TEXAS NEIGHBORS | SUMMER 2017 Family keeps cantaloupe legacy alive By Ed Wolff Video Services Director A Lone Star legend grows in Far West Texas—the Pecos cantaloupe. This sweet sensa-tion almost went extinct. But the Mandujano brothers didn’t let that happen. “People have known Pecos cantaloupes a long time already. It kind of went out of here prob-ably about seven or eight years ago,” Beto Mandujano said. “We started back up. We started with 30-40 acres. Now we’re up to 300-plus acres.” Beto farms with two of his broth-ers, Tony and Mando, just north of Coyanosa. Together, they make up Mandujano Brothers Produce. They also grow onions and pumpkins. Although watermel-ons are their biggest crop, can-taloupes are their most popular. The popularity stems from the aroma and sweetness, which is what sets their melons apart. Folks travel for miles and hours just for a taste. And it’s their cus-tomers who keep them growing. “The only reason we grow cantaloupes is for our custom-ers. There’s a big demand for them. It is one of the hardest crops to grow,” Tony said. “As long as our customers want to keep buying those cantaloupes, we’re going to keep growing to get them some for the summer.” Cantaloupes were first plant-ed around Pecos in the early 1900s. But by the turn of the millennium, most farmers had stopped. The Mandujanos were raised on their dad’s farm in Coyanosa, about 30 miles south of Pecos. Their dad bought the farm when the growers he worked for wanted to sell out. From then on, he farmed for himself. After college, the brothers came back to farm on their own in the late ’90s. A perfect time to step in. And keep the cantaloupe legacy alive. WWW.TEXASFARMBUREAU.ORG