Smoky Mountain Family Farms starting organic program
Smoky Mountain Family Farms, Newport, Tenn., has started up an organic program.
The company began shipping organic round and roma tomatoes this month and will be shipping organic watermelons in mid-September. Volumes are very small right now since the program is just beginning, but the company aims to offer more organic options next year.
Jessup, Md.-based Pete Pappas & Sons is a partner in Smoky Mountain Family Farms and handles the marketing of its crops. Vice president of operations Paul Pappas said learning is the goal with these initial organic crops.
“The plan this year is to execute on a small scale to gain good experience without the crop getting out of hand and corrupting the entire experience,” Pappas said.
The organizations decided to get into the organic segment because they see the widespread interest in those products.
“We recognize that demand for healthy food choices is great and organics is the next level to just providing wholesome fresh vegetables,” Pappas said. “In a very short period of time, (Smoky Mountain Family Farms) has gotten a reputation as a premier grower-shipper and will be a good choice for organic buyers.”
Pete Pappas & Sons will be looking at branding for its organic line next year, Pappas said.
