Indiana Fruit and Vegetable Field Tour

We are pleased to announce that the fruit and vegetable growers will be joining together for a summer field tour being hosted by Tuttle Orchards in Greenfield, IN on Wednesday, June 28. Topics to be covered include fruit production, vegetable production, farm marketing, and agritourism. There’s something here of interest to everyone so I hope you will plan on joining us. Although we encourage membership in grower organizations such as Indiana Horticultural Society (IHS), Indiana Vegetable Growers Association (IVGA) and Indiana Farm Marketers Association (IFMA), membership is not required to attend the field day and all those interested are welcome to attend.

Tuttle Orchards was founded by Roy Tuttle who was born on the farm in 1893.  The farm has been operated over the years by Virginia & Raymond Roney (2^nd generation), by their two sons Mike and Tom Roney (3^rd generation), and Thomas & Ruth Ann Roney (4^th generation).  Currently, Mike & Helen, Thomas, and Ruth Ann are managing the daily operations of the orchard along with a staff of approx. 100 in peak season.

Tuttles is a diversified operation that includes apple production (8,000 trees on 45 acres), cider production (23,000 gallons annually), vegetable production (30+ crops on 30 acres), agritourism (corn maze, kids’ area), field trips & tours (approx. 15,000 annual tour attendees), farm store (open year round), CSA (approx. 100 summer/50 winter members), retail greenhouses, high tunnels (3 houses in tomatoes/winter greens), events.  About 95% of the orchard income is retail sales.  Very limited wholesale to other growers, cideries, farm markets, and local stores.  Tuttle’s newest venture is an onsite café and sweet shop that will be open year round. More information on the farm is available at their website:

http://www.indianapolisorchard.com

This is a the 5^th time Tuttle Orchards has hosted the summer meeting of the Hort Society, and the first time without Tom Roney (Tom passed away recently). We’ll have a short tribute to Tom and other fruit and vegetable industry leaders who have passed away recently.

We are anticipating a large crowd for this field day, so we plan to split into four groups. After about an hour at each stop we’ll rotate so everyone will have the opportunity to see everything.

• Joe Becovitz-Office of the State Chemist: worker protection standards.
• Fruit Production:  tour of apple plantings including new orchards planted in 2014.
• Vegetable Production: tour of vegetable crop plantings, high tunnels, and chemical storage facilities.
• Produce Packing tour:  tour of apple grader, cold storage, cider production, vegetable washing, CSA packing, and food safety compliance areas.
• Retail/Agritourism tour:  overview of farm store, food service on the farm, agritourism, staffing, POS system.

Wednesday June 28, 2017

 Tuttle Orchards
5717 North 300 West, Greenfield, IN

9:00 am           Registration at the farm

9:30 am           Welcome, introductions, comments from Purdue Fruit Extension Team

9:45 am           Organize into 4 groups

10:00 am         Session 1

11:00 am         Session 2

12:00 pm         Buffet lunch at the farm

1:00 pm           Session 3

2:00 pm           Session 4

3:15 pm           Closing comments / discussion

4:00 pm           Adjourn

Registration and meals
Registration is on-site starting at 9:00 am on June 28. There is no advance registration. Registration fee is $5.00 per person (includes drinks throughout the day) and the buffet lunch at the farm is $10 per person.

Directions
Tuttle Orchard, 5717 North 300 West, Greenfield, IN