For vegetable grower Willi Sippel from the Nuremberg Knoblauchsland, leeks and celeriac are among his most important outdoor crops. "I don't sell my celery by the kilo, but as a loose product with greenery. We start harvesting at the end of June and supply our food retail customers with celery with greens throughout the summer. As soon as the leaves become diseased or no longer look so attractive, the retail switches bit by bit from piece to kilo goods until October. The campaign with fresh celeriac then usually continues until Christmas, although this year we were already finished in November." Storing produce and keeping it for late marketing is not in line with the grower's strategy. "Apart from the high energy prices associated with storage, every step costs money. Besides, prices in January are not necessarily higher than in the fall, so there is no added value for me in storing produce."
"In the case of both celeriac and leeks, the trend in retail is increasingly towards selling by the piece. As producers, we welcome this because this business model is also more lucrative for me in the end. Ultimately, selling by the kilo is not in the interest of the retailers or, above all, the consumer: after all, who buys a celery weighing two to three kilos, not to mention the fact that this large-caliber product is usually less visually appealing. We have built up this business model over the years and are now seeing that the retail sector is also moving in the same direction," says Sippel, who now grows celery on around 12 hectares.
Automation from the field to processing
The new leek washing and sorting line was installed in time for Christmas. Sippel: "We are very happy with the system. Before, most of the produce was harvested and prepared by hand. Now, the leeks are harvested by machine, after which the produce goes through the entire washing and sorting process here. This means that the employees do not get wet and can work ergonomically."
"We want to further narrow our product range in the coming years. Last year, we already made a well-considered decision to discontinue crops such as beetroot, rhubarb, and chives. I am convinced that we will work more easily if we specialize in just a few crops. The decisive factor here is whether we can grow and market the respective crop well and, if possible, also process it by machine. For example, in the case of radishes, which are also one of our main crops, we have designed a machine for harvesting and processing in the field together with a mechanical engineering company in the Palatinate region. Compared to the old process, this saves us up to 10-15 manual operations and the corresponding costs. We want to continue along this path in the coming years," he concludes.
Harvesting machine for leeks.
Freshly harvested leeks shortly before preparation and sorting.
Insights into the mechanical process.
Sorted and marketable leeks: Sales in January were very encouraging, but in February the market leveled off again somewhat. Sippel: "Our producer prices remain relatively stable, while the prices of Dutch and Belgian goods are subject to extreme price fluctuations in some cases."
Sippel is a traditional vegetable-growing company in the heart of Nuremberg's garlic-producing region and a partner of Franken-Gemüse eG. .
For more information:
Willi Sippel
Gemüsebau Sippel GbR
Höfleser Hauptstraße 88
90427 Nuremberg
Tel: 0911/30700750
Fax: 0911/30700755
E-Mail: willi.sippel@gemuesebau-sippel.de
Homepage: www.gemuesebau-sippel.de