By SUSAN HAYHURST
Indiana Correspondent

ROCKVILLE, Ind. — Cartons of vivid red tomatoes, boxes of uniform peppers, mesh sacks of sweet corn and colorful fall mums are just some of the myriad produce and fall ornamentals that regional wholesalers may buy this fall at the Rockville Produce Auction, LLC near Rockville.

Auction signage touts the motto: “Fresh Home Grown Farm Products for Wholesale Buyers.” The words “fresh” and “farm” seem to be the key ingredients in the auction’s growing recipe for success. Launched in 2003, it was started in a leased building a few miles south of the current location and conducted its first auction in June of that year.

In 2007 the auction management purchased a seven-acre property and erected a new white-and-green building. The 12,500 square-foot site is under roof and offers loading docks to accommodate vehicles from pickup trucks with trailers, up to and including semi trailers.

The auction is open Tuesdays and Fridays in the spring and is open Monday, Wednesday and Fridays in the summer and fall. “Wholesalers seem to like to come on Mondays because they have run out of product over Saturday and Sunday,” said Levi Zook, a member of the auction’s board.

The auction’s growing fame is influenced by the congenial and accommodating attitudes of the owners, more than 70 Amish shareholders who live in Parke County. The Amish families moved to the county in 1991 from Lancaster County, Pa., when they were concerned about commercialism and development encroaching on their family operations.

“The purpose of starting the auction was to enhance our ability to stay close to the land,” said Zook. “Most of us were raised on dairy farms and when milk prices were so depressed in the last several years, we wanted to try another source of income to keep people on their farms.

“Farming is part of our heritage. We know we can’t compete with cash croppers, but manual labor is good for small operations like our 20- to 25-acre farms, and expanding our farms’ offerings will hopefully encourage our second generation families to participate.”

Zook believes the auction has seen growth but hopes it will grow larger in the near future. “We have about 60 consignors currently and cater to small and large wholesalers,” he explained.

“We like to move at a rapid pace so buyers don’t have to stay at the auction long and can return to their businesses, offer quality products, and be open to buyers the majority of the year. We have the capacity to grow more produce and sell more volume.”

The auction is large enough to boast up to 10 employees in its busiest season, according to Jacob Herschberger, auction manager.

“We average seven each week,” he explained. “We’re in the fourth year at this property and have the capability to hold four or five semis and we can accommodate box trucks. Buyers comes from Indiana, including Indianapolis and Terre Haute, Chicago and Kentucky.

“We also have had contact buyers – those who cannot attend the auction but still want to purchase – from Tennessee and Alabama. We can easily accommodate buyers within a 100-mile radius.”
Herschberger also noted some chefs and restaurant owners from a regional area frequent the auction.

While produce is plentiful, the auction is also known for its sales of thousands of flowers, mums and fall ornamental items. The spring season, April and May, is one of the auction’s busiest. Nearly 10,000 hanging baskets were sold last spring. Bedding and vegetable plants and planters were grown in Amish families’ greenhouses for the auction.

June through August brings loads of fresh produce to the auction, including asparagus, strawberries, tomatoes, sweet corn and 200-300 one-half bushel boxes of peaches.

The fall season, September through November, is also hectic and offers a blaze of color at the auction. According to Herschberger, 40,000-60,000 mums will be sold from mid-August through October.

“Basically, about 10 to 15 growers, all from Parke County, grow the mums. One grower has even sold 15,000 mums in one season,” he said.

One of the site’s most important annual events is the Special Fall Decoration Auction. Slated for Sept. 22, the event showcases mums, a plethora of pumpkins of many sizes and purposes and fall ornamental items.

“We sold 6,000 jack-o’-lantern pumpkins, 5,500 ornamental squash, pumpkins and gourds and 8,500 pie pumpkins last year on that special day,” noted Herschberger. “It’s definitely our biggest sale day of the year, and a big day for consignors and buyers.”

The auction is even open every Saturday during the winter. Opening at 10 a.m., hay, straw, ear corn and firewood keep buyers satisfied in the cold months.

While the auction has made strides in its early years, Herschberger is confident it will continue to grow and prosper.

“We have had a good start and believe the quality of our products sell themselves now and will in the future,” he added.
For information about the auction, contact Herschberger at 765-569-6840.