April 2019 - 14
Dustin and Carl Grooms operate Fancy Farms, a strawberry business in Plant City,
Florida. Photos: Fancy Farms
By Gary Pullano
Managing Editor
Carl Grooms has seen a lot since he
Millions of Trees
entered the strawberry growing business in
1974. He's leaving the Plant City, Florida,
growing operation in the hands of his son,
Dustin, but has plenty of concerns about
the future of the industry in which he has
made his livelihood.
" People wonder why do we grow
Some Alternative uses of our
stakes that also have been
popular over the years:
1) Apples
2) Brambles, i.e. Blackberries
3) Tomatoes
4) Nursery and Ornamentals
5) Fencing
strawberries, " Grooms said in February
during a visit to Fancy Farms that capped
the North American Strawberry Growers
Association's (NASGA) annual meeting
that was based in Orlando. " It's because
we like to eat them. We love to walk the
fields and reach down and pick one we
know is going to be better than the last
one we tasted. It's sort of a novelty today
to be able to do that in a business that you
do everyday. I couldn't eat an eggplant, I
don't think. "
" I got old and I'm turning it over to my
son, Dustin Grooms, " Carl Grooms said.
" He's the sole manager and proprietor and
he's since started spending all my money.
That's the way it's supposed to be. "
A longtime strawberry grower in central
Florida. Carl Grooms is president and cofounder
of Fancy Farms, co-owned by he
and his wife, Dee Dee Grooms.
" Everybody's welcome on this farm, "
Carl Grooms told the NASGA visitors. " I
think since I've been here a million people
have visited this farm. We're sort of like an
international celebrity group here. If you
don't pass off what you do, nobody will ever
know what you do. "
Carl Grooms has weathered many
disappointing seasons. Harvesting usually
begins in November and ends by early
April. During the 2016-17 season, the
third-generation farmer grew 170 acres
of strawberries, down from the 230 acres
he grew in 2015-16. Grooms reduced
acreage after selling off his main farm for
development of a dry storage warehouse.
The challenges have continued during
the 2018-19 season, as was related
by Dustin Grooms during the recent
NASGA tour.
" About Thanksgiving, we start
harvesting, " Dustin said. " The last week
of November we will start getting going
and typically we should be picking berries
See FANCY, page 16
60
(570) 546-5571
(570) 279-0938
Fancy Farms uses 170 H-2A workers to complete a season's production cycle.
14 | FruitGrowersNews.com
http://www.FruitGrowersNews.com
April 2019
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