Ever dreamt of shaking off the city life, quitting your job, and farming full-time? Talk to Rod Skow and his wife Rosemary. Rod, a Circuit Court Stenographer and Rosemary, a school teacher started Skow’s Berry Farm part-time in 1976. After retirement, they made this their full-time passion, operating a conventional farm on 20 acres of land in Adrian, Michigan. Talk about living the dream.
Skow’s Berry Farm employs four part time hands to help them grow their main crop: 30 different varieties of plums. They also pride themselves on selling only what they grow and have crops of peaches, apples, cherries, sweet corn, tomatoes, and zucchini. The farm operates a roadside stand where locals can purchase the freshest produce.
Over the years, Skow’s Berry Farm collected a mismatched collection of corrugated boxes and trays to help with harvest. But due to the smaller size of their operation, Skow’s Berry Farm found the trays too large, unstackable, and not suited for their needs. They needed a harvesting and storage solution that used less space in-and-out of their cooler that stacked safely and looked great on the roadside stand.
Skow’s Berry Farm chose the InterCrate 4.5 because the farm harvests their produce at high maturity. The 4.5 is a shallower crate, so soft fruits and veggies like plums and tomatoes store in a single layer to reduce damage. The 4.5 also delivers faster cooling because the ventilation pattern on all sides keeps air moving. The ventilation pattern also provides maximum water drainage, a definite benefit for small produce like beans and berries.
“The InterCrate 4.5 has been a dream to handle. Their ease of handling and stacking has been so much better than what we were using. They are the perfect storage solution for our fruits and vegetables,” says owner, Rod Skow.
“The InterCrate 4.5 stacks securely when full, nests efficiently when empty, and takes up less space, a serious benefit for small operations like Skow’s Berry Farm”, says Bradley Fry, InterCrate Account Manager. “The durable plastic, combined with the ventilation pattern, make cleaning easy after customers snap up produce.”
Click here to learn more about InterCrates designed for your fruit and vegetables. And if you’re in the Adrian, Michigan area, stop by the Skow’s Berry Farm.