Vegetable and Melon Farming
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Industry Overview
The vegetable and melon farming industry includes about 35,000 farms with combined annual revenue of $19 billion. Major US companies include Dole Food Company, Fresh Del Monte Produce, and Chiquita. Average total annual revenue per farm is $375,000, which may include some non-vegetable and non-melon revenue. The industry is concentrated: the top 10 percent of farms generate two-thirds of total industry revenue.
Vegetable and melon farming includes about 50 types of produce, including lettuce, dried beans, carrots, sweet corn, potatoes, tomatoes, broccoli, watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven by population growth, consumer interest in healthy eating, and government programs promoting fresh produce. The profitability of individual companies depends on maximizing crop yield and minimizing loss from disease, insects, or unfavorable weather. Large companies have advantages in diversified crop production and access to labor. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing in organic, heirloom, or specialty crops. The industry is highly labor-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is less than $40,000.
The vegetable and melon industry competes with grain, oilseed, fruit, and tree nut farming for cropland and acreage, as farmers tend to grow crops with the highest yield and payout.
Products, Operations & Technology
Major products include potatoes (20 percent of the market); fresh tomatoes (10 percent); and lettuce (10 percent). Other key products include onions, mushrooms, sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, and tomatoes grown for processing.
Vegetables are farmed according to two primary end-uses: fresh or processed. Processing is the canning, freezing, or dehydrating of vegetables. Melons are a fresh market crop. The US harvests around 80 billion pounds of vegetables and melons annually. Vegetable processing accounts for 40 percent of this total industry volume and 20 percent of industry revenue.
Vegetable and melon farms are typically small, family-run operations. Of farms, 70 percent harvest less than 50 acres. However, the largest vegetable and melon farms are large, devoting thousands of acres to a single crop. Almost all vegetables intended for processing are grown on farms larger than 2,000 acres.
Fresh market and processed crops require distinct seed stock and growing methods. For example, a potato farmer selects tuber sets specifically engineered to be sold and consumed fresh or as a processed product (French fries, potato chips, dehydrated potato flakes).
A farm operator selects crops according to the region's temperature, moisture, sunlight, and soil type. Root, tuber, lettuce, and some vegetable crops grow best in cool weather; melons and many fresh vegetables have the highest yield in temperate or warm weather.
A plant's transplant-to-harvest growing season can range from 40 (herbs and lettuce) to 120 days (peppers and tomatoes). Slow-growing vegetables and melons are almost always warm weather crops. Farm operators start the growing season by raising seeds in greenhouses or covering seedlings under plastic row covers. Temperature control is important during the growing season and at harvest. For example, many tomato plants are grown on long poles and picked daily to encourage continued upright growth and an extended harvest.
Harvesting methods vary from crop to crop. Tender plants, melons, and soft-skinned fruits like tomatoes are hand-harvested by field workers. Most processed vegetable, root, and tuber crops are harvested mechanically. Hand-harvested crops are typically field-packed into boxes and kept cool prior to marketing. Cantaloupes and watermelons are often force-air-cooled to remove field heat, which maximizes shelf life. Root and tuber crops such as carrots, onions, and sweet potatoes often require long-term storage and/or short-term curing to heal scrapes and cuts.
Common inputs include seed, plants, and vines; chemicals to control weeds, disease, and insects; fertilizer to condition the soil; and machinery and supplies. Depending on the crop and weather conditions, irrigation can be a costly input. Operator and hired farm labor is a significant input, although one-third of all vegetable and melon farms are run by an operator whose primary profession isn't farming.
Recent technological advances include hybridized plants; crop irrigation; mechanical harvesters; GPS; geographic information systems (GIS); and yield monitors. Vegetables are hybridized to increase plant yield and resist disease. Automated drip irrigation provides consistent moisture for vegetables and melons. Mechanical harvesters can improve a farm's yield, reducing dependence on seasonal labor. Tractors and mechanical harvesters can be equipped with GPS to direct their production or harvesting. GIS satellite imagery can detect insect damage, soil differences, and moisture content to protect and enhance production. Yield monitoring software tracks and records a crop's yield and the hours of labor required at harvest.