Bringing Scientific, Holistic Approach to 80-year-old Fruit Farm
ELYSBURG, Pa. — Neighbors of Green’s Fruit Farm may notice some visible changes being implemented at the 80-year-old family business.
Rows and rows of new apple and peach trees are being planted, old orchard trees are being removed. High deer fences and drip irrigation are also being installed.
For the past six years, fourth-generation Bobby Hricko, 30, has been working full-time on the farm, bringing a more holistic and sustainable approach to his family’s orchard business.
Along with one full-time employee, Hricko co-manages the farm with his wife of four years, Sara, 26, and their two young daughters, Lucy, 2, and infant Marian. Sara also works part-time for Penn State Extension as a commercial horticulture educator.
Fourth generation farmer Bobby Hricko pictured on Green's Fruit Farm with wife Sara, and their daughters Lucy, 2, and infant Marian.
Lisa Z. Leighton
The couple met when they were both majoring in plant science at Penn State — he with a focus on horticulture and she with a focus on agroecology. Later, Sara went on to receive a master’s degree for vegetable pathology in Michigan.
They realized in college they worked well together and had a mutual interest in sustainable farming.
“We both like working in nature and with each other and we have great communication,” Sara said. “We knew we wanted to use that gift.”
Bobby, who is driven by a strong work ethic and clear goals, pushed himself through college in two-and-a-half years. This was primarily so he could get back to the farm and learn from his grandfather — who sadly passed away shortly after he graduated.
While the farm is a lot to manage, the couple expressed gratitude for an excellent work crew of seasonal help as well as Bobby’s father who often assists with mechanical issues and repairs.
Reinvigorating the Farm
The new mission of Green’s Fruit Farm is to produce high-quality fruit, but not at the expense of the ecosystem. The Hrickos are taking a holistic, sustainable approach to orchard management and soil health.
They do this through integrated pest management (IPM) strategies by using precision agriculture tactics for tree fruit thinning and pruning. “It’s important the people we hire care about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Bobby said.
Sara cares for both children, while also handling the farm’s social media marketing, outreach, retail market organizing and pest monitoring for the orchard. Bobby manages the wholesale market and day-to-day orchard management.
Green's Fruit Farm offers close to 40 variety of apples.
Green's Fruit Farm
They are still in the transition process to officially become co-owners of the farm, but are nearing the finish line thanks to a USDA grant that provided 75% of the necessary funding.
Located at 574 Sleepy Hollow Road, the orchard spans 100 acres. When Bobby’s grandfather managed the farm, 90 acres of apples dominated the landscape with an additional 10 acres of peaches. The Hrickos removed unproductive sections of the orchard and replanted many acres of both apples and peaches.
The current farm portfolio is about 63 acres of apples, 12 acres of peaches and a small number of pears, plums, quince and pawpaws, which haven’t produced fruit yet. The farm’s offerings are rounded out with pumpkins and asparagus ... plus sunflowers and cover crops for soil health.
While Bobby spent many summers working on the farm as a teenager, he said one of the biggest challenges during the transition was gaining a grasp on the current state of the orchard.
“There were very few records left. We didn’t have harvest records,” he said. “We didn’t have complete spray receipts or payroll records.”
Bobby said his grandfather — who had 50-60 years of experience — largely “ran the orchard on feel” rather than records. This made it exceedingly difficult when they took the helm.
“Our primary goal (in the first few years) was to get more trees in the ground,” Bobby explained. Many of the trees were either less productive or the quality was not good enough for retail sales.
The Hrickos farm portfolio includes 12 acres of peaches with approximately 15 varietals.
Green's Fruit Farm
“Most of what we’re planting in the future is going to focus on our retail endeavors.” Sara added, “We’re really looking more at diversifying the varieties of apples.”
Green’s Fruit Farm has about 38 different varieties of apples — 20 of which Bobby and Sara planted in recent years — and approximately 15 varieties of peaches.
Bobby said, “Sara did a lot of great work with Excel spreadsheets. She broke down each acre according to variety.”
The Hrickos sell their fruit at farmers markets, farm stands and wholesale to Hess Brother’s Fruit Co. in Lancaster as well as other local packing houses. They also send fruit to a third-party processor to be made into value-added products such as apple butter, peach butter, pear butter, applesauce and cider.
Embracing Sustainability
The couple say the crux of their sustainable approach is intentional — choosing more eco-friendly sprays, building soil health and putting nutrients back into the orchard.
“We do cover cropping that helps put nutrients back in and works as a natural fumigant for pests as well,” Sara said.
Bobby said it took four long years to get populations of Oriental fruit moth — which displays itself as worms in the fruit — under control. They also took a sustainable approach with tiny pear flies called Psylla.
“Instead of spraying pesticides, we spray a product made of kaolin clay. It smothers the flies but is non-toxic to humans,” Sara posted on their Facebook page.
When Sara came on full-time, the Hrickos pursued an eco-certification through IPM Institute. The certification requires them to document how they care for the land and soil — not simply what they spray on fruit trees.
The farm is inspected every three years and every year they provide spray records and complete a self-evaluation, among other requirements
“The certification is about understanding where problems come from and what we’re doing in the environment to avoid certain diseases or pest pressures,” said Sara.
Green's Fruit Farm also sells their own private label products including pear, apple and peach butter.
Green's Fruit Farm
Bobby admits many of the sustainable processes are more complicated and more time-intensive than spraying, but says it’s a more holistic approach.
“It adds complexity to the operation, but it also adds resiliency,” he said.
The Hrickos choose to take a watchful, but cautious approach when it comes to pest management. While in traditional farming the mentality is to spray at the first sign of a pest, their approach is to look more holistically and exercise patience ... assessing if the pest really proves to be a concern.
“We ask ourselves ‘how dangerous is the pest?’ wooly apple aphids, if left completely unchecked, will do damage. But there’s a buffer zone where they might cause a little damage but it’s (still under control),” he said.
Bobby and Sara stay informed by being active members of the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania. Green’s Fruit Farm has also joined the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau for marketing and promotional support.
Green’s Fruit Farm can be found at the Boalsburg Farmer’s Market on Tuesdays, the Lewisburg Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays and old Richard’s Farm Stand on Route 487 in Elysburg. You-pick apples will also be available every weekend from September to November. For more information visit them on Facebook or go to GreensFruitFarm.com.