When word was out that the melons were coming from Rocky Ford more and more farmers started coming to Rocky Ford to take up a homestead. They plowed the dry prairie sod and used water from the Arkansas River to irrigate farms. Before 1885 Swink had been growing a type of muskmelon, this melon was larger than a cantaloupe of those days. The Netted Gem Cantaloupe was introduced in about 1887. These cantaloupes were sold to miners in Leadville, Colorado and were packed in previously used wooden shipping barrels and used shipping crates. In 1895 the first train car load was shipped to St Louis as an experiment. The following year 1896 several train car loads were shipped out East, marking the beginning of the shipping Rocky Ford Cantaloupes to out of state markets. Within a short time Rocky Ford Cantaloupes were being shipped as far a New York and started appearing on menus of New York’s finest restaurants. http://www.rockyfordgrowersassociation.com/our-history/ In the wake of Colorado's Rocky Ford melon listeria death toll of 33 persons, the state launched a massive campaign to restore confidence in produce from the Rocky Ford region, site of the farm where the disease originated.Now, the Colorado Department of Agriculture is the recipient of an Award of Agricultural Marketing Excellence form the North American Agricultural Marketing Officials conference for helping Rocky Ford revitalize.Following the 2011 outbreak, CDA and Rocky Ford farmers launched a massive proactive campaign to redefine the region as a dependable resource of safe food.With help of private local and branding companies Mulligan&Co. and BrandWerks Group, a PR campaign offered the public information it wanted from the region and its cantaloupes. http://farmprogress.com/story-big-effort-restore-colorados-rocky-ford-melons-wins-prize-9-101426
No comments:
Post a Comment