HEREFORD — The Texas High Plains can be a profitable place to grow such niche crops as alternative corns, chiles and grapes, university specialists told growers attending the annual West Texas Vegetable Conference here recently.
George Dickerson, New Mexico State University Extension horticulturist, said growers could enhance their profit potential by producing seasonal alternative crops such as blue corn, sweet corn, ornamental corn, chiles and grapes.
“Each of these alternatives are niche crops,” Dickerson said. “They can add seasonal income to your operation, but none are likely to replace your main production crops. Blue corn and new hybrid sweet corns can be grown on the Texas High Plains and sold directly from the field or to processors.
“Ornamental corns and gourds, on the other hand, are grown mainly for the craft market. These crops will require intensive management at times, but they can generate healthy seasonal income if you first find a niche market for them.”
Chiles are another crop option for High Plains producers, he said. They can be grown and marketed for food purposes or as ornamentals. French or American hybrid grapes also can be a profitable alternative crop, although the initial investment to establish a crop often is high and marketing outlets can be difficult to establish.
“If you decide to do direct-to-the-public marketing, such as at farmers’ markets, I would advise you to hire good sales help so you don’t have to be your own public spokesperson. The other key to direct marketing is to have produce ready to sell throughout the growing-marketing season,” Dickerson said. “Crops that can help you fill that void include asparagus, squash, garlic, radishes, tomatoes, gourds, and even pumpkins.
“The best way to branch out into alternative crops is to identify a market or buyer, nail down a sales contract or direct sales outlet, start small at first and then work your way into more acreage through better contracts and sales options.”
Dr. Frank Dainello, horticulturist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, explained the workings of the Texas Watermelon Project.
“The Texas Watermelon Project is designed to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of the state’s watermelon industry,” he said. “But much of what is being done in this project can also be applied to marketing other melons and vegetables to food service companies.”
Texas A&M specialists and researchers are conducting watermelon field trials statewide to identify the best varieties suited to regional growing conditions, develop improved production methods, and to help build a unified, statewide watermelon promotion and marketing program, he said.
“We conduct field trials each year at five locations. So far, we have identified 10 good, new high-yielding varieties for producers. Several of these are well-suited for marketing through food service companies — companies that supply meals and food for hospitals, nursing homes, corporate cafeterias, hotels, specialty restaurants and convenience stores,” he said. “Food service companies purchased more than $407 billion worth of produce in 1997. That represents a formidable, profitable market for Texas watermelon producers.”
“The key to cracking that market is consistently filling their demand with a quality product and establishing a reputation as a reliable supplier. Producers should expect to sell to these companies on contract — contracts that have product specifications determined by changing consumer tastes.”
Dr. David Bender, vegetable researcher with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Lubbock, told growers that watermelons are again becoming a popular crop with High Plains producers.
“We’ve been part of the Texas Watermelon Project field trials for several years. We grow watermelons in these trials under an intensive management system at the Lubbock Research and Extension Center,” Bender said. “We plant watermelon transplants into beds covered with plastic mulch. Each bed is watered through a drip irrigation tape placed 8 inches deep.
“We use tensiometers to gauge water requirements and to time irrigations, and we’ve experimented with using sorghum as a windbreak companion crop. We’ve found that good pollination is essential to good yields, so bees are an essential ingredient in our watermelon field trials.”
Bender noted several new and traditional watermelon varieties that have yielded well in Lubbock, and invited interested growers to attend the center’s watermelon field day — held annually in early August.
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