Produce Farms - Commercial Growers


Delaware Produce and Transportation

Guiding the Eating Habits of the Nation


Delaware fruit and vegetable acreage varies each year but currently ranges from 45,000 to 55,000 acres.  Approximately 2/3 of acreage is dedicated to the commercial (processed) vegetable market with a focus on sweet corn, green peas, lima beans, cucumbers, spinach, green beans and tomatoes.1


The Delaware family farms highlighted in this section of the exhibition are a cross-section of historic and modern-day farming operations that grow vegetables for the processed market. The list of farms is representative of the produce industry in the state, it is not exhaustive.   


Clifton Farms, Inc. (Milford, Delaware)


The Clifton family has grown vegetables, soybeans and grains on their farm south of Milford, Delaware, since the 1920s. In 1948, the Clifton’s started a cannery, Carlton Clifton & Sons, where they processed peas and lima beans. The business was later renamed Clifton Canning Company, Inc. 


In the early days, the farm’s “pea harvester” was a truck with the cab cut off. The viner was mounted on the rear axle of the truck and pulled with a tractor. The loader cut the pea vines and pulled them into the viner, the pea pods would fall out on the truck platform. A crew of men walked behind the truck and put the pods in burlap bags; afterward, the peas were taken to the family (Clifton) cannery for processing. The Clifton’s closed the cannery in 1995, after nearly 50 years in business. The closure marked the end of the vegetable cannery industry in the state.

“Our farm has nine pea harvesters, and they are roughly 30 years old. Even though they’re older machines they get the job done. We keep them maintained because a brand-new pea harvester costs about $1,000,000.” Don Clifton

Clifton Farms, Inc.  grows, harvests, and cleans approximately 5 million pounds of peas and baby lima beans annually for Seabrook Brothers & Sons. 4


Plum Creek Farms (Laurel, Delaware vicinity)


The Rider family has been farming on Delmarva for three generations. Over the decades they have grown watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, squash, peas, sweetcorn, string beans, cabbage, and sweet potatoes for the fresh and processed market.

George Ellis Rider started farming with his cousin, Homer Rider near Laurel, Delaware, in the 1930s.  Their farming operation would eventually become known as “Rider Bros.”.   In the early 1960s, Jerry K. Rider began farming for Rider Bros. alongside his father, George.   

When George Rider passed away in 1970, Jerry assumed his father’s position in the Rider Bros. partnership. Rider Bros. dissolved their partnership in 1979. At that time, each partner created their own farming operation, Jerry Rider’s operation was named Redhead Farms. In 1992, Jerry’s son, Jay R. Rider, joined his father in the family business with the launch of Plum Creek Farms. The two operations mirrored each other as far as production practices. 


Upon Jerry’s retirement in 2020, Plum Creek Farms took over Redhead Farms and continues the tradition today under the Plum Creek Farms banner. Plum Creek Farms is 1,100 acres and includes land in southwest Sussex County, Delaware, and northwest Wicomico County, Maryland. 

Over the years, the Rider family have grown produce for several commercial processing companies on Delmarva including Hanover Foods, S.E.W. Friel, Vlasic, DeCecco, Green Giant, and King Cole.


Vincent Farms (Laurel, Delaware)


Vincent Farms, Laurel, Delaware is a fifth-generation family business dating to 1900. The Vincents farm a total of 5000 acres across four states: Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina, and Florida.

 

In the early years of operation, Vincent Farms grew cantaloupe and watermelon. Because these types of perishable produce must be sold shortly after harvest, the crops were loaded onto wagons (later pickup trucks) and taken to the Laurel Auction Market "The Block" to be sold and were then shipped by rail to northern markets.


Over the decades, the Vincents have grown sweet corn and tomatoes for S.E.W. Friel, and lima beans for Pictsweet Farms. Today, the family grows, grades and packs watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet corn, bell peppers, tomatoes and pumpkins for wholesale distribution and retail sales at several major East Coast chain grocers.


“The most difficult part of my job is trying to figure out how many acres of each of our crops to grow each year. The crops that we grow are perishable and must be sold shortly after harvest. The demand for our crops is affected by many factors that are mainly unknown at planting time.” Ray Vincent

Vincent Farms incorporates technology into their business practices as well as their modern farming techniques. This includes center pivot, travelling gun, and drip irrigation and the use of plastic mulch which conserves moisture and enables earlier maturing crops while reducing the need for herbicides. The results of annual soil tests and plant tissue samples are used to determine the application of nutrients. 14


Charles H. West Farms, Inc.  (Milford, Delaware)

 

Charles H. West began farming at Milford, Delaware, in 1954. He and his wife, Lorraine, started their home farm from scratch with the purchase of a parcel of 155 acres and, over time, expanded their operations to become one of the largest agribusinesses in the northeastern United States. At their peak, they harvested more than 15,000 acres of crops. 


Charles H. West Farms, Inc. diversified their crops beginning in the 1960s with tomatoes and potatoes and later, lima beans and green peas (grown under contract for Seabrook Brothers & Sons and Hanover Foods). 

In 1978, the Wests purchased a vegetable processing and freezing plant in Bridgeville, Delaware, where they processed carrots, green peas, lima beans, and spinach. They sold the processing plant to Birdseye in 1998. Today, the plant is operated by Pictsweet Farms.

Technology has changed the face of farming for the Wests and other commercial growers.  Autosteer tractors with advanced GPS guidance systems enable farmers to navigate fields with precision.

Stanley West grew up farming side-by- side with his father, Charles, and later took the helm of the family farm that still bears his father’s name. Today, Charles H. West Farms, Inc. grows sweet corn for S.E.W. Friel and lima beans for Pictsweet Farms.


Shadybrook Farms (Dover,  Delaware)

 

The sons of Italian immigrants, Philip “Phil” Cartanza and his brothers grew up on the family farm in Swedesboro, New Jersey. Phil came to Delaware in the 1950s and began buying land along Route 9 in Dover with a dream of starting his own farm, which he did in 1957. He and his wife, Sandy, worked side-by-side for over 40 years building Shadybrook Farms. The farm is currently run by Phil's grandson, Paul Cartanza Jr, and great granddaughter, Taylor Cartanza.

“As farmers, we face many challenges, but I would say the hardest part is planning for the future of agriculture. Farmland in the United States is rapidly decreasing, and farm production costs are steadily increasing, while income is declining.” Taylor Cartanza

In the 1980s, the Cartanza’s tilled over 5,000 acres of grain and potatoes. Today, they till 2,500 acres with just under 200 acres devoted to potatoes. They wash, sort and package their own potatoes at their packing plant in Dover. From there the potatoes are shipped to markets all along the east coast. In previous years, Shadybrook Farms potatoes were shipped across America as well as internationally to Canada and Mexico.



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