{"id":329,"date":"2010-07-08T11:10:24","date_gmt":"2010-07-08T11:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/?p=329"},"modified":"2017-06-08T11:10:52","modified_gmt":"2017-06-08T11:10:52","slug":"ask-the-experts-why-did-you-become-a-watermelon-farmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/index.php\/2010\/07\/ask-the-experts-why-did-you-become-a-watermelon-farmer\/","title":{"rendered":"ASK THE EXPERTS: WHY DID YOU BECOME A WATERMELON FARMER?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a good question from a What About Watermelon reader. This one is answered by Ryan Van Groningen, a fourth generation watermelon grower from California.
\n
\nCASEY A. FROM ROYSTON, GA, ASKS: I\u2019ve always thought being a watermelon farmer would be a pretty neat job and was wondering why you became a watermelon farmer. Out of all the different crops you could have grown, what made you choose watermelon?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For me, the decision to grow watermelon was easy because watermelon growing is a family tradition! My family\u2019s farm is called Van Groningen & Sons <\/a>and I\u2019m a fourth generation grower. To put it simply, we love what we do!<\/p>\n

My family has been farming since 1922, when my great grandfather Henry Van Groningen (that\u2019s him in the picture above) began farming row crops here in California. In 1929, he moved to our current location in Ripon, CA, about 80 miles east of San Francisco, and the rest is history. Today, I help manage the farm along with the rest of my family, which includes my father, my brothers, my sister, and my cousin.<\/p>\n

As for why we chose watermelon as one of the crops to build our farm around, I have to say a big reason is because watermelon is a fruit that everyone loves! We take great pleasure in watching people enjoy such a fun and healthy treat. Also, the watermelon industry is a fast and furious business in the summer months, which means there\u2019s never a dull moment because of the high volume of demand. And when you\u2019re a farmer, being busy is always a good thing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a good question from a What About Watermelon reader. This one is answered by Ryan Van Groningen, a fourth generation watermelon grower from California. CASEY A. FROM ROYSTON, GA, ASKS: I\u2019ve always thought being a watermelon farmer would be a pretty neat job and was wondering why you became a watermelon farmer. Out of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[36,111,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-general","7":"tag-experts","8":"tag-farming","9":"tag-watermelon","10":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nASK THE EXPERTS: WHY DID YOU BECOME A WATERMELON FARMER? - What About Watermelon?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/index.php\/2010\/07\/ask-the-experts-why-did-you-become-a-watermelon-farmer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ASK THE EXPERTS: WHY DID YOU BECOME A WATERMELON FARMER? - What About Watermelon?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s a good question from a What About Watermelon reader. 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