|
Watch this page, the list-serv and our newsletter, Just Picked, for information on our field days, orchard walks, demo days, and work parties, as well as those organized by others and of potential interest to organic tree fruit growers in the Midwest.
Any Network participant or University project is welcome to host an event. These can be formal or informal, whatever the host chooses. Hosts are simply providing a venue for discussion in the field. They are not expected to have all the answers to organically produce tree fruits as no one does.
The Network Coordinator will be happy to discuss options with you. The Coordinator helps to organize any formal events of the Network, which sometimes include guest speakers. Otherwise feel free to use the list-serv to invite others to your place to do some winter grafting together, prune trees, demonstrate something, take an afternoon orchard walk-and-talk, or to organize a grower breakfast. Let me know if I can assist. |
 |
-Deirdre Birmingham
Network Coordinator
608-967-2362; deirdreb@mindspring.com |
2009 Tree Fruit Events
There will be one grower retreat and two field days in 2009. These events are made possible by funding from the Risk Management Agency of the USDA.
February 26, 2009 | La Crosse, Wisconsin
Organic University Course - Advanced Tree Fruit Production
Growing perennial crops such as fruit trees offers production challenges, especially for organic orchardists. As with all aspects of organic agriculture, crop health is based in soil building and enhancement of a diverse environment. The perennial nature of tree plantings offers challenges as well as opportunities. This course addresses the specific needs of organic fruit growers with practical options discussed on how to incorporate a wide range of management and inputs to improve your operation. This course is geared towards experienced orchard growers, both those currently growing organically and those transitioning. This session, while having some information for beginners, will not present information for those new to tree fruit production.
Gain a deeper understanding of the factors that encourage insect breeding and feeding to improve your management of insect problems and aid in the effective and timely use of traps, pheromone disrupters and organically approved spray materials. Production issues from soil fertility to monitoring and responding to climatic factors will be covered as well as various fruit marketing options. Integrating livestock offers some promise for insect control as well as adding fertility and a second crop for market, improving your bottom line. Our panel of experienced organic orchardists, George Bird, professor in the Department of Entomology from Michigan State University, Steve Ela, from Colorado, and Jim Koan from Michigan will bring many ideas for discussion.
February 27-28, 2009 - Organic Farming Conference | Grafting Fruit Trees Workshop
A truly hands-on workshop featuring the theory and practice of grafting, demonstrations of a variety of techniques and tools, and the opportunity to practice hands-on bench grafting under the direction of experience fruit-tree grafters. Summer budgrafting, topworking old trees, and dormant grafting will be explained. Followed in the same room by a scion-wood exchange sponsored by the Organic Tree Fruit Growers Network. Bring grafting wood of your favorite antique apple or newer varieties to share (no patented varieties please). Learn more about the conference. Online registration open through February 18th. Register today!
February 27, 2009 - Organic Tree Fruit
Growers Network Meeting
2009 Organic Farming Conference | La Crosse, WI
This year the network is organizing a scion wood exchange. We will have a grafting workshop in Meeting room C from 4:00 to 5:30. Immediately following the workshop we will have an informal get together with tools for grafting. Bring some grafting wood and be prepared to share some stories, sip some cider,
graft a few trees (or watch), and hear an update on the Network. We will have some rootstock available. All are welcome. Contact: Harry Hoch, Hoch Orchard and Gardens at hoch1
@acegroup.cc or 507-643-6329 for more information. Register for the conference.
March 5-6, 2009 - Advanced Grower Retreat – Kellogg Center, East Lansing, Michigan
Growers will gather for in-depth discussion on common production, marketing, and value-added issues. Updates on forming the Organic Tree Fruit Association will be shared. The Retreat ends when the Michigan Organic Conference starts on Friday evening, March 6, also at the Kellogg Center. Michael Phillips, author of The Apple Grower, will give three presentations at the Conference on Saturday. He will participate as a grower in the Retreat on Friday.
Download a registration form for the retreat. Read more about the retreat. Attendance will be limited to approximately 25 growers. To express your interest and to suggest topics for discussion please contact Deirdre at 608-967-2362 or deirdreb@mindspring.com. Download a draft agenda for the retreat.
|
Past 2008 Tree Fruit Events
Thank you to all our 2008 host orchards!
