BUSINESS MEMO: LIST OF GROWERS NOW AVAILABLE ON INTERNET

With the click of a mouse, wholesalers, restaurants and other consumers who want fresh local produce can connect with fruit and vegetable growers in Missouri through a new online list, University of Missouri extension specialists said.

The searchable Web page lists more than 60 fruit and vegetable growers statewide, most from the east-central region. The Web site at agebb.missouri.edu/hortgrow includes what crops each producer grows and whether the growing method is organic or conventional.

Tim Baker, MU Outreach and Extension horticulture specialist at Kennett, Mo., got the idea for the online link when he was fielding calls from people who wanted to know where they could buy fresh local produce.

Building the list in east-central Missouri was relatively easy, said Scott Killpack, regional agronomy specialist in St. Charles County. "We already had a market guide in paper form of growers in the St. Louis area. All we had to do was enter the data."

Area growers on the list produce everything from apples to watermelons. Although the Web page is focused on produce, Baker said, growers can also list whatever value-added products they offer, such as jellies, juices, medicinal herbs and buffalo jerky.