Asparagus Business Runs On Honer System

Asparagus Business Runs On Honer System CROPS New Crops 27-4-6 Three acres of asparagus and the honor system of marketing make a good combination on Mark and Linda Smith's farm near Edinburg, Ill. The Smiths grow asparagus in an area that used to be barn lots and nearby dairy pasture. When the crop is in full swing, they pull the asparagus twice a day. Linda says they prefer pulling asparagus to cutting because cutting can damage the roots and also because it takes more time than pulling. They converted a small milk room building attached to a barn, into an asparagus packaging facility where the freshly pulled asparagus is cleaned. The asparagus is then stored in an honor system refrigerator. Customers come in and pick up what they want and then slip the money in a cash box. The Smiths established their asparagus patch back in 1989. They have not applied additional fertilizer, but production has held up well. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark and Linda Smith, 17 Sunnyside St., Edinburg, Ill. (ph 217 623-4048).

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