How Howell Farming Co. Fights for Great Watermelon

By Carol Miller|March 6, 2024

About an hour southeast of Raleigh, NC, you’ll find a sweet potato and watermelon farm. Its many fields spread across Wayne County, one of the top agricultural growing regions in the South. Howell Farming Co.’s Frank Howell, Owner, and his son, Garrett Howell, face many of the same issues other growers encounter in the humid region. Labor is a perennial challenge, especially with H-2A’s adverse wage rate due to rise. And flooding storms swing through every few years, which is one reason why the farm has so many fields spread out as a hedge against disaster.

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Howell Farming Co. leaders [from right] Garrett Howell, Frank Howell, and Danny Beasley, Jr.
Photo courtesy of Howell Farming Co.
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Fusarium pressure isn’t a big problem for Howell Farming Company’s watermelon crop. Frank and Garrett Howell attribute that in part to crop rotation. It will not be in the same field for at least four years between plantings.
Photo courtesy of Howell Farming Co.
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The Howells bring in about 60 guest workers each year to plant, manage, and harvest their crops.
Photo courtesy of Howell Farming Co.
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Howell Farming Company keeps its fields covered anytime a crop is not planted. It’s a simple system using wheat as its cover crop and burning it down prior to planting. No need for extra mowers or tillage. It results in a clean field, ready for transplants.
Photo courtesy of Howell Farming Co.
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Watermelon makes everyone happy.
Photo courtesy of Howell Farming Co.

The pair have a good handle on pests like diseases and weeds. Commonsense IPM methods like crop rotation, cover crops, and variety selection keep those problems in check. Another weapon in their arsenal? Friendships.

Crop Rotation with Friends

One of the most effective ways to keep disease at a minimum is to rotate crops. But Howell Farming Co. primarily grows two crops: melons and sweet potatoes.

They have a large operation, but with those two crops dominating, their options for rotation are limited.

So, they found a novel solution.

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The Howells have lifelong friends on neighboring farms, and they coordinate with one another on crop rotation. It expands all their options well beyond their own borders.

“Say a certain field has watermelons this season,” Frank says. “The next year it may get sweet potatoes, next year may get soybean or cotton.”

Because each grower has different enough crops, that system works well for everyone. The friends rotate crops every year, and no crop will be back in the same field within four years, Garrett says. This system requires a significant amount of trust.

“It’s like your own field that year,” Frank says.

Frank and Garrett and their neighboring partners have similar standards in how to treat the land. No one leaves behind a weedy field. And everyone leaves the fields ready for the next season.

“You leave it ready to go, and they give us something that’s ready to go,” Garrett says.

The Howells swap fields primarily with three farms each year, although that number can move up in years when it’s needed. There’s no formal contract involved, just a friendly agreement.

“We get together and see what they need and tell them what we need,” Frank says. “We’ve got good relationships.”

Countering Crows

The biggest pest challenge for the Howells isn’t the usual diseases and insects. They have a good handle on IPM methods, crop rotation, and sprays that manage those issues.

“We have a huge problem with crows,” Garrett says.

Crows love watermelon. And they’re smart. You put a car-lot-type wind sock out, it scares them off. You put out speakers with raptor cries. Or use loud sounds to drive them away.

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All these methods work. For a while.

“But they figure out it’s not killing them,” Frank says.

Garrett recalls when a neighbor tried the car-lot inflatable.

“The crows sat in a tree about 100 yards away and watched it,” he says.

“Unfortunately, they’re smart birds. Highly, highly intelligent,” Frank adds.

The best deterrent has been using varieties that put out a strong canopy early on and hide the melons from view.

The Howells trial several varieties each year on about two to five acres, depending on how many trials they have underway. They look for the characteristics everyone does — yield, timing, etc. — but a good canopy cover not only keeps melons safe from crows and also offers sunburn protection.