December 9-11, 2008 - Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
December 11 included a full day of organic horticulture sessions, including a half-day on tree fruits. For more information: www.glexpo.com
August 8, 2008 - Organic Apple Research Field Day, Dixons Spring Research Station, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jeff Kindhart, orchard manager, and Rick Wienzierl, entomologist at UIUC, discussed their organic system and insect pest management experiments. This event was sponsored by the Agro-Ecology Program of the UIUC. Contact Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant for information on future tours at cvnghgrn@illinois.edu.
August 2, 2008 - Elm Tree Farm Field Day, Afton, MN
Patricia Bliska, a new grower in Afton, Minnesota, hosted fruit growers to her organically managed apple orchard and berry farm. Read about Elm Tree Farm and the field day in the Summer 2008 issue of Just Picked.
June 27-28, 2008 - Hoch Orchard Field Day and Value-Added Tour - La Crescent, MN
Harry and Jackie Hoch again opened their orchard and this time their apple packing and processing business for 1.5-day event at their Hoch Orchard and Gardens in La Crescent, Minnesota. This event built on the discussions of the Advanced Grower Retreat held February 20-21 in Trempealeau, Wisconsin. Almost a dozen guest speakers participated in the event, including Steve Ela of Ela Family Farms in Hotchkiss, Colorado, Chef Monique Hooker, and Heather Hilleren of Greenleaf Market. Randy Schnitzler discussed the new crop insurance program, Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite, with growers.
On Friday there was a tour of the Hoch’s new on-farm processing building as well as guest speakers on value-added products, markets, marketing, and pricing for fresh tree fruits and value-added products. A variety of hard ciders were sampled and enjoyed while their makers discussed production and marketing issues.
The Hoch’s hosted a delicious on-farm dinner Friday.
Saturday’s focus was in the orchard on organic apple production. A lunch was provided Saturday that features local and organic ingredients. Chef Monique Hooker, author of “Cooking with the Seasons”, helped to organize the Friday dinner and Saturday lunch. She spoke to growers on selling to restaurants and gave a highly animated cooking demonstration. The meals were fabulous.
Click here for more information on this event, as well as the Spring 2008 and Summer 2008 issues of Just Picked. Also visit http://www.hochorchard.com/ for more information on Hoch Orchard.
February 20-21, 2008 - Our First Advanced Grower Retreat - Trempealeau, WI
The Network hosted its first Advanced Grower Retreat, February 20-21, at the Historic Trempealeau Hotel, in Trempealeau, Wisconsin. A historic meeting it was: twenty-five growers met to discuss value-added tree fruit businesses, markets and pricing, and the future of the Tree Fruit Network. Growers decided to start price sharing information and their experiences with various wholesale buyers as a means to reduce the risk of accepting below-market prices. One council member, Tom Rosenfeld, will collect information from individual growers who wish to participate. Those sharing are those receiving the collated and updated price information. in the future, this may become a secure web-based service to member growers. Another outcome of the Retreat was to become a dues-paying membership organization at the start of 2009. Retreat participants showed their support by putting down $10 each to become founding members and the Advisory Council to become the Network's Board of Directors by 2009.
Two of the growers, Harry Hoch and Tricia Bliska, hosted summer field days in 2008 for Network-wide participation.
February 22 - Network Meeting - at the Organic Farming Conference
The annual Midwest Organic Tree Fruit Network meeting was held during the lunch hour at the Organic Farming Conference, February 22. Almost 50 people attended the meeting. Participants were updated on the Network's 2008 activities and future structure, starting with its four year history that dates back to a similar meeting at the 2004 Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference. Growers had an opportunity to network with one another and to ask questions of th egroup and provide ideas for the network.
Completed 2007 Events
November 2 - Organic Pork & Apple Field Day - Flushing, MI
At Jim Koan's Al-Mar Orchards. Learn about the hog grazing project and other organic pest management tactics being researched and implemented in Michigan orchards. Jim is on the Tree Fruit Network advisory board.
For more information, contact David Epstein, 517-432-4766
November 10 - Midwest Apple Improvement Association Annual Meeting - Heath, OH
This association involves both growers and university researchers whose mission is "to develop economically and culturally viable apple cultivars for the Midwest." Those efforts include apple scab resistance and apple biodiversity.
