March 2020 - 12

IFTA tour touts growers, processor power
By Stephen Kloosterman
Associate Editor
Snowy orchard tours, impromptu
pruning demonstrations and glimpses of
powerful processing facilities were the
highlights of the International Fruit Tree
Association (IFTA)'s Post Conference
and Tours.
The events ran Feb. 13-14 in west
Michigan after the main event in Grand
Rapids. Starting in Kent County, the
tours moved into west-central Michigan:
Mason, Oceana and Newaygo counties.
Riveridge Orchards, cider
Attendees toured a new cider plant
built by Riveridge Packing LLC in
Grant, Michigan. As Fruit Growers
News reported at the plant's opening
last summer, the construction effort
survived a fire and the cider processing
facility is among one of the largest in
the country.
Prices for culls run about 10 to 12
cents per pound. Following the 2019
harvest, the group was prepared to
begin around-the-clock production.
Tour attendees were told the plant
ran 24-7 for 100 days, although the
company has since reduced shifts.
The plant can produce about 1,700
gallons in a two-hour production cycle,
attendees were told.
In addition to the packing operations
Some participants in the International Fruit Tree Association's post conference tour at Van Agtmael Orchards. Photos: Stephen Kloosterman
and a marketing office, the Riveridge
group includes land companies that
have 520 acres of apples in production,
220 acres of newly-planted apples and
12 acres of sweet cherries in production.
Attendees toured a sweet cherry
planting of 14-wire, v-trellis systems
near Grant. The trellis systems were
planted with 338 trees each of Ebony
Pearl, Burgundy Pearl and Radiance
Pearl, all on the Gi.5 rootstock.
Rennhack Orchards
The second stop of the day was at
Rennhack Orchards in Hart, where
growers saw a couple of high-density
EverCrisp apple orchards that Dave
Rennhack had planted in 2018.
EverCrisp is the brand name
for the MAIA-1 cultivar from
the Midwest Apple Improvement
Association, and Rennhack is a big
fan. The custom license plate on his
pickup truck is EVRCRSP.
EverCrisp seems to ripen Oct. 22-26,
he said. Going ahead, his challenges
include having the apple color well.
At this stop, as at other sites on the
post-conference tour, Rennhack gave a
pruning demonstration and attendees
offered their advice.
Rennhack said he had torn up the
ground before planting the orchard and
the soil was very good - 2-2.5% organic
matter. He fertilized it using a pelletized
form of chicken litter.
Peterson Farms Inc.
Peterson Farms was established
in 1984 by Earl Peterson, a fourthgeneration
fruit grower. Today, the
company based in Shelby, Michigan,
processes asparagus, apples, sweet
cherries, blueberries and peaches,
according to IFTA's written materials. It
12 | FruitGrowersNews.com
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March 2020

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