Greg Shipe is saying “cheers” to a $25,000 state grant he received to boost wine production at his Douglas County vineyard.

Shipe’s Davenport Orchards, Vineyard and Winery, 1394 E. 1900 Road, was one of 13 Kansas businesses or organizations to win a “specialty crop” grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing. It was the first time the state received federal funds to award such grants, and Shipe is convinced that more will be needed to help the state’s struggling agriculture economy.

Davenport Orchards, Vineyard and Winery, 1394 E. 1900 Road, has received a 5,000 grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce. Greg Shipe, owner, said Monday that he plans to use the grant to purchase new equipment.

“Whether it be grapes or some other type of specialty crop, I think more farmers are going to have to turn to something like this,” Shipe said Monday. “If the demand for grain and the price for grain stays as low as it has been, I don’t know how they’re going to keep going.”

Shipe plants traditional crops like soybeans on his 150 acres of Kansas River bottomground between Lawrence and Eudora. But his goal is to be in the grape business full time.

The grant, largest of the 13 given earlier this month, will get him one step closer to that goal, he said. The funds will be used to purchase larger and more efficient wine-making equipment. Currently, the winery operates with a crusher that can process only 200 pounds of grapes at a time. With the new equipment, he’ll be able to crush as much as 5,000 pounds of grapes at once.

‘Room to grow’

“We had really kind of reached a bottleneck with our current production system,” Shipe said. “The way we are now, we actually have more vineyard than our equipment will handle. This will give us some room to grow.”

Shipe began cultivating grapes in 1990 after his wife, Charlee Glinka, saw some vines at a Kansas State University exhibit and said they looked interesting. He began with a crop that occupied less than a half acre.

Now he has 8 acres of grape vines. During a “good year,” they can produce 2,000 gallons of wine, or about 10,000 bottles. Shipe said K-State research showed a winery needed to produce about 10,000 gallons of wine a year to be large enough for a family to earn a decent living.

Davenport Orchards could reach the 10,000-gallon mark if Shipe added another 10 to 12 acres of vines during the next five to six years, he said.

	Winemakers’ labors bearing fruit

Starting in 1997, Shipe began selling wine out of a converted garage. With little advertising, Shipe said the winery has sold out of its stock every year. His wine sells for about $5 to $13 a bottle. He has about 20 different varieties. Shipe and his wife do all the work along with about five or six volunteers. If the business grows to 20 acres, so will the number of hands it takes to get the job done.

Kansas history

Kansas farmers once were known for growing grapes, Shipe said. He points to Kansas crop statistics that show in 1901 the state had more than 5,000 acres planted in grape vines. But Prohibition cut the demand greatly, and the crop has never become popular in the state again. Today, there’s only about 100 acres planted in the state, including several acres in the Basehor area at the Holy-Field Vineyard and Winery.

	The Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing has $125,000 to award by Aug. 15. In addition to specialty-crop farmers, farmers who have value-added ideas for traditional grain crops may also apply. The application deadline is July 15. Anyone interested in applying for the grant should contact Megan Kilgore at (785) 296-7006, or e-mail her at mkilgore@kansascommerce.com.

Shipe said if his business venture became successful, other Douglas County farmers might turn to grapes as well.

“I absolutely can see more grapes being grown in this valley,” Shipe said. “I think it could produce a better way of life for farmers, especially the small farmer that can’t afford to plant 2,000 acres of soybeans.”

But there are drawbacks. In particular, getting into the grape business requires a substantial upfront investment, Shipe said. He estimated that it cost about $5,000, not including labor, to plant an acre of grapes. That’s compared to about $100 an acre for soybeans.

But Shipe estimated five acres of his grapes would gross as much as 100 acres of his soybeans.

“We just need to find some people who are interested and willing to take a chance, and who knows, it may really take off around here,” Shipe said.