Foppema’s Farm is a 75 acre fruit and vegetable farm located in Northbridge, Massachusetts. The farm is family owned and operated by the Ken Foppema family. Ken and Lisa and their four sons (along with a wonderful staff of employees) grow and sell produce from the farm out of a beautiful post and beam farmstand built in 1998. They sell wholesale and at farmers markets, and through pick-your-own, especially at nearby Keown Orchards which is now part of their farm.
The farm participates in the Commonwealth Quality Certification Program and they are taking steps to increase their implementation of the food safety standards as well as the sustainability and IPM standards that are part of this program. We will tour their wash room and packing area, and discuss specific steps that help to ensure food safety when field packing greens. Mike Botelho from the Mass Dept. of Ag Resources will talk about the Commonwealth Quality Program (CQP), its food safety standards, and the market access that can be gained through CQP. You’ll see some of the CQP promotional materials, that can be customized to highlight aspects of your farm.
On the IPM side:
--Rich Bonanno, UMass Extension weed specialist, will discuss weeds: types of weeds, how they grow, how to identify them, and how to manage them on a very diverse farm like Foppema’s.
--UMass Extension small fruit specialist, Sonia Schloemann will give a Spotted Wing Drosophila management update.
--Jon Clements will tour the apple orchard and discuss the fire blight outbreak of 2014, and how to manage fire blight.
--Ruth Hazzard, UMass Extension Vegetable specialist with Lisa McKeag, Extension Assistant and Ken Foppema will discuss how the Foppema’s are using IPM in onions to solve a key disease problem.
