Farm & Country March 1, 1999 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 3/1/1999
Last Visited: 1/9/2009
Jeff Wilson is always on the lookout for ways to get the best return for on-farm investment
...
Asparagus doesn't start paying for itself until four years after it's planted, so finding an edge - through new varieties and on-farm sales - has kept Wellington county grower Jeff Wilson in the industry.
Wilson also grows cabbage, potatoes, strawberries, raspberries, sweet corn and broccoli on 250-acre Birkbank Farm in Orton, Dufferin county.
Asparagus fits in well with his crop mix and rotation and represents "a nice shot of money coming in" during the spring, when most farmers are seeing money going out, he says.
Research into new varieties at the University of Guelph is improving the lot of asparagus growers.
Wilson put in just under two acres of the Guelph Millennium variety last year and will plant another three this year.
He's also planted unnamed experimental varieties 178 and 52, which have shown potential.
The new varieties have shown good early vigour, something he partly attributes to last year's warm spring.
"I was really pleased with the growth of all of them," says Wilson.
...
The new variety lends itself to closer planting, says Wilson: "Industry standard at one time was two feet in the row and five feet between the rows.
On our farm we're now going one foot in the row and four feet between the rows," which more than doubles the plants per acre.
"I think we're going to see close to 4,000 pounds an acre here," compared to about 1,200 in his older stands.
"If it's anywhere near that we have a winner," says Wilson.
...
Wilson estimates the new variety cost him about $5,000 an acre, not including field or planting costs.
...
Wilson is considering a move to mechanized picking if the new variety does as well as expected.
Wilson doesn't grow in the traditional asparagus zone, down in the Norfolk area, where he estimates that 85 per cent of the Ontario crop is produced.
While he figures the lower heat units in his neck of the woods cut yield by 20 to 30 per cent, "I'm outperforming them on a dollar per pound basis by 20 or 30 per cent," he says.
...
Wilson counts himself lucky that he can "get the retail upcharge" on No. 2s sold in the on-farm store.
Strict picking requirements are one of the challenges of asparagus.
And getting the labour to do the picking is another challenge felt throughout the horticultural industry last year.
"There's no question that there was a crunch in the traditional workforce," says Wilson.
The improved economy in the Guelph area is taking young people out of the fields and into new small manufacturing jobs, he says.
But Wilson has been tapping a new source of labour: People who've taken early retirement are doing part-time planting work.
17 online sources [ view sources ]
Profile is not claimed [ claim profile ]
