The Crows' vegetable truck.

Ricky Crow in the field.

April 17 Farm-to-School Field Day Set for Shawnee Area

Farmers all over the state are finding a bonanza of new markets by selling produce to local schools in Oklahoma’s Farm-to-School Program.

Claudia and Ricky Crow will show visitors to their farm near Shawnee how they are adapting to these new opportunities, at a field day on April 17 from 5 – 8.

Oklahoma Farm-to-School Coordinator Chris Kirby will talk about the state farm-to-school program and how farmers can get involved.

Registration, due by April 14, is $10 and includes dinner. To register, call 918.647.9123 or visit www.kerrcenter.com/HTML/events.html#fieldday.

The Kerr Center is sponsoring the event, in partnership with the USDA Risk Management Agency. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is also a sponsor.

“We hope to sell broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and tomatoes to the Shawnee school system,” Claudia says.  “We are new at this, and are still learning what the school can use.”

The Crows may be new to Farm-to-School, but their two decades of raising and selling fresh local produce have taught them some of the tricks needed to ripen crops before (and after) schools’ summer vacation.

The Crows cover the rows with sheets of black plastic, to warm the soil and suppress weeds.  This gives a head start to the vegetables that they then plant directly through the plastic. 

They grow tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, cantaloupe, and watermelon as such “plasticulture” crops.

They also raise tomatoes in “hoop houses,” or unheated, low-cost greenhouses that can keep summer crops producing into the fall.

Created by the state legislature in 2006, The Farm-to-School program now brings fresh Oklahoma-grown fruits and vegetables from Oklahoma farms to over 350 schools in more than 30 districts.

The field day will be held rain or shine.  Bring a lawn chair, and wear shoes appropriate for walking in fields.

The Kerr Center will be sponsoring additional Farm-to-School field days in Atoka on May 4, and in Stratford on May 24.  For details about these and other upcoming Kerr Center events, as well as the Oklahoma Farm-to-School Program, visit the Kerr Center website, www.kerrcenter.com.