MANZANOLA, Colo. - The land in the area has been part of their family since 1933. The Bauserman farm has produced some of the best Rocky Ford cantaloupe grown in the Arkansas Valley.
This year, a lot of that crop will be plowed under because of a Listeria outbreak traced to Jensen Farms, located miles away in Holly.
Even though the cantaloupe on Baseman's farm was never a health risk, consumers steered clear of the fruit and sales all but stopped.
"It hurts. It hurts all the time, especially because this was a good year - no rain, perfect for cantaloupe and vegetables. It makes it tough," Steve Bauserman, co-owner of the farm, said.
He expects the impact of the Listeria outbreak to be felt for at least another year or two.
This year, Bauserman's planted a little more than six acres in Rocky Ford cantaloupe. Next year, he plans to cut back in anticipation of consumer concerns.
"Next year I'll probably plant an acre or so. I can't take a chance because it is a lot of labor and the seed is very, very expensive," Bauserman said.
If consumer confidence in Rocky Ford cantaloupe is slow in returning, it will have an economic impact on the entire Arkansas Valley.
"The biggest impact is how many people work at these places because it takes a lot of hand labor to get the crop ready and then to harvest it and ship it and pack it and everything and if we don't have that, it is a big impact down here," Bauserman said.
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)