Shelby & Hart, MI

by Judith Karns

The moderate breezes along Lake Michigan’s eastern coast combined with the rolling terrain and sandy soil of Oceana County produce perfect growing conditions for the region’s first commercial crop of the year—asparagus.

Each spring between April and June, about 200 farmers around Shelby (pop. 2,031) and Hart, Mich., (pop. 2,086), together with 2,000 pickers, harvest about 9,000 acres of asparagus, or about 15 percent of the nation’s commercial crop. Asparagus, a member of the lily family, has been grown in Oceana County for nearly a century, but only in the last few decades has it become important to the local economy.

“The driving force is profitability,” says Dick Walsworth, who began growing asparagus in the 1970s and now produces 300 acres of the green vegetable.

“If asparagus went away,” adds his brother, Don Walsworth, who farms 32 acres, “it would be devastating.”

While asparagus is the first crop of the year in Oceana County, it’s not the only one. Apple, peach, and cherry orchards also dot the county.

But it’s the tender, green spears that gave Oceana County its reputation as the “Asparagus Capital of the Nation.” Michigan, which produces 25 million pounds of the crop annually, ranks third in asparagus production behind California and Washington. Much of the state’s crop is grown on Oceana County farms.

Harvesting techniques used by Michigan asparagus growers differ from those used in other parts of the country. In Michigan, asparagus shoots, which can grow as much as an inch an hour when weather conditions are ideal, are “snapped” by hand rather than cut, ensuring that only the most tender portion of the plant is processed for market.

The Walsworths have built a machine to help with the harvest. Long arms of the machine reach out across the crop rows and can be expanded to allow up to seven pickers to hover above the ground, snapping the stalks as the machine slowly moves across a field. Once the asparagus is picked, it is transported to local processors, such as Peterson Farms, where the tender shoots are prepared for delivery to retailers.

“Each step is done by hand,” says Earl Peterson, president of Peterson Farms. “Asparagus is very delicate.”

Peterson chooses asparagus based on uniform size, tight heads, straight stalks, a proper length, and no blemishes. His company then blanches and freezes the product for market. About 85 percent of the local asparagus crop is frozen and canned. The rest is sold fresh.

Residents of Shelby and Hart celebrate the harvest each spring at the National Asparagus Festival, which has been held in Oceana County for 27 consecutive years. The festival alternates between Shelby and Hart and is scheduled this year from June 8-10 in Shelby. The event features an asparagus smorgasbord with appetizers, casseroles, and desserts made using the local vegetable, as well as parades and an arts and crafts exhibit.

Each year, a local woman is chosen Mrs. Asparagus to preside over the event and to promote the local crop. In 2000, Linda Jonseck, a dental assistant, was chosen to travel around the state, riding in parades and visiting schools to educate people about a vegetable that has been cultivated for more than 2,000 years.

“I try to really get the word out,” Jonseck says. “It’s a viable and important crop that has been around for a long time.”

Judith Karns is a freelance writer in Clio, Mich.

first appeared: 5/27/2001