PERFECTING PUMPKINS. Bobby Fifer says pumpkins probably wouldn’t be growing on his family farm if they hadn’t switched to no-till about 20 years ago at the nearly 100-year-old Fifer Orchards near Camden-Wyoming, Del. The 3,000-acre operation is host to about 300 acres of tree fruits like peaches and apples. They also raise asparagus, tomatoes, sweet corn, kale, cauliflower, grain corn and soybeans.
If it weren't for no-tilling, the Fifer family would have gotten out of the pumpkin business long ago, says Bobby Fifer.
When he was a child, his family started with about 5 acres of pumpkins on Fifer Orchards in Camden-Wyoming, Del. Growing up, his family became contract growers for a company in North Carolina, which provided them with enough demand to slowly climb to 100 acres about 20 years ago.
But their forward progress was…
The National Strip-Tillage Conference returns August 8-9, 2024! Build and refine your strip-till system with dozens of new ideas and connections at the 11th Annual National Strip-Tillage Conference in Madison, Wis. Aug. 8-9, 2024. Experience an energizing 2-day agenda featuring inspiring general session speakers, expert-led Strip-Till Classrooms and collaborative Strip-Till Roundtables. Plus, Certified Crop Adviser credits will be offered.
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Georgetown, Del., no-tiller Jay Baxter was planning on conducting a cover crop experiment with oats, but when Mother Nature got in the way, he quickly pivoted to another idea for a different type of cover crop experiment.
