December 2020 - 5

CUSTOMERS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
other businesses across the country, this
year the farm operated on a reservation
system where customers would schedule
a time to visit.
Fueling the farm's success in 2020 were
" open-air packages " that allowed customers
to choose multiple pick-your-own farm
experiences. Depending on how many crops
customers elected to pick, the " open-air
package " for a small group of four ran
$30-$50, with $40 about the average.
And you didn't have to do everything
in the package - you could opt-out, but
they did it. "
Al Rose said the farm first started
growing potatoes about 20 years ago as
part of a crop rotation with pumpkins.
The farm has offered potato-digging in
previous seasons, but it caught on in a
bigger way this year, with more than 500
people digging up their own red potatoes.
Red Apple Farm provided each group
the option of a pitchfork or a rake to dig
out potatoes, and an attendant to talk
them through the process.
" There's a lot of educating, " Rose said.
" You would think people know that
potatoes are in the ground, but we've had
lots of stories where people are standing
on the potatoes and asking where they
are. " They also explained the basic potatodigging
technique, to start one side of the
mound and " rip through " to the other
side to avoid stabbing the tubers.
" If you can show them how to do
Blueberries, apples, raspberries, peaches,
pumpkins and sunflowers are part of the
pick-your-own operation, including " digyour-own "
potatoes.
" We made them so they were a value
for a family, which we thought was the
right thing to do, " Al Rose said.
Each crop was limited by the size of a
container - a peck bag for apples, a halfpeck
bag for potatoes- so that nothing
had to be weighed for checkout. " Sugar
pumpkins " - small pumpkins that were
usually sold to school groups - were
included in the bundle, and each group
could pick three of them.
New experiences
Unusual weather conditions caused the
pumpkins to ripen early, and this led to
some interesting discoveries.
" We didn't realize that when you
put pumpkins in the package in early
August, they would pick them, " Rose
said. " They did - we were not expecting
that. We quickly said, 'Well, why don't we
open up the potato part of our package?'
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WELDING CORP.
4750 8 Mile Rd.
Conklin, MI 49403
Phone: (616) 784-3046
Fax (616) 784-5852
www.philbrownwelding.com
Authorized Durand-Wayland dealer providing
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FGN | DECEMBER 2020 | 5
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" Hydraulic planetary drives on all four wheels, driven
by a hydrostat, provide traction in snow or mud. "
it, they get it, and there's a sense of
excitement when they find the potatoes,
like a treasure hunt, " Rose said. " People
were very proud of bringing home
dinner. I mean, apples, you can eat them
and you can make dessert, but potatoes
are part of a meal. For most people that
did it, it was a novel experience. "
Why it worked
The potatoes' popularity led to the
insight that customers were looking for
new, authentic farm experiences. The
Rose family added other pick-your-own
crops to the list.
" We started doing pick-your-own
ornamental corn, " Rose said. The
experience included showing participants
how to prepare the corn for display, pulling
the husk back. Other pick-your-own
experiences included picking big, orange
" Daffy lantern " flowers - the Rose family
grows them in the understory of an
orchard - and ornamental gourds. While
some customers in the peak applepicking
window from mid-September to
mid-October only wanted apples, most
welcomed the opportunity for a walk
Tree Planter
In addition to its own farm market (shown), Red Apple Farm has retail operations at
Boston Public Market and Wachusett Mountain ski area.
and more fun in the fresh air.
" We actually made people walk all
through the farm, and they actually liked
it, " Rose said. " To them, it was a much
more fulfilling experience, because they
got to do the different fruits of the farm. "
Rose and his wife attribute the
popularity of open-air experiences
to people's state of mind during the
pandemic. They compare it to a surge of
business the farm saw in 2001 after the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
" People, when they have anxiety,
they're looking for things to make them
feel better, " Rose said. " I think we're very
fortunate the farm provides that, whether
it's an escape or a holiday experience. ...
Picking potatoes, digging potatoes made
people feel more normal, and I think
people needed that. "
Shipping out success
Red Apple Farm's market stays open in
one form or another year-round, selling
a variety of value-added food products
like cider donuts, pies, fudge and even
hard cider. In addition to the farm itself,
the Rose family operates a stall in the
Boston Public Market and at a small
ski lodge, called " The Core " at nearby
Wachusett Mountain.
Although the shops remained open
in mid-November, the products and
Red Apple Farm's cider donuts are sold
online and shipped around the country.
produce were also available for curbside
pickup and home delivery.
Yankee Magazine in October listed Red
Apple Farm's cider donuts as one of 10
" Iconic New England Foods " that are sold
online and shipped around the country.
" While mail-order doughnuts may
never beat the ones fresh out of the fryer
(likely purchased as a pick-me-up on an
afternoon spent wandering through the
orchards), Red Apple Farm's version holds
up to the rigors of long-distance travel, "
wrote Yankee Magazine's Amy Traverso.
The support from customers - both
ordering shipments of food and produce
while sheltering, and also those enjoying
the farm's open air - has been substantial,
and the Rose family is counting those
blessings.
" Years like this show you that people
do value family farms, " Rose said. FGN
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December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2020
