Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village

Growers  The expansion of railroad lines in Delaware prompted farmers to focus on cash crops such as peaches, tomatoes, and apples which in turn, influenced a number of off-shoot industries:  basket making, nurseries, canneries, and fruit and vegetable evaporation. 

To make a profit growing fruit, farmers required large numbers of fruit trees both to start orchards as well as to replace spent trees. They also required a variety of berry bushes and plants. Nurseries became a profitable sideline industry serving the needs of growers. Among the larger nurseries in the state was Milford Nurseries in Milford, Delaware. This successful business enterprise was established in 1870 by Alexander Pullen with financial backing by John W. Causey. 1

The Richardson & Robbins Cannery, the first and among the largest canneries in Delaware, was owned by the same family for 119 years.

The profitability of canneries on Delmarva began to decline in the 1950s as a result of advances in refrigerated shipping coupled with competition from other warm weather states with lower labor costs and longer growing seasons.  2

 Laborers  In the early 20^th century, large groups of black and white workers were recruited from as far away as Baltimore, Maryland, to help with the annual strawberry and tomato harvest on Delmarva. Attesting to the annual yield and the corresponding need for labor, in 1917, at Salisbury, Maryland, 1,907 railroad cars were loaded with strawberries for transport to market.  4

 During the 1940’s, wartime labor shortages led to the conscription of school children, German prisoners of war and the hiring of migrant workers from the south and as far away as Puerto Rico to help at harvest time. 

     “I attended high school at Harrington, Delaware. During World War II, there was a time when my entire class was taken out of school to help with the asparagus harvest at a local farm.”

Anna Stayton, Harrington, Delaware

Today, the U.S. Department of Labor H-2A temporary agricultural program allows farmers and other agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. 5

To Market, to Market...  Delaware’s early farmers markets were not only important economic engines, but also hubs of social interaction, often offering the only opportunity for rural and urban community members to meet. The King Street farmers market in Wilmington, Delaware, was a major part of the city’s life beginning in the mid-19th century. Farmers and other vendors traveled from all over the state by any means available to sell their goods at the market twice.

Today, Delaware’s vast network of local farmers markets and farm stands serve consumers state-wide.

Shopping local means knowing where your food comes from. how it was farmed, and when it was picked. 

In 2023, there were 23 farmers markets and an astounding 91 farm stands in operation in the state. 6

Helping Hands

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, supply chain issues impacting the agriculture industry included rising transportation and energy costs, labor availability, and challenges obtaining products needed to fuel the agricultural sector (e.g., livestock feed). 

"When the pandemic first hit, people quickly realized that food wasn’t readily available at their grocery stores. For many Delawareans, it was their first time reaching out to a farm or visiting a farmers market, so they could put food on their table.” Michael T. Scuse, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture. 7

During this time of great crisis, Vincent Farms (Laurel, Delaware) and other farms around the country partnered with transportation companies to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to people in need as part of the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program.                     

“Choptank Transport (Preston, Maryland) and Vincent Farms (Laurel, Delaware) have a great operation going in support of the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program. They are working day in and day out to fill the hunger gap in all of our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue.  8