Desperation has California Farmer Flying to Ohio to Sell Oranges
His wife, Joanie, grew up in Northwest Ohio, moved to California when she was fifteen, and met Steve in high school. Now 30 years later Joanie's sister still lives in Ohio, and the prices of oranges are so low in the California markets that Steve Paternoster can't make a profit.
"We started a mail order business seven years ago, but we are only able to sell 2% of our produce that way," says Steve Paternoster of their first foray into direct marketing. "The citrus industry is focused on 'designer' fruit, which looks good, but has either no taste, or tastes terrible. We grow great tasting fruit, but it doesn't look pretty. My farm would be much more profitable if I had been willing to grow "designer fruit" instead of being focused on what is important to me as a farmer, which is taste."
Desperation had Steve willing to try a small experiment, shipping four skids (or approximately 8,000 pounds) of oranges to the NW Ohio to explore the possibility of marketing his product directly. The hauler he finally found on the Internet had a 61% fuel surcharge. Steve sent his payment to someone he'd never met, and prayed that the truck would show up. It did, and his LTL was off, arriving safely 4 days later in Curtice Ohio.
Now Steve is at the Foodways Expo in Bowling Green, Ohio selling, great tasting, not so pretty oranges. "People need to understand that their food comes from a small business owner who cares about what they grow and the quality they can deliver."
Contact:
Cindy Huguley, Media Relations
diglocal@yahoo.com
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