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Jake Detwiler, Union County Entrepreneur
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(Note: A week after this article was published, it was announced that Jake Detwiler captured first place in the Ohio FFA competition – qualifying him to compete nationally in October 2010.)
One Saturday last October, in a flat field not far from the Rt. 33 stretch just south of the commercial hub of Dublin, Ohio, a small group of teenagers and two adults planted 2,500 strawberry “wanna-bes.” Led by 17-year-old Jake Detwiler – with some help from his parents, Paul and Shelly – a dozen latex-gloved hands dug through the cold soil and placed the plants 12 to 18 inches apart in rows three to four feet from each other.
To those less knowledgeable about agriculture, starting strawberries in the fall instead of early spring might seem puzzling. But not to Jake. He used a newer and less traditional process called plasticulture – one in which his crop would grow with fewer weeds, have earlier and longer production and produce a higher yield than with other methods. In short, plasticulture refers to the black plastic covering the soil and all but a small sprout of the plant. In addition to the proven benefits of plasticulture production, Jake’s objectives were better service to consumers, more financial gain and, perhaps most importantly, a first-place win in the Ohio FFA fruit production competition.
Jake Detwiler, now an 18-year-old senior at Fairbanks High School in Union County, is one of more than 4,000 Ohio teens hoping that results from the Ohio FFA Convention (April 30-May 1, 2010 at the Ohio State Fairgrounds) will land him a spot to go to nationals in Indianapolis this fall. During the 2009 state competition, Jake got second in his category with a project that included his work with raspberries. This year, he added strawberries as well. Judging involves an assessment of a project’s start (planning) to finish (results).
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Fairbanks High School Senior Jake Detwiler and Instructors Jody Carney and Rob Riddle
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“This student is a true entrepreneur,” said Fairbanks Agriculture Instructor Jody Carney. “Some students have business support. Jake secured his own loan for his crop, made money and paid it back.”
Carney, a teacher at Fairbanks for the past two years, and Rob Riddle, an agriculture business teacher for 20 years, have watched Jake grow in his knowledge and skill, including the application of communication, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity/innovation. In the summer between his freshman and sophomore years, Jake secured a $5,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency to purchase raspberry plants and planting supplies. In two seasons with crops on five acres owned by his parents and on more than 2,000 acres of his grandparents, Jim and Carolyn Mitchell, Jake yielded enough crops to return the money he borrowed with some profit to spare.
Riddle said that Jake uses all his 2lst century skills – “taking all that math and English and science and figuring out square-footage, climate control, timelines, budgets and more that are connected to the decision-making and planning of modern agriculture.” Additionally, Jake played basketball and baseball and was crowned king on the high school’s winter homecoming court this past year.
He is, Carney said, a “well-rounded, hard-working young man.”
Jake considers his story typical of today’s teens looking at agriculture careers. At age six, he found comfort among chickens and rows of peppers and sweet corn at his parent’s house and among cows and other crops at his grandparent’s. He liked the activity of a farm, but had his sights on being police officer some day. It was somewhere in junior high school and amidst the raspberry patch at his home that he began to lean toward a future in agriculture. He plans to study ag-business at Morehead State University in Kentucky this fall.
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Ohio FFA and Convention Fast Facts
- April 30-May 1, 2010, Ohio FFA Convention at Ohio State Fairgrounds
- 48 state-judged proficiency areas
- 35 state career development events
- 6,500 Ohio students and teachers registered for 2010 convention
- 4,000 of 23,235 Ohio student members scheduled to compete at state convention
- Oct. 21-24, 2010, National FFA Convention in Indiana
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“We research and discuss the growing concept of ‘urban farming’ in our classes – people sharing plots of land to grow small amounts of produce,” Riddle said. “There is a growing interest in gardening within the city, but obviously, that can’t meet the demand. Jake and other students began to see the link between the making money and providing consumers what they want."
Multiple uses and the taste of berries was an attraction to Jake. Somewhere between picking and eating berries from the vine and seeing the health and consumer demand, he started to view himself as an agri-businessman. He focused on the Chandler strawberry for his plasticulture project because of its attractiveness – large, medium red, glossy and wedge-shaped – and adaptability to his planting process.
“Berries are a good investment because of their flexibility – you can eat them as a snack, put them on ice cream, freeze them, make them into pies,” he said. “Berries are high in antioxidant content with research indicating they block cancer development.” The vitamin C in berries serves the antioxidant function that also is known to ward off heart disease and age-related eye damage.
While Jake lost some of his crop in the process of learning about the balance of dryness, moisture and heat, he has tallied up considerable success under the guidance of his instructors, parents and grandparents. After the initial work in October, a small group of friends and family helped cover the strawberries with blankets to protect them from the harshness of winter.
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Ellen Scheiderer, left, and Jake Detwiler work in strawberry plants through plasticulture process.
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“We peaked in,” Jake said, recalling the massive amounts of winter snow covering blanketed plants. “It was like a greenhouse under there.”
Most weekends this spring, Jake is with his berries, including the growing strawberries along Mitchell-Dewitt Road, Plain City, for up to eight hours – weeding some, checking their soil consistency and planning for “picking days.”
The first year, he sold 1,600 pounds of raspberries; the second year, it was 2,400 pounds. He’s not making predictions for the raspberries or strawberries this year, but, he added, that an additional plus with plasticulture and fewer weeds is “less chemical,” which is better for the environment.
And when the berry-picking starts, Jake won’t be wearing gloves.
“There’s something about seeing the purple and reddish look,” he said. “It feels like you’re doing something when your hands change color.”
The only thing better, perhaps, is when his tongue takes on a new color – especially after Jake’s favorite breakfast of fresh raspberries blended into batter and fried into pancakes.
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For more information about Jake’s berries, check out his Web site at this link or go to www.mitchellsberries.com/Visit_our_Farm.html.
For more information about this article, e-mail pat.huston@ode.state.oh.us.
For more information about Ohio FFA, go to www.ohioffa.org.
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