While the weather is always a topic of conversation for farmers, the extremes of weather is the biggest concern for farms such as R&R Flaim Next Generation Produce LLC of Vineland, NJ, which grow assorted herbs and many other commodities. “Our biggest challenge in growing is still just the weather and maintaining quality,” says Ryan R. Flaim. “We are always trying to keep a good quality product and that can definitely be challenging in certain weather conditions.” Weather at its extremes
It’s the lack of predictability, says Flaim, that’s the key issue. “It’s not very seasonal now. It’s just going from one season to the next and not much of a transition as far as hot and cold,” he says. “It just goes from one extreme to another. We tried switching varieties to see if that’d help a little bit but it doesn’t always help that much.”
Supply stays steady, though
That said, despite weather concerns, Flaim notes that this year’s supply of herbs is quite steady. “Supply is still pretty good,” he says. “All the herbs are available right now. And supply is a lot stronger than last year—about 15 per cent.” While currently Flaim is growing locally, soon it’ll switch over to other supply regions such as Florida. That strong supply will take R&R into the holiday season when it gets a bit of a pick up in sales and then things start to cool off again slightly in January, though its current top sellers include herbs such as cilantro, basil, dill and parsley.
For more information:
Ryan R. Flaim
R&R Flaim Next Generation Produce
Tel: +1 609-364-3034