Jay Schmidt
Chickasaw County farmer Jay Schmidt wants to leave a lasting legacy for his four children, so slumping catfish prices and volatile row crop markets made him step outside his comfort zone to find a solution.
Diversification has been an answer for many producers struggling to maintain their way of life. Schmidt turned to Mississippi State University’s Extension Service for help.
“Diversifying my farm would not only give my children a reference they could use in planning their futures, but it also would allow them to interact with the public and understand customer service,” Schmidt said.
“My farm is located along a stretch of Highway 45 North between Egypt and Okolona,” Schmidt said. “The research indicated I had a great location to attract customers who buy fresh produce, and I wanted to ask Extension specialists what they thought.”
He invited a group of Extension specialists, which included Chickasaw County director Scott Cagle, Lowndes County area agent Jeff Wilson and MSU horticulturist David Nagel, to assess his farm site and conduct a feasibility study for a pecan orchard, fruit stand and vegetable garden.
Results of the study were encouraging. His fresh produce venture had good potential because he had location, land, resources and commitment.
Schmidt followed Extension’s recommendations for a pecan orchard when he planted the trees in 2008. Because pecan trees need several years to mature before they produce nuts, Jay told Extension he intended to plant nine acres of watermelons and three acres of cantaloupes in 2009. He also hoped to plant small plots of tomatoes, squash, okra, bell peppers and cucumbers.
While Schmidt sold all of his fresh vegetables and quite a few cantaloupes this year, his watermelons were the biggest hit of the season. Customers raved about their sweetness, appearance and fresh taste. Many became repeat customers, and some who stopped to buy returned later that day.
“When we opened our roadside stand the very first morning, buyers immediately stopped,” Schmidt said. “We averaged 150 customers a day, and several truckers in 18-wheelers parked their rigs on the side of the road. One out-of-state customer told me he was going to enter my location coordinates into his global positioning system so he could find me again.”
“Extension played a huge role in helping me accomplish this goal,” Schmidt said.
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