Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Discussion Leads To Vineyard

By JOHN MILLER Several years ago, Mackey Dillard was sitting around with a group of friends. This is nothing unusual, but they were talking about growing grapes, which is not an everyday occurrence in Gurdon. From this talk, Dillard became more and more interested in growing grapes, but had to find a seedless variety which could stand up to the Arkansas climate. His research into the area led him to the Mars variety, developed by the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. The root stock was purchased from a nursery in Judsonia. Now, nine years later, Dillard's grapes are relatively famous, though he's cut his crop size in half, from five acres to two-and-a-half. So, when July rolls around on the calendar he can be found picking the end result of his research and work. But it wasn't this easy. When Dillard first planted his crop, he experienced the same problem most farmers in Arkansas face -- mid-summer droughts. To fight this headache, and save his plants, Dillard installed an irrigation system to keep the vines moist during the worst part of the summer. And, Dillard does more than just water and pick the grapes. Beginning in late winter, usually in early March, he starts the real work on the crop: fertilizing, pruning and weeding. It takes him about a month to prune back his two-and-a-half acre crop, which is the hardest part of the job. Each year, the plants are pruned back so the vines have four runners, each three-feet long. From there, it's time to fertilize using a 13-13-13 product. Dillard also bushhogs between the rows and sprays roundup early in the season to kill the grasses and weeds which pop up. But the fun begins in July when the grapes ripen from a red to a deep purple. This is when the picking begins. When possible, Dillard hires youngsters in the area to help with the picking chores. He said this year's yield should be between three and four tons, which is a smaller crop than normal. The rains have adversely affected this years grape stand. In a normal season, Dillard harvests five to six tons. Once picked, the grapes are placed in 16 pound flats for sale at the Dillard service station, now a Shell Superstop, which he co-owns with his brother, James. Thursday, Aug. 1, Dillard had to return to the vineyard to pick more grapes. Six flats had been sold before noon. In fact, he had people waiting for him to bring more grapes back to the station, the demand was so great. When possible, grapes are stored in a refrigerated trailer on the station's property, where they are kept at a temperature between 30 and 60 degrees. Dillard said the grapes will hold their consistency for about two weeks before going bad. Originally, Dillard grew his grapes for resale with area grocery companies, working primarily with Affiliated Foods of Arkansas. Affiliated then sold the grapes to Smitty's. The Affiliated group paid Dillard 55 cents a pound. This was more than the New York markets were willing to pay, as their rate was about 30 cents a pound. However, Smitty's has gone out of business and Dillard has reduced the size of his crop. Now, all grapes grown are sold at the new Shell station, with some finding their way to the Dillard table at home. The Mars variety of grape has a flavor similar to that of the muscadine. The skin is not as tough as that of the muscadine, though. Dillard said these grapes make an excellent jelly and cobbler, and are great for just eating. Perhaps because of the location, the grape sales remain brisk. Dillards vineyard is located between Highway 53 and Interstate 30's exit 63. Often, motorists will pull off the interstate to purchase his grapes, which is fine with him as he enjoys sitting around chewing the fat with folks.