UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Farmers looking to diversify by growing and marketing vegetables can get a good look at the equipment needed to launch a successful vegetable operation by attending Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 14-16.
A new vegetable demonstration area will show visitors the latest equipment for planting, harvesting and irrigation, while an adjacent plot will contain the end result — vegetables grown using the featured equipment.
Vegetable production is becoming big business in Pennsylvania. According to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, the Commonwealth is among the top 10 producers in the country for several crops, including bell peppers, cantaloupes, pumpkins and snap beans.
"Sixteen wholesale auctions are scattered throughout the state to sell fresh produce to roadside stands and grocery stores," said Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension horticulture educator and coordinator of the vegetable demonstrations at Ag Progress Days. "Numerous processors move crops such as potatoes, tomatoes and sweet corn from the field into the store aisles in cans and frozen foods."
As further evidence of the potential for vegetable production, Butzler cites the four-day Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Conference, held annually in late January or early February in Hershey.
"Almost every session has attendees spilling out into the hallways as growers look to educate themselves on the latest innovations and marketing ideas," he said.
Butzler noted that Ag Progress Days — the state's largest outdoor agricultural exposition — typically is heavy on traditional agricultural endeavors, such as row-crop and animal production.
"But with the increase in interest over the decades," he said, "it's time that equipment specifically for vegetable growers gets its share of the spotlight."
During the three days, attendees can observe how equipment pulls and covers beds with plastic, as well as how that plastic is removed at the end of the growing season.