With summer and the watermelon season in full swing, it’s apropos to reflect on the sweet watery vegetable and natural thirst quencher that reportedly is making a comeback, in terms of its market value. And yes, scientifically speaking, the watermelon is properly a vegetable, although most people consider it a fruit. But to the point: In the June issue of Florida Agriculture (FA), the monthly publication of the Florida Farm Bureau, it’s reported that “market trends in recent years reveal a new surge in consumer demand” for watermelons. The article cites a Cornell University study, which found that as of 2012, the average adult consumed 15 pounds of watermelon annually, compared with 13.8 pounds in 2000. In tandem with this finding, the FA reports that Florida farmers have augmented their per-acre productivity “by more than 36 percent,” while “the value of the state’s watermelon sales has tripled since 2003.” Florida, in fact, is top ranked in the nation for the production of watermelons, accounting for 27 percent of the country’s total watermelon crop. Figures from the Florida Department of Agriculture (FDOA) attest to the increased production and value of the state’s watermelon crops in recent years. Consider: In 2010, Florida’s watermelon growers produced 7,503,000 lbs. of the “fruit,” with a unit price of $15 per 100 pounds or hundredweight, and a production value of $112,545,000.
In 2011, production increased to 7,564,000 lbs., but the unit price slipped to $14.80 per hundredweight, accounting for a slight drop in the production value to $111,947,000. In 2012, production fell to 7,464,000 lbs., but the unit price rose to $18.50 per hundredweight, pushing the production value upwards to $138,084,000. And in 2013, production rose to 7,750,000 lbs. and the unit price went up to $25, accounting for a production value of $193,750,000. The figures for 2014 are not yet available, but the FDOA’s preliminary estimate for the current year is a production value of $194 million, according to the FA article. Among the factors cited for improving the watermelons market are the development of seedless varieties of watermelons, experimentations with color and texture, and a marketing campaign by the FDOA to promote watermelon consumption. The FA article ends with an observation by John Vansickle, a food economist at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Vansickle makes the point that “watermelon production is returning to a volume it enjoyed more than a decade ago.” “If anything is bringing this product back to market, it is the return that growers have seen in the last couple of years,” Vansickle is quoted saying. The FA article even quotes Madison County farmer Richard Terry, who offers that the current watermelon prices have caught growers’ attention. “Farmers are looking for something that will give them an opportunity to make at least some profit,” Terry is quoted saying. “One of the reasons is the decline in other commodity prices.” All told, the Terrys -- Richard and son Henry -- have been growing watermelons in Madison County about 35 years.
But unlike neighboring Jefferson County, which once boasted more than 2,000 acres planted in watermelons and was known as the watermelon seed capital of the world, Madison’s watermelon production has always been smaller and more measured, if steady. His dad, Henry says, would plant about 40 or so acres in the ‘70s and ‘80s; and he himself started growing about the same acreage in watermelons about 1992-93, “and been growing them ever since.” As for Madison’s overall acreage planted in watermelon, typically it’s been about the same from year to year, Henry says. “It’s been pretty steady,” he says. “It hasn’t been a pile.” How many acres exactly? “I’d say about 150 acres of market melons,” Henry says, adding that this number doesn’t reflect those who plant a couple of acres in watermelons every year for peddling purposes, roadside sales or personal consumption. “Almost every year someone jumps in the market and then jumps out again, but it’s about two or three watermelon growers at any one time,” he says. As for a resurgence of the melon market, it may be a fact in south and central Florida, which Henry calls a different world from north Florida. But it’s not so locally, he says. He notes that the watermelon season starts in the lower part of the state and moves upwards. Thus, watermelons from the central and south parts of the state hit the market early, when the penned-up demand is high.
“The first melons are the cat’s meow,” Henry says. By the time the market reaches upstate into north Florida, however, much of the initial demand has been satisfied, causing the price to drop. In fact, he notes, the market is down at present. “It’s an 8 to 9-cent market,” Henry says. Does that mean he’ll barely break even? “We’ll make a little bit,” he says. “But it’s nothing to get excited about. I’m proud of any increase at any time. But the market’s nothing to write home about right now.”