Adapting To Change

Lon McGlasson has been a grower his entire life. His father before him farmed, as did his grandfather and great grandfather. In fact, he grew up in the house his great grandfather built that is located on the family farm. This fifth-generation grower has stayed true to his roots, continuing the tradition his family started years ago: producing high-quality fruits and vegetables.

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Situated about 10 miles west of Cincinnati, OH, in Kentucky’s Boone County, the burgeoning farm market at McGlasson Farms attracts folks from Southern Ohio as well as Northern Kentucky. The market, however, isn’t the only attraction on the farm.

The McGlassons offer pick-your-own fields for a variety of crops and some entertainment for the younger set that includes straw mazes and pony rides. In addition to pumpkins in the fall, the McGlassons have been known to hire a band to play on the weekend, offering yet another reason to visit the farm.

Keep The Customers Coming

According to Lon, Boone County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, but he has used the urbanization of the area to his advantage. The result of the recent development, he says, is more customers at the farm market.

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“People come to us for the freshness and they know that everything is picked fresh that day,� Lon says. “We are all family here and they know they can ask us questions about the produce and get a straight answer.� His family consists of his wife Ginny and two grown sons, Luke and Jack.

“We focus on quality and offer customers the freshest produce possible,� he continues. “We also try to keep things reasonably priced. On top of that, I think people just like to come out to the country. Some customers hang out for an hour or more, just talking.�

With a retail market located right on the farm, the McGlassons try to raise most of the crops they sell themselves. With the retirement of his father Rodney and his uncle Richard, however, Lon has removed cantaloupes from his crop roster. “They got to be too much,� he says. “With my dad and my uncle retiring, there is not enough help to go around and cantaloupes require a big spray schedule.�

The McGlassons aren’t concerned, though. Other area growers raise cantaloupe and the family can turn to them to get what they need for the market.
In addition to Lon, Ginny, and their two sons, the family hires local high school and college kids to help with the harvest and work in the market during the summer and fall. Fortunately for the McGlassons, labor has not been an issue.

“There are a certain number of kids in this area who don’t want to work in the fast-food chains,� says Lon. “I also have some neighbors who pick apples for me part-time.�

 Roll With The Changes

In addition to urbanization and making adjustments to the operation when someone retires, Lon says he has adapted to the way produce is sold now versus when he was a child, and has capitalized on those changes. “When I was young, there were mom and pop stores, and my dad and grandfather sold to these small stores,� he recalls. “In the ‘70s, the small operations started to close up and now everything is the big chains.�

Seeing where the future of the industry was heading, the McGlassons didn’t put all their eggs in one basket, so to speak. The family also sells some of its produce wholesale to a large retailer in the area. In particular, Lon says he sells tomatoes, sweet corn, beans, and sweetpotatoes to Remke, a local chain store. He also sells produce at area truck markets when he has a chance, and occasionally his uncle will take some vegetables to the Boone County Farmers Market.

Grower Tips

Having been in the farming and farm market business for generations, the McGlassons have some words of wisdom to share with new growers and those looking to start a market.

• Be willing to work seven-day weeks; 14 hours a day during the season.

• Don’t get into too much debt; you never know when you may have a bad crop year.

• Maintain a good reputation, offering only fresh, high-quality produce. “If it doesn’t look good, don’t put it out,� says Ginny
McGlasson.

• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket — diversify. The McGlassons sell produce at their farm market, as well as wholesale to a local grocery chain and at truck markets.

• Do some advertising. The McGlassons run ads in several local newspapers and they change the ad each week, depending on what crops they are featuring. In addition, the family is now considering advertising on local cable channels.

Production Pointers

Of all the different vegetables he grows, Lon says no crop has ever been ruined because of pests. Weeds are at the top of his pest list, but he also mentions a couple of other problem areas: spider mites on tomatoes and powdery mildew on pumpkins.

To combat these issues, Lon says he follows a strict spray program. In addition, he now grows some varieties of powdery mildew-resistant pumpkins. To tackle the weeds, he uses herbicides, cultivates, and hoes, but with so many different crops, he admits it is often very hard to keep up.

The season begins in March when Luke, who is in charge of greenhouse production, uses the family’s two greenhouses to start sweetpotatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, and squash.

To comply with consumer demands in the marketplace, the McGlassons have increased the number of tomato plants in the greenhouse. In the past, Lon says about 5,000 tomato plants were started; today that number tops 20,000. In addition, he says sweetpotatoes are a recent addition to the crop list, mainly because his customers asked for them.

Future Direction

Listening to what customers want has helped the McGlassons stay successful. Despite outside challenges, such as balancing the increasing fuel and fertilizer costs with keeping the price of produce reasonable, Lon is in the game for the long haul. In fact, he says he’d eventually like to expand his farm market.

Another part of his long-term plan is to have his family by his side. In addition to his wife Ginny’s help with the farm market, Luke works on the farm full-time while his younger son Jack, who has one more year in the University of Kentucky’s landscape architect program, works on weekends.
Lon says his greatest achievement has been being able to make a living and support his family, thanks to the farm. He wants to keep the tradition going.

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