September 2019 - 7

attentive to what you're doing and try to
predict things that are going to happen
and then also try to figure out solutions
- if it's possible - with the tools that you
have, " he said.
Help from friends
Obern attributes his success to his
colleagues, friends and customers who
have helped him over the years. One
example is getting an enviable contract to
grow peppers for the Pace salsa company
in the 1990s - a turning point for the farm.
C&B Farms
by the acres
In total - both conventionally
and organically - C&B Farms
grows 30 different vegetables
and herbs on 1,500 acres.
Here are the yields of some
of its staple crops, according
to a press release from the
Sunbelt Ag Expo:
* Cilantro: 300 acres
yielding 1,000 cases per
acre.
* Radishes: 200 acres
yielding 1,200 cases per
acre.
* Organic green beans:
200 acres yielding 150
cases per acre.
* Green cabbage: 150
acres yielding 1,000
cases per acre.
* Basil: 100 acres of basil
yielding 6,450 pounds
per acre.
* Culinary herbs: 90 acres
yielding 7,500 pounds
per acre.
* Napa cabbage: 60 acres
yielding 650 cases per
acre.
* Bok choy: 60 acres
yielding 700 cases per
acre.
" By 1992, I was up to 60 acres of a parttime
farm, and we always grew jalapeños
on this part-time farm, and we just grew
a lot more of them, " he said. " Pace Foods
used a lot of jalapeños in their hot sauce,
so they made the decision. They had the
need and they had been buying jalapeños
from us in bin boxes, so they already had
been a buyer, but not in a big way. And
that's when they made the decision that
they liked what they saw and they needed
a grower that could provide a large
quantity of product. So that's when the
owner contacted me and offered me this
option. It was fantastic. "
He reflected on that opportunity.
" You've got to get a lot of breaks as you
grow, and a lot of people have to help
you, " he said. " It's not about me; it's
about all the people who helped me
along my journey. I have many, many
people all the way from the beginning
who helped me to be where I'm at. "
He said there were too many helpers
over the years to count. A few examples:
Immokalee neighbors Cecil Howell and
Jerry Rainwaters laid plastic for him, and
let him borrow fuel on evenings when he
would tend to his part-time farm. Eva Webb
helped him secure his first commercial loan.
Dr. David C. Brown III, a former farmer
who's now an eye doctor, once gave Obern a
handshake deal to buy farm equipment, and
with very favorable terms: annual payments
after harvest for three years.
Obern repeated: " It's not really about me.
It's about everybody along the path. " VGN
Charles Obern harvests baby bok choy. Photo: Janelle Folk/Janelle's Photography
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VGN | SEPTEMBER 2019 | 7

September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2019