Auburn, Dec. 5---Learning how to become smaller, leaner and smarter was a major topic of discussion at the 22^nd annual Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference, Nov. 30 through Dec. 1 in Gulf Shores.

Above: Monte Nesbitt, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System horticulturist, fields a question from a grower at the 22nd Annual Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference. 

The pressures of economic globalization and other factors are forcing Alabama fruit and vegetable growers to completely rethink not only what they produce but how to market it to a highly discriminating consumer public.

"Basically, they’re being pushed in two different directions, either becoming larger corporate entities or converting into smaller, leaner and smarter operations in terms of what they produce and how they market these products," says Dr. Joseph Kemble, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System horticulturist who organizes the annual event.

Most growers, Kemble says, are choosing the latter approach, becoming leaner and more focused on what they produce and how they reach consumers with these products.

"It’s all a question of survival," he says. "If they don’t adapt, they’re going to disappear."

Growers specializing in tomato and watermelon production, for example, have been especially affected in recent years by competition from Mexico and other foreign countries that are producing and exporting vast amounts of tomatoes and melons into the United States. This has forced many growers to switch to other, sometimes less traditional products that often appeal to an entirely different clientele.

"More and more, they’re going out and seeing what’s needed and when," Kemble says.

The biggest success stories associated with this new approach often occur when growers tap into an upscale grocery store or restaurant chain, providing them with a reliable and steady supply of a highly specialized product that is hard to find elsewhere.

"It all boils down to niche marketing," Kemble says. "Growers are finding it harder and harder to turn out conventional products, such as tomatoes and watermelons, so they’re developing new products to reach new markets."

On the other hand, some growers who choose to stick with conventional products have succeeded where others have failed by developing unique marketing strategies, often by reaching highly specialized audiences.

One producer, for example, is still raising tomatoes, but he’s found an entirely new way to market the product: selling them over the Internet.

Even better, the inroads he’s gained from producing tomatoes will now enable him to branch out into other products, Kemble says.

Another major topic discussed at the conference concerned the chronic labor shortages faced by many growers throughout the state.

"It’s one of the perennial topics of discussions at our annual conference – where to get it and how to run the gauntlet of red tap associated with hiring labor," Kemble says.

Another recurrent concern within the last few years has been pesticides.

In the past, growers were able to rely on an arsenal of so-called broad-spectrum chemicals that could be applied to a variety of different crops to control a wide array of different pests.

Recently, however, EPA regulations have required growers to switch to a new family of chemicals that are safer for the environment but less convenient and more expensive from the standpoint of the grower.

"The focus of these chemicals have become more narrow and the mode of action more specific in the way they combat insects and plant pests," Kemble says. "As a result, growers are having to learn a lot more about these chemicals and how they should be handled and applied."

"It all goes back to this issue of becoming smarter," he adds.

This year’s conference attracted more than 200 participants, an increase of between 40 and 50 over last year. In addition to acquainting growers with the latest changes and advances in fruit and vegetable production, the conference also serves as an in-service training session for Alabama Cooperative Extension agents throughout the state.