PRODUCER PROFILE

By Barbara Wunder , FFVA communications manager

The date was May 20, several days before Memorial Day, and the sweet corn was on the move in South Florida. Sixteen semi-trailer trucks lined up at the DUDA packinghouse in Belle Glade waiting for fresh-from-the-field goodness to be shipped to retailers nationwide in time for holiday grilling.

Observing was Steve Williams, president of Knight Management, Ltd., who grew much of that corn. “We grow it and harvest it. In the loading-out area our job is done,” said Williams. The DUDA organization has processed and marketed the corn Williams grows since 1993.

Knight Management is a diversified farming operation in the Belle Glade area. The company owns about 10,000 acres on seven farms, and farm approximately 14,000 cultivated acres of sugarcane, sweet corn, green beans and sod. The cornerstone of its operation is sweet corn. Sam Knight Sr., a progressive vegetable farmer who passed away in 1992, founded the company in the 1940s. “Later on, we restructured the company and formed the various divisions. So now the operational unit is Knight Management Inc.,” said Williams. “And we have a real estate holding company.”

PLANNING FOR MEMORIAL DAY

Steve Williams of Knight Manage- ment watches corn his company grew leave the DUDA Belle Glade facility.

In order to grow all that corn in time for Memorial Day, Williams’ crews begin planting on New Year’s Day. The company mitigates its frost exposure by stepping up plantings in order to build up to the volume needed for the holiday. “The weather’s been bad this year, but we’ve been able to cover our numbers. It was close, though,” said Williams.

Once the corn is “silking,” the key pollination stage, it is ready in about 20 days. “That information goes into a computer spreadsheet so we know how much corn can be expected when,” said Williams. “That way the sales people know how much they can sell and when it’ll be ready.”

After picking, field trucks bring in the crates of corn to the DUDA packinghouse/cooling facility. Quantities are entered into the computer to keep track of inventory. The corn is immediately cooled before being loaded onto trucks. In the cooler, water is sprayed in a fine mist over the corn to keep it fresh and ready for the trucks. And quality control personnel randomly pull samples to check for quality before crates are loaded.

Knight Management utilizes a sophisticated land use plan. “We rotate the land between the different crops,” said Williams. “We’ll grow three crops of cane on a piece of land and then we’ll plant green beans or sweet corn. Then that land will most likely go back to sugar cane the following year. Basically, we’ll get a crop of sugar cane, and then we’ll cut that between October and January. Then we plant in January for our spring crops.” That land is flooded during the off season to prepare the ground and eliminate any nematodes.

Sod is different. “There’s no rotation in the sod land. Sod land is good for four to five years,” Williams said. The company also owns a 2,000-acre ranch with 750-plus head of cattle in Indian River County and 180 acres of citrus groves in Polk County.

HELPING TO DEVELOP NEW VARIETIES

Workers rush to pick sweet corn before rain moves in.

Knight Management also does its part in the development of new and better varieties of sweet corn, working with several seed companies on seed trials. “First and foremost, we’re looking for seedling vigor, which is the heartiness of a plant. The better the seedling vigor, the better chance you’re not going to lose plants.” said Williams.

“We’re also aiming for a harvest-friendly ear – a nice medium size without too much shank, which is hard to pack, so you don’t get your count. And, of course, it has to taste good. The person who writes the last check in this business is who you have to please.”
 

HAPPY GRILLING

Back at the cooler, rain clouds were moving in, but Williams looked pleased. “I don’t have the exact numbers, but DUDA may be setting some records in the last couple of days. They’ll ship till four in the morning some days. Hopefully we’ll sell about 1.3 million crates before the market moves up to Georgia.”

And that’s a lot of delicious grilling enjoyed over the holiday weekend.