S&L Beans Finds Savings Through Technology
September 1, 2008 
In the face of skyrocketing production costs, growers around the state are looking at their operations very closely to find any areas where they can achieve savings. Sal Finocchiaro and Leo Talarico are going through this very process on their farm, S&L Beans, in Florida City.
As the largest vegetable growers in Miami-Dade County, they have felt the pinch of production expenses that comes with some fairly staggering dollar figures.
“It is getting so expensive to be a big operation,� says Finocchiaro. “The cost of fuel, fertilizer, and chemicals all have been going through the roof. Back eight years ago, the cost of diesel was 50¢ per gallon, then it got to a buck, and now it is almost $5 per gallon.�
In fact, their fuel bill has nearly tripled and their fertilizer bill doubled in the past two years. That has the partners looking at cutting back on some acreage of their key crops.
“We will probably trim off a little bit of acreage for this coming season,� says Talarico. “We will cut back where we’ve got really high land-rent ground that just isn’t feasible.�
Nationally, the rising cost of fuel and other products helped drive U.S. farm production expenditures to a record $260 billion in 2007, according to USDA’s Ag Statistics Service. Total U.S. farm production expenditures rose 9.3% from 2006 and nearly 30% from five years ago.
In total, U.S. producers spent $12.7 billion on fuel, including $7.71 billion for diesel, up 15%; $2.74 billion for gasoline, up 16%; $1.5 billion for LP gas, up 17%; and $750 million for other fuels, up 4.2%.
Model Growers
According to Charles LaPradd, agricultural manager for Miami-Dade County, Finocchiaro and Talarico are model growers that others keep an eye on for their progressive farm management.
“Those two guys are where we want our growers to be,� he says. “They are intelligent with regard to markets and maintaining their crops. They are flexible to keep their business model flowing and are always looking for new and better ways to do things.�
Innovation’s Hand In Efficiency
While Finocchiaro and Talarico are looking to achieve savings, they will not sacrifice quality in what they do or the crops they produce.
“We will do whatever we can to save money, but we will not sacrifice the quality of our products,� says Finocchiaro. “We are not going to cut back on fertilizer and crop protection, because we aim to produce a good, quality crop. Some people may be cutting back on spraying to save money, but they may not have a crop to pick.�
One area where S&L Beans achieves efficiency is investing in newer equipment that is more fuel efficient. They have a fleet of 30 John Deere tractors, running from 65hp all the way up to 320hp.
“We try to keep newer equipment because they tend to be more efficient, and we spend less down time with breakdowns,� says Finocchiaro. “We also are moving to all diesel trucks of the same make and model. That way we don’t have a bunch of different parts we have to keep on hand for different makes.�
Last year, the partners had Auto-Farm auto-steer technology installed on one of their bedding tractors, and Finocchiaro reports the system paid for itself in the first season of use. It has cut down on overlaps and improves land use.
“The auto-steer is working very well for us. It allows us to skip over roadways, which is saving us fertilizer and spraying on that ground,� he says.
“With auto-steer, we can cut down on operator fatigue and mistakes,� adds Talarico. “For cultivating and spraying, everything is right on the money straight. In the future, we want to add another system on our planting tractor.� The partners have also begun to use biofuels to power their tractors, which is saving them money. They purchase the biofuels from Biodiesel In Motion in Hialeah.
“Last season, we were saving about 50¢ to 60¢ per gallon using the biofuels,� says Finocchiaro. “We will be adding these more fuel-efficient tractors to save even more across the farm.�
“We are running biodiesel in all the tractors, pumps, and irrigation systems,� adds Talarico.
Hard Work Pays Off
At the end of the day, S&L Beans will continue forward, adjusting to the rising costs of inputs because they are big believers in the importance of agriculture locally and nationally. In addition, they are willing to put in the hard work to get it done.
“We are very hands-on operators,� says Finocchiaro. “We tell the tractor drivers what to do and check behind them, and we keep close tabs on the packinghouse.
“We are basically out here seven days a week during the season, and we are 10 minutes away from anyplace on the farm every single day. There aren’t many people as dedicated to agriculture as we are. I don’t know if that is good or bad,� Finocchiaro jokes.
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