| |
Participate
in a Walking Tour with One of the Masters of Agricultural
Education
Situated adjacent to the scenic Pequest River, Stoneyfield
Orchard was established in 1947 by Harry Schnieber. In January
2001, Stoneyfield was enrolled in the Farmland Preservation
program to ensure the land will remain farmland in perpetuity.
Mr. Schnieber has over 39 years experience teaching agriculture
at the Belvidere High School. Stoneyfield has offered agricultural
education sessions since 1995 and Mr. Schnieber's farming
and teaching background enables him to field a wide variety
of agricultural subjects from fruit and vegetable production,
to animal husbandry practices, to what it takes to enter the
fields of agriculture, the food systems or natural resource
management. Stoneyfield's 14 acres of peaches, apples, pears,
cherries and plums provide students an opportunity to learn
the wide variety of agricultural management practices that
are implemented to maintain the orchard's health and ensure
that crop quality and quantity is maximized. See some of the
apple trees that were planted prior to Mr. Schnieber's purchase
of the orchard and are still producing a quality crop for
the third generation of consumers. Students will learn the
special pruning techniques used on the various fruit trees
to enhance larger, better-colored, higher-quality fruit. They
will also learn how Integrated Pest Management helps the orchardist
monitor insects that are harmful to the crop and determine
the appropriate time to spray. Students will venture into
the orchard and pick the in-season fruit and learn the various
steps farmers take to harvest, wash, pack and grade the fruit
before it is offered for sale in Stoneyfield's retail farm
market. At the end of the on-farm educational sessions, students
can spread their blankets on the lawn and have a picnic.
|
|
