SAD 1 Educational Farm continues to prosper
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — More people bought fresh apples, cider, honey, strawberries, blueberries, potatoes and beans from the SAD 1 Educational Farm than they did the year before.
The total school farm income for the 2009-10 farm year was $154,386, up $11,924 from the previous year. The school farm occupies 38 acres.
The farm’s apple orchard is clearly paying off. People spent $28,236 on fresh apples last year compared to $22,736 the year before.
“The half-peck bags, or five-pound bags, are very popular,” Farm Manager Aaron Buzza told SAD 1 directors at the Jan. 19 board meeting. “We sold 5,196 bags last year with an income of $18,552. In 2009, we sold 3,988 with an income of $14,657. Ironically, there’s not a huge demand for the one-peck bags. We only sold 10 last year, so clearly the half-peck bags are preferred.”
In terms of cider, $15,814 was sold in 2010, or an increase of $4,749.
“Part of our problem now with cider is we’re putting out a very good product and people from far distances are wanting it,” said Buzza. “We have cider up in the Valley – Fort Kent and Madawaska – and down in the Houlton area, and logistically trying to get our product to those regions is posing a little bit of a challenge. Over time, we’ll work that out and I think that number will grow quite steadily.”
Calling the faculty/staff U-Pick apple program “the best thing the farm can really offer,” Buzza said it’s nice to see the district’s families come and pick apples together.
“It’s a really good, fun time for families,” he said. “It’s the same with the public U-Pick. “We sold over $2,000 in apples during the U-Pick days. We get phone calls from the public all the time asking if they can bring their kids. We tell them that’s the purpose of our school farm. Some of the kids have been to the farm for tours, so they tell Mom and Dad how to pick an apple correctly … you don’t twist it or yank it, you turn it upside down. The kids are actually little school farm employees on those U-Pick days and we love having them.”
The public is clamoring for the farm’s apple cider. In 2010, 1,238 gallons were sold, as well as 2,666 half-gallons, 736 quarts and 1,149 pints, for a total of $11,171.
“The grocery stores are loving it more,” Buzza said, “and people like the fact that it’s pure apple juice. There’s no additives … there’s nothing in there to make the shelf life last longer. It’s going to expire like milk in 14 days, and I think our education is getting out there and people are liking the product.”
Last year 15,725 eight-ounce containers of cider were sold.
“That is what goes into the school lunch program,” said Buzza. “Some goes to grocery stores, but most go to the kids.”
The total pounds of apples used last year was 93,966 – 45,741 were fresh while 48,225 were processed.
“Next year we should be up in the 100,000-110,000 pound range, if all goes well,” said Buzza.
Larry Fox, director of the Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center, said there are currently about 2,500 apple trees in the ground.
“About 950 of those were in the original planting; those are what we refer to as our ‘mature trees,’” he said. “Roughly one-third of the acreage is mature. In another 5-10 years, two-thirds of the orchard will be mature, and then probably within 10-15 years the whole orchard will be mature. It’s been planted roughly in thirds.
“The first third is booming, the middle third is starting to come on, and in the next 5-6 years we’ll see that catch up with the first planting,” said Fox. “The last third, or the younger trees, probably won’t be bearing fully in 10-15 years.”
2010 was a good year for strawberries and blueberries. The farm sold 14,300 quarts ($37,406) of strawberries and 1,650 pounds of blueberries ($4,587). Officials hope to double blueberry production this year. Raspberries were down about 380 pounds.
“We picked about 16,000 quarts of strawberries,” Buzza said, noting that 2,000 quarts were used for pies and ice cream made by Houlton Farms Dairy. “They’ll make the ice cream for us in Houlton and then we’ll sell it in our store. We can’t sell enough. We’ll ramp that up this year.”
Though the squash fields “didn’t look good this year,” Buzza said that was primarily due to the extremely dry weather during the month of August.
Not wanting to compete with roadside potato stands, the farm grew three-quarters of an acre of potatoes.
“We grew all reds and all blues,” said Buzza. “It’s hard to teach people in Aroostook County to eat an all red or an all blue potato; they’ve got to have a white or a gold.”
The farm’s cider tours are not only popular with students in SAD 1, but outside the area, as well. For example, 15 Fort Kent students attended a tour last fall. In addition, Limestone sent 25 students, Caribou (90), Woodland (22) and southern Aroostook (40).
“That tells me that our vision for this program is a vision that’s envied by other schools,” said Buzza, noting that similar schools have participated on Mother’s Day, farm and hydroponic tours.
While fruits and vegetables are grown at the school farm, the PIRCTC also has an aquaculture lab and markets fish to supermarkets and tropical fish stores.
Fox said the money generated by the school farm goes into a revenue account for the farm.
“It comes right back into our coffers to pay for the expenses that we have at the farm,” he said, noting that the farm’s 2009-10 budget was $109,000. “That does not include salaries; our budget includes such things as supplies, utilities and fuel oil.”
Officials are optimistic that this year’s growing season will be even more successful than the 2010 crop.
“We’re in a very good position,” Buzza said. “We have about 65-75 students working up at the school farm, and they love it. We provide a very safe, enjoyable and educational environment and it’s very successful. Everything’s status quo for next year and I see nothing but a good year coming.”
