Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Salazar.
Alexander, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started studying tropical fruit, and specifically mangos when I was in high school living in Jupiter, Florida. In college, it became a more serious hobby, as I started doing a lot of gardening in my spare time. I did a great deal of research, pouring through both new and old documents that were available online. Eventually, I became so fascinated that I started authoring Wikipedia articles about different mango cultivars in my spare time.
I enjoyed working with fruit enough that after I graduated college, I purchased some land in Loxahatchee, FL to start a mango and tropical fruit farm, and in July of 2011 founded my company, Tropical Acres Farms, Inc. My goal was to offer people a tremendous variety of the highest quality tropical fruit that could be grown in south Florida, with mangos as our specialty. After planting hundreds of trees and eager to jump-start our production, I partnered with the Sturrock family of West Palm Beach in 2012 to begin farming on their historic 8 acre-sized property, which had many very old trees on it. Initially, we began selling at green markets, then in 2013 started selling the fruit at an on-farm fruit stand. We began collecting different varieties there as well, and have now amassed a collection of around 300 different kinds of mangos. We also grow avocados (over 45 varieties), sapodilla, and have recently planted mamey sapote.
We have since moved all our fruit production to our West Palm Beach location after selling the property in Loxahatchee. We sell our fruit from our fruit stand during mango season between April and September and also ship our fruit to individuals that live outside of South Florida. Outside of those months, the farm is open on an appointment basis. Many people travel long distances just to visit our farm, sometimes driving from other states! We have branched out to selling fruit trees and scion material (stems used to graft new trees) as well.
Consumers are often amazed at the spectrum of flavors that can be found in locally-grown mangos. Some flavors in the varieties we grow include citrus, pineapples, honey, guava, spices, stone fruits and even coconut flavor!
I’m grateful and proud of what has been accomplished since the business’ inception, and that so many people value our produce. We’re very excited about what the future offers and the opportunity that we are blessed with.
Has it been a smooth road?
Over time we’ve faced a number of challenges that we have been able to meet with some innovation, patience and persistence. Initially, we had to find ways to increase our revenue despite having young trees not ready to produce, so we began a harvesting agreement on a property with large producing trees. Nobody knew about us initially as a young business so we made efforts to raise awareness of our farm with a strong online presence as well as participating in some local markets and advertising through various local means.
We found that consumers were increasingly demanding a large variety of options, and knew we had to diversify our plantings. By plantings dozens of different varieties, we were able to gradually meet specific demand we hadn’t been able to previously. We’ve faced issues with weather and disease as well. Over the last seven years, South Florida has experienced warmer winters that are counter-productive for mango flowering, so we’ve morphed our horticultural care protocols as well as tweaked what we grow. New diseases impacting mango in south Florida have also impacted our planting and grafting decisions as well as our growing practices.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a tropical fruit farm that specializes in mangos, with secondary crops of avocado and sapodilla. We are most known for the enormous variety of mangos we offer, as of 2019 numbering around 300 different varieties. We are very proud not only to offer one of the largest mango collections in the US to the general public but also some of the highest quality and a very extended season. We begin selling mangos in springtime when most other farms in the state are weeks or months away from starting their seasons. Fruit is available at most fruit stand and through our website, Tropicalacresfarms.com
We’re able to do these things thanks to having an opportunity to grow our crop in a nearly ideal location relative to the rest of South Florida as well as a strong horticultural program.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Our business thrives because of the combination of a favorable climate/geography in south Florida and the growing, diverse population that it affords us for a large customer base.
The South Florida metro area is great for new businesses and with some effort and patience, it is not too difficult for entrepreneurs to succeed here. With a relatively low tax, low regulatory environment compared to much of the rest of the country, I would absolutely recommend this area for people starting out.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1010 Camellia Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33405
- Website: www.TropicalAcresFarms.com
- Phone: 561-358-8566
- Email: tropicalacresfarms@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/tropicalacresfarms
- Facebook: Facebook.com/TropicalAcresFarms
- Twitter: @TropicAcresFarm
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/qTKq/wRrsAmABe2
Image Credit:
Alex Salazar
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