Basket business gift secret starting

Lane Packing

THE secret to longevity in business is being able to change with the times. Just ask David O. Lane III of Lane Packing Co., a fourth-generation family farming operation about 100 miles south of Atlanta, GA. "The acreage of peaches in the state has been stable since the 1980s but the industry has seen a consolidation of growing and packing operations," says Lane. "We were the first to open our facility to the public for plant tours," he says, "and we're still the only one doing it."

The move to retail for Lane Packing, which farms 2500 acres of peach trees and 2000 acres of pecans, started somewhat by accident. The farm was founded in 1908 by John David Duke, who named it Diamond Fruit Farm. In addition, he owned a facility that manufactured basket liners and built a new peach packinghouse in 1942 that was named J.D, Duke. In 1950 he changed the name of this business to Southern Orchard Supply Co. but continued to pack peaches under the name of J.D. Duke. After his death in 1960, the business was taken over by his son-in-law, David O. Lane, and grandson. Duke Lane Sr. The packing portion of the business was renamed Lane Packing.

In 1976 Duke Lane Sr. formed a partnership with the Russell Pearson family. Together they built a more modern packinghouse called Pearson & Lane. This partnership remained in operation until 1989. After the 1989 season, the Lane family began construction of a packinghouse located on the family farm. This facility is one of the most modern of its kind, and was ready just in time for the 1990 crop. That year Duke Lane Sr. turned the business over to his four children, Duke Jr., Bobby, Anne, and Steve, who continue to run the business today. The fact that the children wanted to succeed their father is the other big reason Lane Packing is still farming when others fell by the wayside, says David Lane. "As other farmers got older, their children often got out of the business," he says. "If a grower retired, his acreage would be leased by other peach farms in the area."

Retail Explosion

In that same year, 1990, Lane Packing starting selling peaches retail. The new facility was closer to Interstate 75 on Highway 96, a much busier road, and they decided to take advantage of the increased traffic. A local high school girl wanted a job, and they put her to work selling peaches. She ended up selling $40,000 worth that first summer. "My cousins were trying to sell tractortrailer loads," recalls Lane with a chuckle, "and little old ladies were trying to buy grocery bags-full."

The family has continued to expand the retail operation, the Roadside Market, ever since. A 15,000-square-foot expansion in 2000 increased the size of the Roadside Market, and the operation now includes the Peachtree Café - which seats 200 diners - the Just Peachy Gift Shop, and a full-service mail order department. They get more than 100,000 visitors every summer and do everything they can to accommodate them. "People wanted to see what was going on in the packinghouse," says Lane, "so we built a catwalk, and that led to plant tours."

Of course, if you're going to host that many visitors you have to make changes on the growing end of the business. For example, in order to offer delicious tree-ripened peaches from mid-May to August, they have to grow a lot of varieties that mature at different times. They now grow about 30 varieties. "To have fruit for that long a time period you must have one variety coming on when one variety is going out," says Lane.

Location, Location, Location

Lane Packing does have an advantage in staying abreast of new varieties. They are located just 10 miles from the USDA-Agricultural Research Service station, in Byron, and keep a sharp eye out for any new developments. They experiment with a lot of different varieties, and remain extremely selective. "A lot of the new varieties didn't get quite big enough, or their color was a little off," says Lane. "We then graft to a new variety or pull them out right away."

In fact, saying they are selective when it comes to varieties is putting it mildly. "Ruthless" might be a better term. And though they are picky when it comes to size and color, they are extremely discriminating when it comes to taste. "The only thing that's keeping us competing is taste," says Lane. "In fact, that's our tag line, Taste the Best.'"