|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|
American Fruit Grower January, 1976 Paul McPherson, 1976 National Peach Council President
Working in his packinghouse, Paul McPherson readies for shipment peaches packed in new "indestructible" boxes with the Maple Lawn Farms identification. "We Must Work Together" Promotion, hard work, and cooperation among growers should be the highest priorities for 1976, says the new president of National peach Council, a man who practices what he preaches. Running the highly integrated and diversified Maple Lawn Farms for 14 years has made 33-year-old Paul McPherson cognizant of the fact that individual producers and the industry they represent must work together. "What helps the grower helps the industry and vice versa," he contends. McPherson's 175 acres of peach trees take up only a percentage of his time and energies, which are also directed toward the production of 1000 acres of field corn; the operation of a 150,000 bushel capacity grain elevator complex where he does custom drying and storing; fertilizer and chemical dealership that entails custom applications; and a 10-acre leased PYO apple orchard. Buying and selling is an everyday decision-making process for the new president of National Peach Council, who stays on top of market information in fruit, grain, and chemicals with a barrage of periodicals and telephone contacts. The high level of integration inhis grain operation attests to the importance McPherson places on bjying wholesale and selling retail wherever possible. In the elevator business, he buys and sells grain; on the production end he grows, harvest, and controls the inputs of chemicals and fertilizers with his dealership; and before sale he dries and stores his own and other farmers' grain. Except for field machinery, he is completely integrated vertically. Inside the grain and fertilizer trades, McPherson has witnessed what can be done when an industry intends to reap a return on its investment from business and time. As NPC president he hopes to offer that incentive to the fruit growers who make up the national federation. Aware that most growers in the peach industry know the ropes of production, McPherson believes NPC's job should go beyond production education. He thinks that marketing the highly perishable commodity is a topic of concern that has too long been glossed over. "Finally NPC is in a position where it can afford to assist the producer in the marketing of his crop," he says. "It's a myth that a good peach will sell itself. Something's got to sell it to the customers; something's got to spark their demand. "Here at our farm, we've been promoting the industry for the past four years in our retail operation with all sorts of literature, which we write and publish. That's something NPC should and could be helping all growers to do from California to New Jersey and Georgia to Michigan." The McPhersons have initiated two unique promotion festivals to whet the appetites and appreciation of the public for peaches: an April Peach Blossom Festival and a Labor Day Peachilicious Weekend celebration. They intend to make both annual events. 2001 note: Those events went on for 12 years, and stopped in 1987, a year when there were no peaches. Although they have nothing to sell in April, Paul and wife Gail use blossom time as a means to show the public a bit of the business, create a country fair atmosphere, and involve community organizations in fund raising. Peach desserts, ice cream, beverages, peachy dogs, and crafts dominate the harvest festival over Labor Day in an effort to promote serving suggestions for the highly perishable fresh peach. "It was amazing to me how many people had never eaten peach shortcake!" notes Gail. "This first year, rain dampened our attendance at both events, but we involved people who will be back next year, and we've learned from some first run mistakes. We hope to grow." Through her PEACH JOURNAL and APPLE TIMES, Gail reaches over 5000 families three to four times each year with interesting information about production practices, farm personnel, fruit uses, and nutritional tidbits. She is presently writing and compiling a peach cookbook to be released during harvest, 1976. Her Peachilicious Social" brochure, from which the McPhersons took ideas for their Labor Day weekend, was available fro purchase this season. Gail says, "We use these publications to describe production problems and procedures, explain the goodness of the fruit, show new ways to use peaches and MLF apples, and also mention, of course, where and when each is available. After all, if we can't sell our peaches in a few days one way or another, they don't do anyone any good." The McPherson's commitment to marketing keeps Gail backed up with deadlines from July through mid-October. Once Paul and she have decided on their emphasis for the season, she must compose the news brochures for mailing and get them to the printer camera-ready. She also draws up the eight-week advertising campaign for peach season and the six-week campaign for MLF apples for duplication and gets them in the mail weekly with any additions or changes the season dictates. Having been a journalism teacher, Gail