June 25
Tuttle Orchards
5717 North 300 West, Greenfield, IN
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 June 25. 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 (2nd generation), by their two sons Mike and Tom E. Roney (3rd generation), and Thomas & Ruth Ann Roney (4th 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
We’ll be visiting different aspects of the Tuttle farm operation, including:
- Fruit Production: tour of apple plantings
- 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.
Agenda:
9:00 am Registration at the farm
9:30 am Welcome, introductions, comments from Tuttle Orchard and Purdue Extension
9:45 am Organize into 4 groups
10:00 am Session 1 – fruit production
11:00 am Session 2 – vegetable production
12:00 pm Buffet lunch at the farm
1:00 pm Session 3 – produce packaging and handling
2:00 pm Session 4 – retail/agritourism
3:15 pm Closing comments / discussion
4:00 pm Adjourn