Delaware fruit, vegetable growers hold annual business meeting

Seaford farmer Gary Calloway could not attend the annual meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association of Delaware on Jan. 11, when his family was named 2023 Farm Family of the Year. His wife, Jackie, accepted the award, flanked by sons Grant, left, and Jacob, right. With them are Grant’s fiancé, Amanda Mrohs, and Jacob’s wife, Melissa, with their sons Jaxon, 1, and Brooks, age 3. (Photo courtesy Calloway family) Above, John Gundry, who operated Mernie’s Market in Blades, Delaware, for 25 years, was honored Jan. 11 for Distinguished Service to the fruit and Vegetable Growers Association of Delaware. (Photo by Carol Kinsley)

HARRINGTON, Del. — Three awards were presented by the Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association of Delaware at its annual award luncheon and business meeting Jan. 11, during Delaware Ag Week. The luncheon was held at the Harrington Raceway and Casino.
Presenting the first award, FVGAD President Shane Marvel said the families had been asked to provide their own biographies.
John Gundry was honored for Distinguished Service to the FVGAD. Gundy started growing vegetables as a teenager on the family farm, Walnut Landing, in the Woodland area outside of Seaford. When he was 16, his father gave him an acre to grow whatever he wanted. He grew fresh market tomatoes, later purchasing a 1946 Chevy truck to haul tomatoes to wholesale markets in Baltimore. The quality of his produce was always his top priority and he developed great relationships with his customers.
He diversified his crops, adding watermelon and cantaloupes which he hauled to the Laurel auction block. Sweet corn was added, and processing tomatoes for local canneries.
In 1960, Gundry married Blanche Massey. Their children are Tami and Tony.
In 1976, John launched a school bus business to allow year-round income. Six years later, he cut the tops off his two oldest buses to haul processing tomatoes and watermelons. He got lots of laughs at the Laurel auction, because they’d never seen anything like that before. Today, old school buses are the standard transportation for melons.
In 1987, the Gundrys opened Mernie’s Market in Blades, named for Blanche’s sister. The produce market operated successfully for 25 years.
As nearby canneries began to close a few years later, the family turned from processing tomatoes to sweet corn, cabbage and tomatoes for produce stands and grocery stores, as well as wholesale markets in Baltimore and New Jersey. At its peak, the operation employed nearly 50 people, including bus drivers who also worked on the farm.
Gundry attributed the success of the farm not just to his leadership but to the many people who have worked with him, including “many great employees with different skills and personalities.”
He also credited the University of Delaware Extension. His biographical submission concluded: “However, the one who kept him going was the love of his life, Blanche Gundry of 56 years of marriage.”
Dr. Gordon Johnson, University of Delaware Extension fruit and vegetable specialist, presented a second Distinguished Service Award, this one for service to the industry, to Dr. Mark VanGessel, professor and Extension specialist for Weed/Crop Management at the University of Delaware, stationed at the Carvel Research and Education Center in Georgetown.
VanGessel grew up in Grand Rapids, Mich. He was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in southern Africa, the served as graduate research assistant in weed science at Michigan State University and North Carolina State University, where he earned his doctorate in weed science. He was research post-doctoral associate with Dr. Philip Westra at Colorado State University before coming to the University of Delaware in 1995. He has served on the Delaware Invasive Species Council and presently serves on Delaware’s Noxious Weed Committee and the NRCS Cover Crop Committee. In addition, he has served the Northeastern Weed Science Society of America, from whom he has won several awards, and the International Weed Science Society where he has served extensively in many roles.
“He is important to Extension and an asset to the industry,” Johnson said.
VanGessel commented that he appreciated cooperation from the vegetable industry over the years. “We are not done yet,” he said. “Winning an award like this is a team effort.”
Marvel returned to the podium to present the 2023 FVGAD Farm Family of the Year Award to the Gary Calloway family of Seaford.
Calloway, owner and founder of Calloway Farms, is a first-generation farmer. At the age of 15 he began growing tomatoes, cantaloupes and watermelons on 10 acres of his grandparents’ property in Dorchester County, Md.
Just after graduating from high school in 1983, he purchased 100 acres of land on Baker Mill Road in Seaford. He added white sweet corn to his produce line and began selling tomatoes and produce in season to the Burger King in Seaford, where he met his wife-to-be, Jackie. They’ve been married 32 years.
Their sons, Grant and Jacob, grew up playing a part in the farming process and are now managing partners of the business. The farm has grown to 274 owned acres and another 300 rented acres.
Grant and his fiancé, Amanda, and Jacob and his wife, Melissa, as well as their sons Brooks and Jaxon, all live on the farm in Seaford.
“We feel extremely blessed by God to be part of the farming industry and look forward to continued growth with generations to come,” said Jackie Calloway, who accepted the award in her husband’s absence.
Dr. Emmalea Ernest, scientist in UD’s Extension Vegetable and Fruit Program, wrapped up the meeting with an invitation.
“We got a specialty crops grant which will allow us to cover the annual subscription fee for the Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA). This will make the service available to all growers in Delaware and provide educational opportunities to help growers know how to use the information NEWA provides.
“We are looking to add some weather stations to the network to fill in gaps, although the DEOS (Delaware Environmental Observing System) network that feeds into NEWA now is already quite dense.”
Ernest said they are is specifically seeking farms on the western side of the state willing to hook up to the NEWA network. NEWA gives end users free access to 40 IPM, crop management, and degree day tools driven by weather data from weather stations primarily located on farms.