Competition Fuels Camaraderie of Neighboring Farmers

July 9, 1997

Elizabethtown, NC: Since they are both small-scale farmers growing vegetables, and since they live practically in each other's backyard and target the same market, one might expect that Herbert Sasser and Ernest Gause are rivals. Not so, says Edwin Elkins, an agriculture technician with the NC A&T Cooperative Extension Program.

"Competition isn't always bad and can actually be an advantage for small scale farmers," said Elkins. "When customers come to either of these places and can't find what they want, they can always go next door and get it. If one doesn't have it, chances are that the other one will."

The Bladen County farms owned and operated by Sasser and Gause were recently featured on a tour, which included stops at small farms, rural enterprises and an in-school gardening program, hosted by the North Carolina A&T State University Cooperative Extension Program. It was also because of their ability to serve a particular market with high-quality produce that Elkins recommended the two farms for inclusion on the tour.

"If farmers offer quality at a reasonable price and have it year after year, then customers will come and get it," said Elkins.

Both retirees, Sasser and Gause draw upon their experience and knowledge to guide their successful operations.

Described by many as the "pumpkin king of Bladen County," Gause attributes his high yields of quality pumpkins to timing in planting. "Late planting is the key," said Gause. "I plant in late June or early July to avoid exposing the pumpkins to high temperatures."

While the mainstay on Gause's farm is large pumpkins, he also grows vegetables such as corn, collards and smaller, ornamental pumpkins.

On the other side of the fence, Sasser uses the knowledge he gained from years of farming row crops to plan for the demands of the variety of produce he grows, including watermelons, corn, pumpkins and potatoes.

"I pretty much manage everything on my own," the 75-year-old Sasser told the more than 70 tour participants as they visited his 20-acre operation outside of Elizabethtown. "Except for some of the harvesting and planting, I do everything myself."

According to Dr. John M. O'Sullivan, a farm management and marketing specialist with the NC A&T Cooperative Extension Program, quality and a proximity to each other are the main reasons behind Sasser's and Gause's success.

"They have both built a reputation for quality," said O'Sullivan. "Because of this, people can justify the effort required to come out and buy from them. Also like a shopping mall or farmer's market, the fact that they are next door to each other increases the consumer's expectations that they will be able to find something of interest and not come back empty handed. Together they provide a 'critical mass' of quantity as well as quality."

- 30 -

For more information, please contact Edwin Elkins, agriculture technician with North Carolina's Cooperative Extension Program in Bladen County, ( 910) 862-4591.