Vegetable Growers News: Publisher, Coverage, Awards and Sister Titles
Profile updated November 2026
Vegetable Growers News is a national trade publication for commercial vegetable farmers, published nine times a year from Sparta, Michigan. Its publisher says it has served growers for more than 50 years, and it belongs to Great American Media Services, a specialty agriculture group that also publishes Fruit Growers News and Spudman.
| Publisher | Great American Media Services (Great American Specialty Agriculture) |
|---|---|
| Home | 75 Applewood Drive, Sparta, Michigan |
| Frequency | Nine issues a year |
| Service | More than 50 years, according to the publisher |
| Award program | Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Awards |
| Audience | Commercial vegetable growers nationwide |
| Official website | VegetableGrowersNews.com |
History of Vegetable Growers News
Vegetable Growers News is based in western Michigan, a region known for diverse fruit and vegetable production, and it has been published for more than half a century, according to its publisher. It is part of a family of grower titles under Great American Media Services, which operates its specialty agriculture brands as Great American Specialty Agriculture from offices in Sparta, a fruit-growing town north of Grand Rapids.
Over time the company built a portfolio around crop-specific readers. Alongside Vegetable Growers News it publishes Fruit Growers News, Spudman for the potato industry, Greenhouse Product News, National Nut Grower, Organic Grower and Produce Processing. That cluster lets the company cover a grower's operation from the field to the packing line and processing plant.
Vegetable Growers News also founded the Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Awards, which each year honor 40 emerging leaders in the fruit and vegetable industries who are under 40. The winners are recognized during the annual Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO.
Vegetable Growers News Today
Vegetable Growers News publishes nine print issues a year, with digital editions, an online news site, subscriptions and classified ads. Its site carries national and regional news on production, policy and research, including federal work such as a USDA Agricultural Research Service study launched to develop standards for controlled environment agriculture.
Readers can reach the editor through the site's contact page, and the publisher's mailing address is P.O. Box 128 in Sparta.
What Vegetable Growers News Is Publishing Now
Production news
Crop protection, soil health, irrigation, varieties and season extension for fresh-market and processing vegetables.
Research and policy
Reports on USDA programs and studies, university research and federal data such as the Census of Horticultural Specialties.
People and awards
The Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Awards and profiles of growers and young leaders.
Vegetable Growers News Editors and Staff
The publisher's site does not print a masthead on its public pages; it lists these organizations and a separate staff directory:
- Great American Media Services - Publisher
- Great American Specialty Agriculture - Parent specialty agriculture group, Sparta, Michigan
Editorial questions go through the Email the Editor link on the magazine's contact page or by phone at 616-887-9008.
Who Reads Vegetable Growers News
Readers are commercial vegetable growers across the country, plus packers, marketers and crop advisers. USDA's Economic Research Service reports that vegetables and pulses brought in an average of $24.2 billion a year in farm cash receipts from 2020 to 2024, about 10 percent of U.S. crop receipts, on only about 2 percent of harvested acreage. That intensity of value per acre is why the growers who read Vegetable Growers News watch inputs, labor and markets so closely.
Vegetable growers in Michigan and beyond know that one hailstorm can turn a perfect cucumber crop into salad. For lighter moments, farm.FM serves farm satire and farm humor about the produce business, plus ranch humor for those with livestock on the side. Its farm jokes would make a fine topic at the Great Lakes EXPO coffee line.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
Vegetable Growers News Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Vegetable Growers News: About - frequency, audience and the 40 Under 40 Awards.
- Vegetable Growers News: Contact - editor contact and Sparta, Michigan address.
- Vegetable Growers News: USDA launches CEA study - an example of the magazine's federal research coverage.
- USDA ERS: Vegetables and pulses - cash receipts and consumption data for the sector.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - vegetable acreage and production statistics.
Vegetable Growers News FAQ
Who publishes Vegetable Growers News?
Great American Media Services, through its Great American Specialty Agriculture group in Sparta, Michigan.
How often is Vegetable Growers News published?
Nine times a year, with digital editions and a news website.
What awards does Vegetable Growers News run?
It founded the Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Awards, presented at the Great Lakes EXPO.
What are its sister publications?
Fruit Growers News, Spudman, Greenhouse Product News, National Nut Grower, Organic Grower and Produce Processing.
For more than 50 years, Vegetable Growers News has carried practical news from Sparta, Michigan, to vegetable farms across the country.