FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Owners of a local lettuce farm say they have seen a spike in customers, with concerns over Cyclospora parasite contamination from imported produce, particularly lettuce.
Circle A Farms in Forsyth County north of Cumming produces seven varieties of lettuce in carefully monitored greenhouses.
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“One of the most important things Is just hygiene. We’re inspected by the Department of Agriculture yearly. We are getting raving scores. But it’s about keeping everything clean. Clean clothing, clean gloves. Our gloves are constantly changed. We don’t have cellphones in the green houses. We don’t allow visitors. We have everyone closely monitored.” said Circle A Farmer co-owner Cheryl Howlin.
Howlin says they have “grow holes” where lettuce seedlings are placed and irrigated with nutrient rich water.
“We have a hundred thousand grow holes. We are currently harvesting about 25% or our greenhouse each week.” said Howlin.
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They make farm to porch deliveries of online, fresh lettuce orders to restaurants and homes. And in the last week, orders have surged.
“We have probably gone up by about 25%. A lot of time, people receive their lettuce, and that morning, it was still growing in our grow holes when they woke up. That’s how fresh it is.” said Howlin.
“It’s so unique, because we control the environment one hundred percent. We control the bugs that come in, we control the water usage. We have lighting that we can add during wintertime, when there’s not as much sunlight. We have maximum control over what happens here.” said Circle A Farms Co-Owner Jeff Adams.
The co-owners say because of the surge in demand, they are considering building additional greenhouse next to the six already in operation.
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