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Will PutnamOrange Growers Marketing Association |
William and his son, Robby, in their family's groves. From the top of the hill, orange trees can be seen for miles and miles.
William inspects the fruit and tree conditions. It's important to all the growers to maintain the health of the trees and keep the fruit clean and disease-free.
Robby, who would be the fifth generation in his family to grow citrus, enjoys riding in his dad's truck out to the groves and exploring the land.
Standing out in his groves with his young son Robby, Will Putnam is completely at ease. He pulls an orange from a tree and inspects its skin, then uses his pocket knife to remove the rind in one long piece. Robby grabs the snaking peel and tosses it over the dock and into a small pond, pointing as it gets snagged by the hungry fish. Will looks as though he was made to be in the serenity of their family's orange groves.
In a way, he was. He's the fourth generation citrus grower in a large family operation. He runs the harvesting operation alongside several of his immediate and extended family members, who are all actively involved in the management and decision-making of the citrus and cattle operations.
Will has been working in and around the groves since he was a boy close to Robby's age. He continued to work through school, and upon graduating from Clemson University, he was right back in the groves. He credits his training in growing citrus to his father and grandfather.
When out in the groves, Will monitors everything from tree health to fruit set, color, and quality. He and his team are diligently on the lookout for pests and diseases. "We're constantly out in the groves trying to maintain the natural health of the fruit," he says.
The most important part of his education in farming came from what he calls the highlights—lowlights in this case—of the freezes of the 80s and the three hurricanes of the 2004 season, which forced them to adapt to unfavorable growing conditions. The freezes gave them the opportunity to replant better varieties on better rootstocks in closer spacings. They also developed better methods of caretaking that made the groves grow faster and more productively. The hurricanes, he says, "were just interesting." With trees blown over and stripped of the fruit, the groves also flooded. But he maintains that it made them better growers as well. "Once again, we can look back and say that they weren't that bad. They helped reduce an oversupply of fruit and put prices back where we needed them."
His outlook is a testament of true dedication to an industry that can pose lots of questions, good and bad. With other committed growers, he believes they can find answers to remain successful. "We attend lots of meetings, talk to fellow growers, and read a lot," he says. "If a neighbor's grove or fruit crop looks better than ours, we want to know why. What are they doing differently?"
By staying alert, they help keep the quality of fruit up and competitive. Growing only in FloridaIs Your Juice Imported?
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At the end of the day, Will believes that the best growing results come from trial and error. He offers up an old grower adage: "The best thing you can put in your groves is footsteps." For someone who is right at home among sprawling citrus trees, that's an easy rule to live by.