Oakwood Fruit Farm Supplies Apples Across the State

By Crystal McNett Assistant Editor
Thursday, October 23, 2008 7:29 AM CDT

Tucked in the rolling hills surrounding Richland Center, Oakwood Fruit Farm is a true family farm n and has been for 108 years.

Family members currently involved in the operation are John and Vonnie Louis, and their children, Steve and Jody Louis, and Judy and Greg Alvin. This team works together to grow and harvest 165 acres of apples each year.

Oakwood Fruit Farm produces 28 different varieties of apples that include early and late-season apples. Our answering machine should say, “Yes, we do have Honey Crisp,” quips Greg.

Oakwood Fruit Farm has both wholesale and retail sales. Their on-farm store is open seven days a week. From Aug. 20 to Oct. 31, the hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 1 to Dec. 20, the store is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Additionally, Oakwood Fruit Farm apples can be found in stores from Green Bay to Rockford, Ill. They ship to all sizes of stores from the “Mom and Pop” corner markets to Wal-Mart. “People call and want apples and that’s where we go,” Greg says.

Just last week the team finished harvesting apples for the season. Most popular varieties that the farm produces are Honey Crisp, Royal Galas, Cortlands, Jonagold, McIntosh, and Ambrosia, a brand new variety this year.

The number of acres dedicated to each variety is strictly dependant on demand. Societies transition to two income households and less baking by the stay-at-home mom have decreased demand for baking apples like the McIntosh, which at one time took up two-thirds of the orchard, Greg explains.

Trees are planted at Oakwood when they are one to two years old and 30 to 35 inches high, according to Greg. It takes four years before the tree will bear apples and the first two production years are very minimal, he explains. A tree is typically in production for about 25 years.

Trees are “trained” to have horizontal limbs instead of vertical limbs. Limbs are braced to push the branches horizontal. Braces are left on the tree for about one year.

All trees planted at Oakwood Fruit Farm these days are dwarf or semi-dwarf trees. They only reach 8 to 12 feet in height as opposed to the old standard trees that would get as high as 25 feet. The standard trees would last about 40 years in production, but the height of the tree made it difficult to harvest and the quality of the fruit was poorer.

Also, old standard trees had to be planted farther apart than the dwarf or semi-dwarf trees, Greg explains. The trees planted today are in rows that are 15 feet apart with 6 feet between each tree. But, of course, that varies with the variety. The old standard trees were spaced 30 feet apart on all sides, Greg points out.

Today’s trees at Oakwood are only fertilized minimally for the first three years. Then the trees are not fertilized because over-fertilizing causes extra growth and poor apples, Greg notes.

Every tree in the 165-acre orchard is pruned every year. Broken and dead branches are removed. This process begins in November and takes all winter for Greg and Steve.

In the spring, prunings are chopped with a large mower and left as a sparse of mulch in the orchard. The beginning of April is when new growth begins. Fungicides are applied to the trees to prevent scab. Insects are monitored with traps and once threshold is reached, trees are sprayed with insecticide to deter pests like apple maggot.

The orchard has its own “mini weather system” that measures dew point, temperature, rainfall and humidity. The Louis family uses this information, analyzed by a computer, to decide when to spray their trees.

Harvest begins in early to mid August and lasts about 2.5 months, Greg explains. A typical yield goal is 800 bushels per acre, but it varies greatly with variety. For example, in order to achieve a high-quality crop of Honey Crisp, Oakwood aims to harvest about 400 bushels per acre. However, McIntosh apples can yield as many as 1,000 bushels per acre and still produce high-quality apples.

Each fall, 60,000 bushels of apples are picked by hand. This year, Oakwood’s best picker harvested 6,700 bushels by himself. “It’s a job,” Greg says.

Fifteen people stay busy picking apples, while 15 to 20 work in the packing facility. Twenty-bushel bins are put in between rows of trees and each picker is assigned two rows at a time. Some varieties of apples are color-picked while other trees are picked clean.

Full bins are brought into the large bulk cooler until they are ready to be packaged.

On the packaging line, bins are submerged into water and the apples float out of the bin. They are then lifted and sorted by a chain. The chain has openings that drop apples that are less than 2.5 inches in diameter. These smaller apples are then used for juice.

Apples that make it up the chain are washed with a fruit wash, rinsed with fresh water and spun dry. They are then lightly coated with wax and sent through a drying tunnel.

The apples are then inspected and those with blemishes are sorted out for juice. Each apple that is destined for the fresh apple market is individually weighed and sorted into one of five possible bins for packaging.

Apples are then re-inspected and hand packed. Oakwood packages apples into many different bags and boxes depending on what the buyer wants.

At the end of the tree’s life, it is eliminated and the Louis family plants a crop of corn or beans. That crop is then used to feed the family’s dairy herd.

The Louis family also owns and operates a 180-cow dairy farm called Applouis Holsteins. Most of the herd is registered and can be recognized for its outstanding genetics. Many bulls have been sent to A.I., including Applouis JET STREAM-ET at ABS Global. Embryos are also a hot commodity from the Applouis herd.

The herd is housed in freestalls and milked in a parlor. The rolling herd average is about 24,000 pounds of milk with 730 pounds of protein and 870 pounds of fat. Brothers, Tim and A.J. Fowell own half the cows in the herd and manage the milking, calves and heifers.

In addition to the orchard acres, the Louis family runs 225 to 250 acres of corn and 330 to 340 acres of alfalfa that are used for feed.

Greg and Steve enlist the full-time help of Jim Louis and his son Doug to help manage the dairy and the orchard. Distant family relatives, Jim and Doug help with both sides of the operation.

The retail store carries the apples produced on the farm, as well as many by-products of those apples and local favorites. Oakwood makes and sells 12,000 caramel apples each year. They also sell cider, cheeses, jams, jellies, cookbooks, sorghum, pumpkins, squash, honey, maple syrup, apple butter and much more.

Directions to Oakwood Fruit Farm and more information can be found at www.oakwoodfruitfarm.com or by calling 608-585-2701.

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