inc., Willard, OH, grows 30 distinctive fresh summer vegetables on close to 2,500 acres. Then, they market about 2 million packages throughout the eastern U.S., and distribute even more vegetables from their Gregory, MI, farm during the season.

“We’ve been doing it a long time — it’s in our blood,” says President Chadd Buurma.

Buurma believes the interest in produce will continue to grow. “It’s a standard of life,” he says, “Eat and be healthy.”

With his vegetable items, he singles out good sellers, “All lettuces, red and green, romaine, and butter — good movers,” he adds, “Herbs and parsley, too, will continue.”

To adapt to the market, he dismisses one of his first crops, celery, as not good for fresh market sales now. But this season, he has a contract with a processor for juicing celery. Another of his favorites — radish — “is leveling off from a narrow big movement.” He blames the packaged salads’ influence. “Radish can turn brown and not be appealing.”

Another Willard, OH, farm owned by the descendants of another of the swamp-clearing team of early farmers, Holthouse Farms of Ohio, Inc. also grows an assortment of summer vegetables. The May through November availability listing shows dozens of basic varieties, while a profusion of squash and pumpkins reveals numerous choices as well.

“Our bread-and-butter products are green bell peppers and chile, jalapeño, and banana peppers, plus zucchini and yellow squash,” says fifth-generation co-owner, Kirk Holthouse. Holthouse’s popular value-added bag features jalapeño, Hungarian wax and Cubanelle, plus a small pack of select green and red peppers, and “retailers can choose six- or 12-count cartons.”

He handles and distributes his partner’s hydrocooled green beans with snipped-ends packages.“Most people desire convenience. They don’t want to shuck corn, for instance.”

Holthouse believes produce demand will expand. “Fresh vegetables make people feel better and they want to be healthy. Fully ripened red peppers, in particular, have antioxidants and vitamin C, and they make you happy.”

Cabbage Inc., Vermillion, OH, also has locations in Michigan, Georgia and Florida that “significantly reduce food miles to our markets in the Eastern U.S,” says Mark Jewell, sales and grower relations manager. In each of their farms, they ensure freshness with 35 degrees F cooling, and same-day-as-harvest shipping.

Red, green, savoy and napa cabbages are marketed for processing, and fresh cut for restaurants and retail stores. “The cabbage markets are steady,” Jewell notes, “Green cabbage leads the sales by far.”

Interestingly, kale, which had been experiencing a dip in sales following an earlier boom period, has been surging recently. Jewell notes, “Kale is picking up, due to the new popularity of grocery stores’ salad mixes.”

GREENS AND SPROUTS

John Bonner, owner, Great Lakes Growers, Burton, OH, produces a full line of greenhouse hydroponic fresh-cut and living lettuces year-round. They reach foodservice operators and retailers in five states with their just-harvested varieties of lettuces and herbs.

Bonner reports Living Green Butter, Icicle, Batavia, and romaine lettuces as the most popular, while romaine and Sweet Crispy Crunch lead fresh-cut. “We always have new and improved varieties in the works with the seed breeders.”

Ed Sauer manages Sunsprout Farms of Central Ohio, Columbus, OH. Family-owned and -operated, it grows herb and vegetable sprouts hydroponically indoors.

“Sprouts are younger than microgreens. They last longer, well over a month with our green leafy varieties,” Sauer explains. “Grown without any soil or soil substitute, sprouts involve the entire plant.” Along with individual alfalfa, broccoli, clover, mungbean, radish, onion and legume sprout seeds, Sunsprout Farms offers blends, such as colorful Spicy Mix, with clover and radish.

Because they test and wash every batch, customers need not rinse, as the hulls are removed, Sauer says, adding buyers can “eat right out of the package or sauté. Retailers should display samples with crackers and cheese.”

FRESH ORGANIC CO-OP

Green Field Farms, Wooster, OH, offers a range of certified organic produce and raw sauerkraut. Chief Executive Officer Leon Wengerd says the farms’ different sizes help retailers differentiate conventional from organic products.

Sales Representative Jim Hudeck reports zucchini, cabbage, kale and all varieties of tomatoes are the most popular. For retailers’ organic promotions, he recommends featuring items “when most people don’t have them in their gardens at home.”

ORCHARD FRUIT

Ohio also has a rich history of orchards that remains strong. Bryce Bauman, vice president, Bauman Orchards Inc., Rittman, Ohio, just added a new packaging house, bigger apple sorter, and planted more trees. “I hope, and absolutely believe, brighter sales for fruit growers will increase.”

Bauman Orchards wholesales apples and peaches, and also maintains three farm markets, and delivers plums, pears, berries and melons regionally.

The two dozen varieties of apples, include the early-ripening Paula Red, Ginger Gold, Transparent, and Earligold, along with Gala and Honeycrisp later in the season. White peach varieties stand out with Red Haven and about a dozen more. Plums include Stanley, Methley, Shiro and Santa Rosa.

CUSTOMERS LIKE LOCAL

With 13 stores in Ohio, Riesbeck’s, St. Clairsville, OH, enjoys the opportunity to obtain the freshest produce. At the Zanesville, OH, store, Produce Manager Marie Wilson reports how customers prefer Ohio items. “We get apples all year, but people will not buy if not Ohio-grown.”

Local sweet corn, in particular, is demanded. “Customers can tell the difference; it is sweeter and bigger. We shuck it and package five ears on a tray.” Riesbeck’s tried suppliers’ tray packs, but they were not sellers. “Our customers know what we package is fresh,” she explains.

The Oberlin, OH, Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) store participates in the Ohio Proud affiliate program. Store Manager Bob Kritz shares his customers’ preference, “They definitely like a lot of local products. In summer, especially, the farmers in the region come by and demonstrate them.”

“We label the organic products,” says Kritz. “They are better sellers.”

Family-owned local grocers of the IGA, Chicago, IL, operate about 1,600 stores in the U.S.