Flat Aggie in Delaware

What another wonderful trip it has been to Delaware, you know a few years back I was here in the spring and things have changed a bit here. Some on the farming operation in which I visited and some in the climate from what I remember it was much warmer here on my last visit. This time it was a bit chilly overnight though we did have some decent daytime temperatures. Nonetheless, the experiences I have at Cory's produce in Delaware have been again once in a life time. Delaware is located on the east cost, consist of 3 counties, and is a peninsula. Besides being the first state, Delaware is known to be the Lima bean capital worldwide, and Sussex County in which I visited is the largest poultry producing county in the U.S. Pretty cool, huh?

Well, while I was here I got to see a lot of cool stuff.  I was able to walk through some soybeans and check them for maturity before harvesting them. 

 

I got to haul a load of soybeans to the local elevator in which the soybeans are shipped down the Nanticoke river by Barge. 

 

Corn harvest was over by the time I got here but I saw many producers including Cory's produce spreading numerous wintering crops to help improve soil health by decreasing run off and erosion over winter. It was pretty cool to see that something green was always growing. 

While I was here I got to experience the first shotgun deer season of the year in Delaware and my do people get pumped about that. I was able to go one day with Cory, though as harvest continued on we didn't get another chance to go. 

Besides the climate change on this trip from last trip here a Cory's Produce has made some big changes. They added solar panels to the operation.  To utilize space they were able to install the solar panels on the top of the poultry barn. Lastly, Cory is now a dealer for Channel Brand Seed (corn, soybeans, sorghum, and alfalfa) and I was able to go may some visits and discuss with some other producers their product order for 2017.

Finally, I just want to thank Cory of Cory's Produce for this time these past few weeks. At times, things get hectic at harvest and many times he could of done without me tagging along. Though we got as many shots as we could and he only left me behind once.

To see more reports from Cory's Produce go to:

 

Flat Aggie Adventures in Delaware

Inside a chicken barn in the largest poultry producing county in the nation.

 

 

Flat Aggie goes to Delaware for Fall Harvest

Lima Bean Harvest

Flat Aggie Goes to Delaware For Fall Harvest

Our first report from Flat Aggie's Adventures has came back!  If you don't know about Flat Aggie, check out this page.  This year I have FOUR amazing teachers that have sent their own Flat Aggie to learn about farming.  I will feature each of them as the school year progresses.  Flat Aggie went back to Delaware for an adventure like their sister had last spring. -KFM

Dear Mrs. Leiker's Class,

I am writing you today from the First State; Delaware, I spent most of my time in Sussex county in the town of Laurel which consist of roughly 3,700 people. In the time I spent here I have seen and done so much I never knew there was so much agriculture in one of the smallest states.

Delaware:

·         Nearly 40% of the land is in Agriculture use

·         Nearly 90% of the Farms are Family Owned

·         Sussex County is No.1 County in the U.S. for Poultry Production

·         Humid Climate with hot summers and mild winters

·         Poultry, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, and Dairy Products are the top 5 Commodities, although 35 other vegetable crops are grown as well

·         One of the leading States for Baby Lima bean Production

·         Is a Peninsula

·         Has approximately 2,500 farms totaling 510,253 acres

While in Southern Delaware, I visited Cory’s Produce, LLC, where they grow Field Corn, Soybeans, Barley, Wheat, Grain Sorghum, Watermelons, Peas, Lima Beans, squash, cucumbers, cantaloupes, tomatoes, raise poultry and operation a custom application business.

Being one of the smallest states of all 50, the Agriculture is big here.  The fall harvest consists of much more than Grain crops.  At Cory’s Produce, they were busy harvesting field corn and baby lima beans.  

Wow what an experience lima bean harvest was for me!

Lima beans are planted from late May to late July, and are harvested from late August through early November. This year, while I was there the temperatures were really cool and Cory and other growers are worried about an early frost on many of the crops that would keep the crops from maturing properly.

Lima beans are harvested with combines. 

Not your typical grain combines, but combines that harvest both peas in the spring and summer months and lima beans in the fall months. 

Once they are harvested they are hauled to local processing plants where they are cleaned and frozen, through a process called  IQF or individually quick frozen  This type of freezing allows the beans from not being a frozen block and can be easily handled once they reach the consumer's home. Lima beans in Delaware can be planted as a full season crop or double cropped behind small grains, peas, sweet corn, and pickling cucumbers.  Approximately 10,000 acres of lima beans are produced annually in Delaware.

