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Pond
Aquaculture, Another Aspect of Heritage Farm
Farming since 1851, the fourth generation now operates Heritage
Tree Fruit Farm and Heritage Station Market. With a total
of 115 acres, the farm encompasses 75 acres of peaches, 20
acres of pears, 5 acres of apples, 5 acres of cherries and
plums, field-grown pumpkins, a greenhouse where bedding plants
are propagated, and a small pond with a miniature dock. Heritage
Farm is in its fourth year of providing agricultural education
sessions, and it offers a wide variety of journeys throughout
the farm to meet the needs of any teacher's lesson plan. Examples
of the educational sessions offered by Heritage include, but
are not limited to:
- A
walking tour of the packing house and cold storage facility
where students will learn about first-line processing for
food safety measures and preparation of the farm's fruit
for storage
- Safety
demonstrations using farm machinery and packing house equipment.
- Meeting
the farm animals and learn about animal husbandry practices.
- Jumping
onto the hay wagon to take a ride through the orchard.
- Taking
students on a hayride to visit a unique feature at Heritage
Farm: their pond stocked with a variety of fish, including
large mouth bass, Calico bass, and Blue Gill or Sunnies.
Students will learn about aquaculture, an upcoming facet
of New Jersey agriculture, and how the surrounding freshwater
grasses and other natural resources impact the pond's environment.
Students
have an opportunity to pick in-season apples, peaches and
pumpkins. Pick-your-own is a wonderful hands-on experience
for learning about fruit production.
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