has no problem transferring her knowledge to the farm needs, but her husband realizes that not all growers are as lucky as he in this respect. "Here's an area where NPC could really benefit every fruit grower," he affirms. "With a purchased stock inventory, NPC could distribute advertising aids and graphics, peach facts, and point of purchase materials, at cost, to growers upon request. IT should even be possible to have some creative promotion ideas or slogans or graphics distributed nationally to help both the grower and retailer with material to increase consumer cognizance and to really sell peaches all over the country through the harvest seasons. "Now is the time to move on this kind of a program to capitalize NPC in a way that will help everyone that sells peaches. It would be the greatest thing since the switchover from baskets to boxes," Paul asserts. He also envisions expansion of the existing feature releases from the NPC office to food editors throughout the fresh market season. "We need to increase the demand for peaches above the current supply of peaches," he emphasizes. "our home economist needs more material that can be used by widely read publications and popular shows. Right now she is limited to about five black and white photos to accompany the copy she sends out for newly developed recipe serving suggestions. Color photographs, though more expensive, would have better acceptance. Even closer to the heart of every grower's needs, Paul sees NPC as an active combatant of the OSHA and EPA syndrome of regulations that have cost grower and consumer alike many unnecessary dollars. "If we could just work to cut one or two of the most oppressive
programs, we would save millions of dollars for everyone. Until now we have had
barely enough travel money for our Executive Secretary to do business for us in
Washington DC," he sighs. The McPhersons make it a practice to sell their peaches in every conceivable manner possible, wherever there is a buyer, and they actively seek new markets to keep the wheels rolling under their harvested fruit until the last peach is packed and on its way. That means they pack for shipping through the broker who procures them the best market price with the least possibility of problems along the way; they sell tree-ripened peaches from their packing shed market; they ship to roadside stands; they sell to local truckers trades; they offer PYO peaches from their own orchards; in some instances they ship in build to a processor; and they are lining up cooperative buyer markets for next season. The entire family pulls together with about eight fulltime men, two dozen packing house workers, and 30 or more migrant pickers to move the crop each year. 2001 note: Our employee force has been drastically reduced for production, but increased for the maze. Paul's mother is president of the family corporation and the full-time bookkeeper. In addition to advertising and promotion, Gail is the office secretary and a newspaper reporter. She handles seasonal cash payrolls and conducts tours for school groups. Three-year-old Gretchen has been learning to sort for two seasons and helps on weekends to give out "freebees" to the children who come with parents to pick their own fruit. Hugh, one, still watches with keen interest from his back pack on Mom, eyeing the fork lift for the time when he'll be big enough to operate it, or he keeps track of orchard customers from his bulk bin play pen. During peach season mail lays unopened for weeks at a time. Lunch is a steady diet of hamburgers in the packing house office for the four McPhersons; and the children get carted from the packing house to the orchards on errands for parts and printed material before, during and after naps. Paul insists that his prospective job as NPC president will prove a real strain on his time, especially when the normal off-season for fruit growers is full for him with grain and fertilizer obligations. "The only thing worth all the hassle will be if I can in some small way help the industry to help itself and in the long run thereby help myself and Maple Lawn Farms. "As Max Brunk of Cornell University so aptly put it, "True responsibility to an industry is a selfish responsibility. It may be likened to a flock of ducks./ Individual grower ( or shipper or processor) welfare depends more on where the flock is than on where the individual is within the flock. "I submit that much of your success is not of your own doing. To a very great extent you are merely a beneficiary of an industry position built out of the combined actions of all participants. Perhaps this is the missing element. Perhaps too many of us are trying to do it alone. In today's competitive economy a stray duck is a dead duck." "Helping Peaches Happen," the theme of the 1976 National Peach Council Convention, focuses attention on the alternatives available to the grower as he relates to the industry and the industry as it relates to its constituents. The Directors' meeting Saturday, February 21, will be an historic one,
according to Paul, as the direction of the organization will be decided. The
meeting is open to all members. |
Copyright © 1999-2001 Maple Lawn Entertainment, Inc.
| ||||||||
