Case Studies February 2018

Charles “Chuck” Obern discovered his passion for growing things as a high school student in the early 1970s, working in nurseries located north of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Now, as the founder of C&B Farms, his produce stocks the shelves of many grocery store chains around the country. His farms, located in Clewiston, Florida, and Cape Charles, […]

You might say they’re generalists who approach any project with a specialist’s touch. For that’s the best way—maybe the only way—for such a heavily capitalized company to operate on the vast heartland  plains as well as in the Rocky Mountain states. Work may not be plentiful at any given time, but when a project arises, […]

When was the last time anyone looked for name brand flowers at the grocery store? According to Mark Salgado, sales and distribution manager for Masson Farms of New Mexico, the answer is pretty much, never. In the retail flower sector, name brands carry less clout than beautiful, healthy flowers that won’t wilt on the kitchen […]

In Delaware, poultry integrators, who process and distribute chickens, make a big investment when they entrust local farmers to raise their birds. It’s not an easy task for the local farmers, either, requiring, among other things, that their facilities meet the latest regulations and trends—and that’s the territory of Marydel Ag Supply. The young company […]

The size of the Lone Star State not withstanding, word can travel fast. Especially in the agricultural industry, where farmers learn early which contractors and builders they can rely upon for the equipment and services so necessary to enable their high-stakes, potentially high-reward operations. It’s a fact of Texas life that Brett Marek grew accustomed […]

Brad Heimerl shakes his head at the idea that even some neighbors of his family’s farm in central Ohio might think that pork chops and bacon come from Kroger. But if that’s their perception, then the 32-year-old swine production manager at Heimerl Farms figures he must be doing something right. Mainly managing the very sensitive […]