April 2021 - 6

Gabe Spurgeon joins a work crew planting new trees at South Baldwin Farms.
The farm plans to expand its apple acreage from the current 15 acres to 55 acres by 2023.
PEACH
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
engineer for eight years, " Spurgeon
said.
His father-in-law, David Miles, had
purchased a farm south of Baldwin
City in 2000 and was haying it but
had always been interested in having a
commercial orchard. They decided to
devote part of the farm to the orchard
with Spurgeon doing the day-to-day
management. The first apple trees
were planted in 2015, with peach and
more apple trees and other products
following.
Today, South Baldwin Farms has
some 36,000 trees. The farm produces
apples, peaches, nectarines and
blackberries, with cherry trees coming
into production soon. South Baldwin
Farms has an 11,000-square-foot facility
including a retail storefront, packing
facility and 2,400 square feet of cold
storage. The farm has a pumpkin patch
and a seasonal U-pick operation as well.
The operation intends to expand its
apple acreage from the current 15 to 55
acres by 2023.
" The engineer side of my brain is
always looking for a better way to do
things, " Spurgeon told Wilson for the
profile story. For example, he chose to
grow dwarf trees which produce quality
apples quicker. They are grown in high
density, which saves land and labor.
" In 2019, we got 500 bushels per
acre on some three-year-old trees, "
Spurgeon said. " We're quickly
becoming the biggest tree-fruit
producer in Kansas. "
Spurgeon continues to innovate. " We
went to Australia to learn about high
density peaches, " he said. The farm
conducted large-scale trellis planting
from 2016-19.
" We got a Kansas Department of
Agriculture specialty crop block grant
to do a field trial on using netting over
our trees which is supposed to protect
from hail, windburn, sunburn and bird
damage, " he said. Through another
project, they have found that reflective
fabric on the ground can help develop
the color of the fruit.
The farm's blackberries are grown on
a rotating trellis, which allows easier
harvest, more sun where needed and
protection when it is not needed. " Our
sun scald used to be 5 to 10%, " he said.
" Now it's virtually zero. "
" We have our blackberries on
rotating trellis of our own design, "
Spurgeon told Fruit Growers News.
" It's probably the thing on the farm I'm
most proud of. "
Spurgeon and his wife have three
children: sons Grayson, 8, and
Thomas, 6; along with 2-year-old
daughter Olivia.
Michigan peach meeting guest
Spurgeon took time out in March to
be a featured speaker at the Michigan
Spring Peach Meeting, held virtually.
" It turns out I'm not made to work
behind a desk, so I had a discussion
with my father-in-law about expanding
the hobby farm into a more serious
business venture, " Spurgeon told those
attending the peach meeting. " In 2012,
we planted what we called a test orchard
(of peaches), where we just have a
half acre of trees where we can try
something new. That's where we got our
feet wet in the high-density approach. "
" We only have so many years of
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experience on this, so don't take this
as a proven method by me, " Spurgeon
cautioned his audience of peach
growers. " (Australian growers) have
been doing this for decades, and it
is proven down there. The reason
they have been doing it down there is
because their labor costs are equivalent
to over $20 an hour U.S. They are
doing everything they can to get labor
out of the question, and that is one
thing that this system does. "
Spurgeon said South Baldwin
Farms has 35 acres of tree fruit in
production - mostly apple, peaches
and some nectarine. " We've lost our
peach crop last year to late frost,
and this year to the Arctic blast in
February, so we're unable to show yield
potential (with the high density peach
system). However, there's no doubt that
harvest is easier and quicker. "
Innovating with test orchard
The farm planted 16 acres of
peaches and apple in its commercial
orchard in 2016, getting it completely
filled in 2019.
" Just by our nature we are
interested in progressive techniques, "
Spurgeon said. " Since we're not a
multi-generational farm, we're not
entrenched in our ways. Our hobby
orchard was more open-vase trees, and
we have about 15 trees left from that
orchard that are 20 years old and not
in that good of shape. "
Seeking to move toward a more
two-dimensional tree training system,
Spurgeon and Miles visited Australia,
" learning quite a bit in just four days. "
South Baldwin Farms had already
had success marketing its products.
" We sell everything we can in the store
that's on the farm because that is where
the best margins are, " Spurgeon said.
" Then we progress to lower margins,
selling to other farms, direct to grocery
stores and to a regional distributor
that makes up about 50% of its sales
volume.
" We sell some of our seconds in
peaches and blackberries, and apple
seconds are 100% used for ciders and
bakeries that pay retail for them, " he said.
" I went with a lot of tried and true
(peach) varieties when we planted our
orchard, " Spurgeon said. They include
Haven varieties, like Red Haven and
Cresthaven; Stellar series, including
Allstar, and four PF (Paul Friday)
selections. Nectarine varieties grown
by South Baldwin Farms include
Fantasia, Hardired and Sunglo. The
season in Kansas runs from June 20Sept.
5.
Why high density?
" It's basically the same discussion
you would have in apples, but there are
a couple of variables, " Spurgeon said.
" Peaches have a more uncertain crop, so
it's understandable why someone would
See PEACH, page 8
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April 2021

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