Three workshops will begin the afternoon at 1 p.m. at Plymouth Orchards Cider Mill on Warren Rd. Matt Sattelberg of Bay Shore Farms and Harold Wilken of Janie's Farm will lead an interactive session on farm-scale organic grain, corn, soybean, and dry bean production. Post-production, downstream processing, and milling will be discussed. John Edgerton will present results from the small grain trials (including dryland rice) he has been conducting for the last few years on his farm in west central Michigan. Michael Adsit of Plymouth Orchards and Jim Koan of Almar Orchards will discuss their short- and long-term experiences in organic apple orchard production.

At 2 p.m. the event will travel about 1.5 miles to Gateway Farm on Joy Rd. where farm manager Ben Kasmenn will guide a tour of the 8 acre certified organic vegetable farm. Gateway's production system utilizes both a hoop house and outdoor fields. Produce is marketed through a community supported agriculture program, farmers' markets, direct-to-restaurant sales, and an on-site farm stand.

At 2:30 p.m., guests can take 30-45 minute wagon tours of the Plymouth Orchards production fields. The main farm has about 50 acres in organic production, including apples, asparagus, raspberries, blackberries, hay, flowers, small grains, and cover crops. During the tour, organic apple growing, small grain production, multi-species cover crops, and cane berry management will be discussed.

During and after the field tours, manager Alicia Estrada will take guests on a tour of the cider mill. Cider pressing, donut production, and dried apple making will be explained. Guests will be able to enjoy the season's first apple cider and fresh donuts. Bottled cider and donuts will be available for sale.

A compost tea making workshop will be shown all afternoon. Organic crop input supplies, consultant, and nonprofit tables will be set up by the cider mill.

Registration: To register for this free farm tour, go to www.moffa.net/ft-registration.html or leave a message at (248) 262-6826.

This event is presented by the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance and part of the 2019 Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted in the tour brochure. For more information about MOFFA's other events, go to www.moffa.net. For more information about all events in the series, go to www.oeffa.org.

Plymouth Orchards and Cider Mill/Gateway Farm

10685 Warren Rd.
Plymouth, MI 48170

Contact:
Mary Emmett and Michael Adsit / (734) 455-2290 /

http://www.plymouthorchards.com