Eastern Shore vegetable shipments are underway for the summer from Virginia, Delaware and Maryland.
Fresh produce shipments typically start in early June, but those crops were a little late because of a cooler spring. Growers produce two fresh-crop seasons, except for potatoes which have just one season.
Virginia potato shipments began around June 20, and will be in full swing with good loadings by early July
Although numerous fresh produce items are grown in the Eastern Shore region, Virginia’s main crop is potatoes, which has between 3,000 and 4,000 acres.
Most of the potatoes produced in Virginia are shipped throughout the eastern U.S., as far west as the Mississippi River and include red, white, yellow and russet potatoes. When northern areas are not producing, much of the crop is distributed in those regions. When the Southern states stop producing, shipments are redirected to the South. Some of potatoes are distributed in Canada.
Dublin Farms in Horntown is one of the state’s biggest potato shippers.
The Eastern Shore also has significant acreage in tomatoes and green beans, with C&E Farms in Cheriton being the largest shipper of green beans. The farming operation produces about 750,000 bushels of beans annually off of its 5,000 acres.
The two major tomato operations on the shore are expected to produce about the same volumes of round, Roma, grape, cherry and heirloom tomatoes during this season, which runs from late June through September.