Once Cory’s Produce has harvested a crop in the fall, they plant winter wheat and barley on a number of their acres. This is to help improve soil quality, reduce run-off and nutrient leaching.  Cory plants cover crops on the remaining acres. This is a common practice by many producers in the Delaware and Maryland area due to pressure to help protect the Chesapeake Bay which divides the two states on the western coast of Delaware.

Besides the harvesting of lima beans,

I got to ride along while hauling corn to the local feed mills, and see the harvest of some other fall crops including pumpkins.

Pumpkins are a common scene in Delaware. 

They are planted during the month of June and are harvested from mid September through late October mostly for the use of decorations, though for carving and baking as well. 

Many of the left over pumpkins are donated to an annual event in November called Punpkin Chunkin. Pumpkin Chunkin is a nationally known event that takes place in Delaware and the proceeds from the event go to local non-profit groups.   

And well it just so happens Cory’s neighbor and co-owner of Dickerson Farms raises pumpkins. Another neat adventure was being able to harvest my own pumpkins.

While most producers are heavily into field corn harvest, other crops beside lima beans and pumpkins were being harvested as well.  Potatoes, Peppers, Sweet corn, watermelons, soybeans, pickling cucumbers, squash, strawberries and Turf were all being harvested around the area by various producers.

Yes, some may be wondering and I was myself about the whole turf deal and well Cory explained it briefly. Acres and acres of grass or turf is also known as Sod are grown, dug up by machines, and sold to sports complexes, homeowners, business owners etc to have an instantly beautiful lawn.

Wow! I sure am tired, there was so much to see and do here and my stay was very short, hopefully I get to come back real soon and visit and learn more about Delaware Agriculture, and well that pumpkin chunkin really has me thinking I may need to come back right after Halloween.  Although, maybe your teacher will let you check out their website or this punkin chuckin video.  (Reichenberger's Pumpkin Patch also has a pretty good pumpkin chucker in Kansas.-KFM)

To learn more about the History of Delaware agriculture watch the video at: www.youtube.com  Farming the First State.

Until my next adventure you friend,

Flat Aggie

Farmer Math:  

In an effort to teach my own kids how important school is even for farmers, I am adding a section called Farmer Math to the Flat Aggie posts.  These will be sent on to the schools that are viewing the reports.  The problems have various levels of difficulty due to the wide age range of kids that will be getting to learn from Flat Aggie and their farmer hosts.  Let me know what you think of this idea!
 
1. If Flat Aggie helped Cory haul 3 loads of corn to the feed mill in the morning and 2 loads after they ate lunch, how many loads of corn did they haul to the feed mill?

2.  If Cory grows 3 row crops, 2 small grain crops and 7 vegetables, how many different things does Cory grow in all?

3.  If the world record for punkin chuckin is 4,438 feet and the first year they did punkin chuckin in Delaware it only went 126 feet, how much farther did the world record holder go than the  first year pumpkin?  Bonus What percentage of a mile is the world record?

4.  Cory planted 100 acres of Lima Beans.  He harvested 260,000 pounds of lima beans.  What is the average yield in pounds per acre?

5.  Cory is planting wheat.  He wants to plant 75 pounds of seed per acre.  He has 150 acres of wheat to plant.  How much wheat seed does he need in all?

6.  Flat Aggie helped haul corn to the feed mill.  Corn weighs 56 pounds per bushel.  A semi truck can haul 56,000 pounds of corn.  Farmers are paid by the bushel for their corn.  Cory needs to know how many bushels of corn he hauled to the feed mill in one load. Bonus: If Cory is paid $4.33 per bushel of corn, how much will he be paid for 1 load of corn?

Answers: 1. 5 loads 2. 12 crops  3. 4,312 feet Bonus 84% 4. 2600 pounds per acre  5.  11250 pounds 6.  1000 bushel Bonus $4,330.00

Delaware Watermelon Harvest

 Here is part II of a series of posts by Cory of Cory's Produce on Watermelon production in Delaware.  The kids that read his report to Flat Aggie LOVED how the watermelons ride from the fields.  -KFM

In the harvest season a crew will walk the field look and decide which melons is ready and cut it the stem from the vine. We refer to this part of harvest as the cutters. 

After the cutters have begun across the field, we begin to send another crew referred to as loaders across the field where they pick up each melon pass them to one another and they end up bulk loaded onto trucks, wagons and most commonly retired school buses. 

