Sold to the Highest Bidder
Local produce auction a hit for growers and buyers.
July/August 2008
Laura Weldon
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iStockphoto.com/Hillary Fox
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Six pint-baskets with a handwritten sign – raspberry, organic scrawled on it – have drawn attention. Here on the Homerville (Ohio) Wholesale Produce Auction’s small lots table, piles of local bounty dwarf the raspberries. Auctioneer Andrea Owen-Shearer makes eye contact with each bidder as her quick cadence links a fast patter of prices. She walks alongside the table, quickly selling brown eggs stacked in boxes, a half bushel of spinach, a peck of radishes, two strawberry pies and bags of new potatoes. When she reaches the raspberries, the bidding warms with nods here and there. A young couple with a curly-haired toddler in a stroller wins the bid. Owen-Shearer moves on, already accepting an offer on pickling cucumbers.
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The auction’s site is tucked amidst family farms along a picturesque country road. F.W. Owen started the auction with his daughter, Owen-Shearer, in response to economic conditions that threatened his livelihood as a dairy farmer. Around him, the Amish community also struggled with decreasing prices and increasing costs. When the auction opened for business in 1997, 20 growers participated. Now about 500 farmers participate, selling Ohio-grown fruits, vegetables, plants and other produce. Most producers are small; many are located within a 5-mile radius. The thrice-weekly auction enables the farmers to sell produce while avoiding burdensome storage and transportation costs. And the resulting profits stay in the local community.
“There’s a lot of talk about maintaining family farms, but there’s not much done,” Owen says. “Over the years, the total amount of dollars kept local by the auction is in the millions. That means hanging on to farms for a lot of people.”
Community event
Large lots are next on the block. Sweet corn is stacked in huge bags. Brightly colored peppers contrast with broccoli, kohlrabi, beets and carrots in a tantalizing array of seasonal variety. People gather near the items they hope to purchase. Tag reader John Hostetler announces, “Now we have two half bushels small yellow squash.” He taps the box with a wooden stick. Owen-Shearer’s rhythmic chant begins.
“Ah dida dadada two, two and a half, three dollars, three and a half, four, four and half, five, five and a half. Ana dada ana, five and half, six dollars, six and half, ana ana dada six and half.”
There’s no announcement of “sold.” Owen-Shearer recites the buyer’s number from memory after the winning bid. Without a pause, her characteristic auctioneer’s chant begins on the next lot.