Blackberries, watermelon, sweet corn and tomatoes are just few of the approximately two dozen fruits and vegetables Arkansas growers will be marketing this spring and summer, and they say quality should be excellent.
Consumers always enjoy the Natural State's strawberries, but that short-lived crop was to wind down by the end of May, growers said.
“The strawberries this year were fantastic,” said Karen Reynolds, grants and program manager for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Arkansas Grown program.
There are plenty of other tasty offerings to savor.
Peebles Organic Farms, Augusta, Ark., has added buckwheat, sea island white flint corn, benne seed and petite rouge peas to its crop rotation this year, said Shawn Peebles, owner and operator.
“Our first crop, white flint corn, will be harvested in August,” he said. “The others will follow.”
The company currently is shipping organic sweetpotatoes, which will see a 17% increase in volume this year.
“Growing conditions have been excellent,” Peebles said. “We hope to have a bountiful harvest of all the crops this year, and they are great quality.”
Lonoke, Ark.-based Barnhill Orchards has a drive-thru operation on its property where local residents can pick up a variety of fresh spring/summer produce, says Ekko Barnhill, who handles sales and marketing for the business. (Photo courtesy of Barnhill Orchards )
Lonoke, Ark.-based Barnhill Orchards, which provides lettuce for a local burger chain and services eight major restaurants, some small markets, farmers markets and sells directly to consumers at its drive-thru operation, launched a raspberry program using cross-arm trellises last year “that went exceptionally well,” said Ekko Barnhill, who handles sales and marketing.
“I think we had five different varieties, and they came off excellent,” she said.
The company also plans to plant more of the small, black diamond variety watermelons this year.
“Hopefully, we'll have them all summer for our customers,” Barnhill said. They'll be available starting July 4.
Barnhill Orchards also has increased strawberry production from 5 acres to 8 acres to handle a growing customer base, she said.
She also expects to have a good peach crop this summer, thanks in part to a plentiful supply of water.
Other items include corn, cantaloupe, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, green leaf lettuce, red Pontiac potatoes, cabbage, broccoli and Vidalia sweet onions.
Ranalli Farms, Tontitown, Ark., offers grapes, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers, said Chris Ranalli, an owner of the family operation that specializes in farm-to-consumer sales.
The tomato harvest is expected to start sometime between July 10-20, depending on weather conditions and location, Ranalli said.
Wet weather this spring was delaying planting except for the company's high-tunnel program, which was added this year.
Ranalli Farms grows cherry, roma and regular slicing tomatoes along with some yellow tomatoes, he said.
The squash and cucumber harvest was expected to start by late May and continue into August.
“Everything looks pretty good so far,” Ranalli said in early May.
Ranalli's 7 acres of red grapes, which he said grow especially well in Arkansas' climate, will be harvested during August and September. It was too early in May to know what their quality will be.
“Our weather is very unpredictable,” he said. “A lot of things can happen,” such as a late freeze or hailstorm that could wipe out an entire crop.
“Right now, everything looks fairly good,” he said in May.
Like grower-shippers nationwide, Arkansas producers are coping with inflation.
Inflation “absolutely” has affected sales at Peebles Organic Farms, Peebles said.
Although he expected consumers who currently purchase organic produce from the grocery store to continue to do so, he said inflation likely is to blame for a drop in sales of processed items.
Prices likely will be up somewhat from last year as farming expenses rise, he said.
Inflation hasn't kept the state from promoting Arkansas-grown fruits and vegetables.
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture hosted an event June 6 in Little Rock during which Secretary Wes Ward presented the governor's proclamation declaring June 9-15 as Arkansas Farmers Market Week, Reynolds said.
Print ads promoting Arkansas specialty crops will run from June through August.
Finally, the second edition of the Arkansas Grown Conference & Expo in January was a resounding success, Reynolds said. This year's event was held at the Hot Springs Convention Center and hosted 600 growers, vendors and speakers from 23 states — a jump from 450 people from 16 states at the first conference in Little Rock in 2023.
The conference offered a variety of educational and networking opportunities.
“We got great feedback,” Reynolds said, adding that an even better conference is planned for next year.