Grapefruit Grove - Guest blog post by Alonso Kramer

We have a family grapefruit grove in Hidalgo County , Texas that has been in our family for the last seventy-five years. Usually, we have great years, but occasionally the season will start off slow. This year, the season started off slower than ever. I decided to check into ways to reduce our monthly overhead. I checked into Mission Tx electricity providers to make sure that we were not overpaying for electricity. I switched from cable television ( my promotional package had been cancelled and my bill jumped fifty dollars) to a dish. I did a lot of research and decided to upgrade some of our farm equipment to make them more fuel friendly. I was actually able to have most of them modified rather than purchase new equipment. With gas prices today, I had to get creative. Luckily, the season is going in the opposite direction of the way it started. I am glad I made the changes at the grove. I am saving much more in the long run. Even if the season starts off slowly next year too, I will have a bit of a safety cushion.