The Fruit Growers News - October 2002

Dedication to agriculture, the different talents of the three owners, and a little imagination have placed Parks Blueberries in Ontario on the road to success. The business is located just over an hour’s drive east of Detroit.

As the head of Canada’s top agricultural seed company, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Bill Parks brings experience and a willingness to invest to the business. Diane Parks, his wife, has flair for retail sales and adding value to the 31 acres of blueberries grown at the operation. Bruce Parks, their son, has a critical eye when it comes to marketing opportunities and pitfalls.

“If you take pride in what you do, if you put in a genuine effort, it increases tremendously the amount of success, or luck, you’ll have,” Bruce says.

The Parks have long recognized that farming is a tough business. Margins are often thin. Weather or disease can destroy a crop and marketing is a substantial challenge.

Still, the family members remains resolute.

“Bill has always felt that if you believe in agriculture, you should invest in agriculture... The earth, the soil and the land is the only tangible thing that we have,” Diane Parks says.

Bruce Parks likes those ideals but sometimes finds it difficult to remain upbeat. One of those times came over a six-day period this past May when freezing temperatures threatened to destroy the entire crop. He remembers long nights manning the overhead irrigation equipment.

“The bushes were caked over with half an inch of ice on Monday, May 20,” he says.

May Freeze
The ice, Bruce Parks explains, was applied in order to protect the plants. Had the temperature dipped a couple degrees lower, to 24 degrees F, the effort would have been wasted.

“There are lots of challenges in this business and there are a lot of obstacles. I do a little of everything around here and sometimes I actually do it right.

“I would not say we’re as successful as some people think. There are some days when I think it would be better to have raised 400 acres of cash crops.”

The Parks planted their first 10 acres of blueberries in 1978. The first good harvest came in 1984. It’s well known in industry circles that blueberries take several years to establish but can survive for years with the right management and a little luck.

Bruce Parks says sufficient capitalization is important to get things up and running and to pay for such expenses as netting. Without the support of his father, he says the business would likely be significantly smaller and less diversified.

By the late 1980s, the Parks were retailing much of their crop themselves. It was a move in the right direction. Bruce says selling on the wholesale market can be a risky business as the sellers are obliged to move product or lose it and the buyers have ample opportunity to act in an unscrupulous manner.

The Parks sell both ready-picked and u-pick blueberries. Customers taking advantage of the u-pick sales are welcome to sample a few berries in the field but there seems to be a growing number of customers intent on filling their bellies on the spot while buying very little.

Other in-the-field challenges at Parks Blueberries include the birds that feed on the crop, weather, and disease and pest pressure. Netting solves the bird problem but was an expensive solution. Most diseases and pests can be controlled through good management although certain diseases can be devastating.

There’s also a challenge in coordinating the efforts of close to 30 employees during the peak season - July and August. The doors are open at Parks Blueberries from May 1 to Dec. 24.

The family has good luck with their blueberry-based business despite some setbacks. Ventures into raspberries and apples failed. Excessive warm temperatures followed by a cold snap destroyed the operation’s summer-bearing raspberries this past winter. Fire blight put an end to the apple enterprise.

Bruce says that consumer concerns over chemical control measures are largely exaggerated. The berries at Parks Blueberries are tested as many as three times year by government personnel and results have never exceeded established guidelines, he says.

Diane plays a leading role in the bakery, processing facility, retail outlet, and restaurant. It’s something that’s evolved since the Parks first began retailing blueberries. The diversification draws a greater number of people to their operation, than if sales were concentrated in just one area alone, the family feels.

She likes to take a couple trusted employees with her when she visits trade shows specializing in the type of items Parks carries - everything from kitchen utensils to decorative farm equipment signs. When it comes to moving merchandise, it’s the opinion of the buyers that count, not your personal preference, she says.

Idea Exchange
Diane says their membership in the Ontario Farm Fresh Association and the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association is also helpful. Both organizations bring farmers together to exchange ideas, talking about everything from store layouts and product presentation to employee relations and variety selection. The Parks have participated in several tours sponsored by the two groups.

“It’s immensely helpful when we talk to each other,” she says.

There’s also a good working relationship among the Parks family members. It’s taken a long time to build their business and they like the independence it fosters.

“The biggest benefit is we can have some years when we can make some money and we can have some fun... There’s a real satisfaction in that,” Bruce said.