Once the vehicle that is being loaded is loaded it is drove to our packing shed. At the packing shed the melons are unloaded labeled, inspected and put into bins according to variety, Seeded or seedless, and size. Once the bin is full with the current count it is moved to a staging area of the shed in preparation for being loaded onto refer semi-trailers to be delivered to the store. 

Generally melons will be in the staging area no more than 36hrs before an order is submitted and they head for the store. Being in Delaware, we have a large market for melons in the north east, although I have shipped melons as far west as Colorado, and south back to Fort Myers, Florida depending on the year and the market. 

When Delaware is in production so is the eastern shore of Maryland, as well as in some cases Southern Missouri and Indiana. Though, due to Delaware being centrally located on the east coast we have a logistic advantage over other states. 

 

After the harvest of a field is completed the melons are mowed off the raised beds. 

Once the beds are mowed we will leave it sit for a few days and then we will begin removing the black plastic and drip tape from the raised beds. This is done in a series of steps first we being by running a machine called a mulch lifter across each bed. This splits the black plastic in the middle and helps lift the edges of it out of the ground.

 Next, a crew will go through the field and pile the plastic and tape. Once that is done, they will begin loading the plastic and drip tape into trucks or loaders which then take them to commercial size roll off dumpsters which is then taken to the local landfills and properly disposed of. 

Once all the plastic, drip tape, and drip tape supply line called lay flat is removed, we will sub soil rip the entire farm and work it down and I will plant a winter crop of barley or wheat to be harvested the following spring. 

In cases where I do not plant barley or wheat I will plant a winter crop to use up any extra nutrients, control soil erosion, and run-off, as well as improve soil quality, and keep top-soil from blowing away during the winter months. 

Thanks for reading about watermelon production in Delaware it’s been an honor to explain all the hours work and process of getting everyone a MAR-DELicious watermelon the favorite summertime treat to their household. Just remember it’s MAR-DELicious if it’s been grown in MARyland or DELaware.

 Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about how watermelons are grown.  I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Growing Loads of Watermelons

No, we aren't growing loads of watermelons in Kansas.  Remember my friend Cory who hosted Flat Aggie for Mrs. Piatt's class?  He wrote a couple of posts about how they grow watermelons in Delaware for me and I forgot to post them.  Sorry!  I have been eating some delicious watermelon and it reminded me.  Take a look at what it takes to get the watermelons to harvest.  I will post another blog post later this week all about harvest.  Thanks Cory!

Basic Overview of watermelon production in Delaware

Hello Friends, I was asked to blog about watermelon production in Delaware after meeting Nicole at a conference in Memphis a few months ago. Anyways, I own and operate Cory’s Produce, LLC which is a grain and vegetable operation based in Sussex County, Delaware.

 More Delicious or MAR-DELicious???

Watermelon production begins roughly in early April, the seeds are planted into 72 count trays and placed into a greenhouse where they are grown into transplants. 

The trays will spend about 6-7 weeks from the time they are placed into the greenhouse before they are taken out and transplanted. During this time and even in most cases in the fall of the following year, field work is being done in preparation for the upcoming season.

 In the fall, rye strips are planted which will become wind breaks to help protect young transplants from high winds in the spring of the year. Once the rye strips are planted and growing we begin to cultivate between the rye strips in the late winter early spring we will roto-till, sub soil rip, and then roto till each row.

 This can be very time consuming being it is done in 6-7ft wide cultivation equipment.  Once all the cultivation is complete we will band our starter fertilizer down each row before laying a raised plastic bed with drip tape. The drip tape will later water and fertilize the watermelon plants.  

Remember those trays we had in the greenhouse?  

Well, it would now be about mid-May and as we remove those trays from the greenhouse those seeds have become transplants that are set in many cases one row at a time into the raised beds in the field.

Thus again a very slow process making sure that each plant in correctly planted and not damaged in the process.

From here out the watermelon production is like most other field grown crops, they get closing monitored daily, watered, fertilized, and sprayed with preventative pesticides to grow a healthy, sweet, edible MAR-DELicious watermelon.

As we speed ahead too early to mid-July watermelon harvest has begun.

Every watermelon is hand harvested mostly done by migrant harvest crews who follow the production and harvest of watermelons from southern Florida up to the coast to Delaware.

Harvest will generally last until around Labor Day depending on the late summer weather and our hurricane season that can often ruin a crop due to large amounts of rainfall. 

Check out this post on Watermelon Harvest.  If you don't want to miss a post from this blog, add you email address to the "Follow by Email" box and it will be mailed to you each time I post.  I promise not to spam you and you won't miss one of my yummy recipes.  :) 

 --A Kansas Farm Mom