JOHN COOMBS SR.— ALWAYS BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
Te Coombs family gathers for a photo in September of 2017. From left to right: Adam Glas, George Coombs, Kevin Coombs, Ryan, Cristina, Jacob, John Sr., Donna, Sam, John Jr., Mary and Lee.
By Suz Trusty
John Coombs, Sr. is the eighth generation of the Coombs farm family. Established in southern New Jersey in the late 1700s by his great- great-great-great-great-grandfather, the family farm was originally a 167- acre vegetable and dairy farm.
In 1955, George A. Coombs Jr. (John Sr.'s father) sold the dairy, purchased more land, and increased vegetable production to sell potatoes and tomatoes to Campbell Soup Company. In 1956, he incorporated irrigation by purchasing hand-moved irrigation pipe. In 1958, he used pulled type potato harvesters for loading potatoes in bulk. In 1960, he bought two mechanical string bean harvesters, the first in the area, establishing what would become
a family tradition of embracing technology. In 1961, George built the first potato storage so the farm could supply fresh potatoes to Campbell during the winter months.
John Sr. and his brother, Jim, grew up on the farm, tackling increasingly more complex tasks. In 1972, they added field corn to their crop mix. Jim, nine years older than John, was mechanically-inclined and great at fabricating things. He opted to stay on the farm putting those skills to work. John Sr. earned an Associates of Agriculture degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1975. Upon graduation, he became a partner with his father and brother. By 1978, they were farming over 1,000 acres and were leasing three storage buildings to the Campbell Soup Company for carrots and potatoes.
TPI Turf News November/December 2017
John and Donna Growing up, John Coombs and Donna Cruzan lived about ten miles apart. Tey met when she was still in high school. She says, “I was dating one of John’s friends. We were all at this dance when, as I learned later, John asked his friend to let him know if we broke up. In December of 1978, John started asking me out.”
Donna’s Dad had started farming Cruzandale Farms with his Dad and four brothers, gradually transitioning to sole owner. After selling the dairy herd in 1968, he grew tomatoes, asparagus, string and lima beans, field corn and sweet corn, but his biggest crop was always potatoes. Of course, Donna helped in multiple ways, including riding the harvester with her sister and brother during potato harvests. “We’d grade out rotten or
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