Jeff Schrier | The Saginaw News
Jalapeno peppers move along a conveyor belt for inspection at Cass River Farms pepper processing, 1741 N. Niagara in Saginaw.
In a squat, riverside warehouse, amid the tangle of cement-block buildings and concrete city streets, a part of hidden Saginaw reveals a connection to the farm.
Inside, the pungent aroma of tens of thousands of jalapeno peppers swirls through the cold storage room; the peppers pass by on a conveyor belt and cascade like a waterfall of green into bins.
This is Cass River Farms, in the heart of the city at 1741 N. Niagara. Next door and high above, the iconic neon Bean Bunny sign blinks on and off. “We’re in the shadow of the Bean Bunny,” said Cass River Farms co-owner Aaron M. Boese.
Boese and his dad, Gregory M. Boese, have had a 10-person workforce that inspects, picks off debris and ships millions of jalapeno and yellow banana peppers coast-to-coast. Their produce could end up on your submarine sandwich or pizza from Subway or Papa John’s.
“There wouldn’t be more production going through any other facility in the country than here,” said Aaron Boese, 35. “What we provide is a line-ready product with just-in-time delivery.”
The Boeses are longtime farmers. The elder Boese, 63, lives on a farm in Spaulding Township. The family saw a need to fill in as pepper inspectors when companies that once did the task eliminated field departments.
The 53,000-square-foot Saginaw warehouse, kept at 45 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, receives and ships 30 million to 35 million pounds of peppers each year, the equivalent of six to 10 semi-tractor trailer shipments daily.
In the summer, the vegetables arrive from local and Midwest farms. In the winter, they come from Mexico, Aaron Boese said.
The preparation process works like an auto assembly line, said Gregory Boese, “except instead of spark plugs, it’s peppers,” he said.
A forklift hauls 1-ton cardboard bins, pouring the contents into a hopper. The hopper hydraulically tips to spill the peppers on the start of a journey on a two-sided conveyor belt. As the colorful vegetables ride over a bump like a wave over a rock, air blows off foreign debris such as leaves or dirt. Workers rapidly remove by hand any rotten or off-color peppers.
Once the vegetables pass the test, the hot and mild peppers ride up a small paddlewheel-like rise and spill into a storage bin.
Curtis L. Neumann, 24, of Saginaw jumps off a forklift multiple times during the day to help work on the line.
“It’s really, really hectic,” he said.
“I’ve done the fast food. I’ve done the pizza delivery. What I like about this job is it’s physically challenging. Here, we do a good job. We see the fruits of our labor.”
Once the peppers are out the door, they’re shipped to Hausbeck Pickle Co., at 1626 Hess in Saginaw and 3444 East in Spaulding Township, or Vlasic cq Foods Inc. in Imlay City. There, they’ll be sliced and prepared for distribution to “quick-serve” restaurants around America.