For more information contact Mitch Lynd, 740-967-5355
December 4-6 - Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo - Grand Rapids, MI
All day sessions on organic production and marketing.
www.glexpo.com
August 22, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Sturgeon Bay, WI
Matt Stasiak of University of Wisconsin welcomed Network participants to view the organic tart cherry and apple orchard blocks he is establishing. Barrett Gruber, a doctoral candidate, with Professor Patricia McManus, UW-Madison plant pathologist, showed their research on copper to control cherry leafspot and copper's potential negative impacts on leaf photosynthesis. Information on the preliminary results are found here. Dave Parsons showed us how to do apple bagging to improve fruit quality. Watch our INFORMATION page for a video demonstration of apple bagging, courtesy of Dave parsons. Read about the field day in the Fall 2007 issue of Just Picked.
Matt has supplied information on these blocks for our newsletter and website over the last two years. Please see the Winter (January) 2006 and 2007 issues of Just Picked.
The field day covered the following topics :
- Ground preparation
- Weed management and mulch trials
- Orchard floor management
- Selection of rootstocks and varieties
- Orchard layout and spacing
- Soil fertility and nutrient cycling issues
- Wildflower plantings to attract beneficial insects
- Fungal leaf pathogens of cherry (leafspot, powdery mildew) and apple (scab, fire blight)
- Insect pest management:
- Experiences with NOP-approved products
July 10, 1:30 to 4:30 PM, Viroqua, WI
John Armbruster and family, of Two Brothers' Orchard near Viroqua, WI hosted an orchard walk for Network growers. Guest speaker was Bob Johnson who has been of particular help to John in getting his orchard going. The family orchard consists of 150 apple trees on dwarfing rootstocks with the varieties Liberty, Royal Cortland and Honeycrisp and 50 cherry trees on standard rootstock of Surefire and Montmorency. The Armbrusters also have 1,000 ft of raspberries and are starting blackberries. He sells his fruits at the Biroqua Farmers' Market and starting this year to local stores. John hosted the Network as a novice grower to share what he has learned since they started the orchard in 2003. Bob demonstrated limb spreading, discussed insect problems and answered diverse questions from participants. Learn more from an article on the event in the Summer issue of Just Picked.
March 4-7 - 4th International Organic Tree Fruit Research Symposium - East Lansing, MI
This Symposium, which happens every two years, was hosted by Michigan State University at their Kellogg Center. It covered soil, ground cover, tree, pest and horticulture management and other advances in organic tree fruit production. See Just Picked Spring 2007, pages 3-4 for a report on the Symposium, including a listing of the presentations given and the research priorities developed. A few presentations, papers and posters are available on our RESEARCH webpage.
March 10 – Pruning Clinic - Lansing, IA
Bob Johnson gave a pruning clinic along with Jamie Bjornsen at her Countryside Orchard in Lansing, IA. See our newsletter article on the event in Just Picked, Spring 2007 issue. Thank you to Bob and Jamie for initiating this much appreciated and well attended event.
The Organic Farming Conference was held February 22-24, 2007 in La Crosse, WI.
This year David Sliwa of Sliwa Meadow Farm and Harry Hoch of Hoch Orchard and Garden conducted a session titled: Small-Scale Tree Fruit Production on Friday, February 23 at 8:30 AM. They gave an overview of organically growing apples, pears, and stone fruit, including cultivar selection; site selection, preparation, and maintenance for optimal health, and organic pest control. They discussed considerations regarding orchard size, time to production, and fruit volume. To get a recording of this session go to Resource Express at http://www.organicvoices.com/Specialty_Crops.html or call 800-535-3830.
Network Meeting
Also at the Conference on Friday, our Network held its annual meeting during the lunch break. It was at this same venue three years ago when 20 growers came together to launch the Network. This year 57 people met including a few buyers of organically grown tree fruits. The time was all too short. Everyone introduced briefly him or herself to the group. The Network’s new Advisory Council was introduced. The Network’s short history was outlined as well as its current activities. Opportunities to host field days, pruning clinics or orchard walks were announced. Harry Hoch invited feedback on possibly creating a structure for the Network involving membership. Bill Wright invited input on needs in marketing organic tree fruits. He has funds to help growers in this area and will use the input to shape how he uses those funds this year. The Spring 2007 issue of our newsletter, Just Picked, gives more information on this meeting and the Advisory Council’s work. They were quite busy in February and March discussing the structure and future of the Network.
For more information, contact Deirdre Birmingham at 608-967-2362 deirdreb@mindspring.com.
The Risk Management Agency of the USDA and MOSES were the major sponsors of these field days. Additional sponsors are welcome.
We appreciate the support of the USDA Risk Management Agency.
|
