2014 a ‘great year’ for SAD 1 Educational Farm
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The SAD 1 Educational Farm not only generated more vegetables, apples and berries in 2014 than the year before, but the farm experienced more revenue, as well.
At the March 11 school board meeting, farm manager John Hoffses provided directors with the 2014 farm report. According to the statistics:
• Vegetables: In 2013, $15,463 was raised through the sale of vegetables. In 2014, $18,679 was sold, while the five-year average is $22,789. “Due to drought, we are a little bit off our five-year average, but much better in 2013 when we had all kinds of water,” said Hoffses.
• Strawberries: 2013, 7,151 pounds with an income of $22,690; 2014, 10,751 pounds and $28,522 income; and five-year average, 11,930 pounds with an income of $30,594. “2014 was slightly below average. We had a little bit of rain around the Fourth of July which made our berry crop end a little earlier than normal,” Hoffses said. “We were pretty much right on target.”
• Blueberries: 2013, 1,775 pounds with an income of $4,363; 2014, 1,897 pounds and a $5,617 income; and five-year average, 2,035 pounds with an income of $5,429. “It was a good year for blueberries,” said Hoffses. “I think 2014 was the second best year we’ve had.”
• Raspberries: 2013, 279 pounds with an income of $1,148; 2014, 471 pounds and a $1,900 income; and five-year average, 381 pounds with an income of $1,631.
• Berry crops: 2013, $36,359; 2014, $43,252; and five-year average, $46,027. “With our strawberries being off a little bit,” said Hoffses, “we’re slightly below our five-year average, but we’re still in the vicinity.”
• Honey: 2013, $1,912; 2014, $3,003; and five-year average, $2,748. “It was a very good year. Bees like to work when it’s nice and warm out. In 2013, they really didn’t want to come out of their hives, and that’s reflected in our sales.”
• Bedding plants: 2013, $20,672; 2014, $24,402; and five-year average, $25,423.
• Fish: 2013, $1,587; 2014, $1,350; and five-year average, $2,225. “The fish lab is undergoing some maintenance which is why we see a little bit of a decline here,” Hoffses said.
• Maple syrup: 2013, $1,209; 2014, $601; and three-year average, $1,012. “Our weather last year, where we have just a gravity-feed system, it has to get high enough temperature-wise to let that line thaw out in the day,” the farm manager said. “If we hover around that 35-degree mark, it tends to run a little slower. The trees are producing; it’s just getting it down to that line. That’s why we see it a little off.”
• Fresh apples: 2013, $12,045; 2014, $36,988; and five-year average, $25,330. “We’re way above our five-year average,” said Hoffses. “The crop was very good.”
• Apple cider: 2013, $13,540; 2014, $19,605; and five-year average, $16,607.
• Apple production: 2013, 25 total tons (fresh and processed combined); 2014, 75 total tons; and five-year average, 50 total tons.
• Revenue comparison: 2013, $104,547; 2014, $150,606; and five-year average, $150,207.
“All in all, 2014 was a great year for us,” said Hoffses, noting that plans are underway to find a better way to pick up the apples that fall to the ground.
“We are currently working with the Farm Mechanics program. We’ve taken an old potato digger and we’re trying to come up with a machine that will pick up our windfalls off the ground,” he said. “It’s a work in progress, and the students are doing a great job in terms of welding and fabrication. We’re in hopes that we’ll have it ready for this coming season. It will have one of our wooden crates right on the back, so the apples will dump right into it.”
Hoffses said the machine will not only save a lot of time, but will also improve the aesthetics.
“Hopefully you won’t see as many apples on the ground at once,” he said.
