By Clint Thompson
Watermelon acreage is expected to increase next spring in the Suwanee Valley Region in North Florida. A successful 2023 season has prompted producers to consider increasing their crop when planting begins in February.
Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, spoke at the Suwanee Valley Watermelon Institute meeting in Fanning Springs, Florida, on Nov. 30. He discussed the ramifications of what increased acreage would mean for his producers.
Marketing Impact
“It’s never surprising after a really good year for whatever that crop is, especially if it’s in the annual vegetable category, for there to be an interest in increased acres the following year. Watermelons are certainly a perfect example of this,” Hochmuth said. “I would maintain that it’s tempered a little bit from what it used to be because the buyers, brokers and marketers, they can only move so many. If you and I decide we want to go from 200 acres to 400 acres, we’ve got to have the cooperation of somebody to move those.
“The grower is dependent on someone to do the marketing for them. That person that’s doing the marketing for them has got to be on the same frame with them if they’re going to increase in acreage. They can’t make that decision on their own anymore, because they’re not the ones moving the watermelons. You can grow 600 acres if you want, but if the broker that you’re used to working with only has the capacity to sell 200 acres, then what are you going to do with the rest of it?”
North Florida growers capitalized last spring on a late start by Georgia producers and lack of supply to conduct multiple harvests across their fields. Florida producers also took advantage of an early planting window in late February which allowed for earlier harvests.
“There’s no question that it appears as though there will be some increase in acreage in this particular region. If you take this area and say there’s 8,000 acres and you get 500 acres more, it gets to be a pretty significant increase all of a sudden,” Hochmuth said.