You can find commercial apple orchards in 46 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, making up about 7,400 acres, according to Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom.
But not all of these apples are for biting into, making pies or dunking in caramel. The Cider Farm in Mineral Point is producing apples for a different treat for adults only — hard cider.
Owner Deirdre Birmingham started hand-grafting one-of-a-kind varieties about 20 years ago. Today, she oversees about 16,000 trees in the 18-acre organic orchard. The Cider Farm also operates a tasting room in Madison to feature the fermented end product. The word is that the apples are doing well ahead of the harvest, despite the dry summer and lingering drought conditions.
“We do have irrigation, and that was critical for the trees,” she says. The Cider Farm irrigated nonstop during the months of June and July.
In addition to monitoring irrigation, Birmingham manages about four different diseases and 12 pests that apples are susceptible to in Wisconsin. What makes her English and French apple varieties different from table apples is that the trees are also susceptible to fire blight, a lethal bacterial disease.
This was all a part of the conversation at a recent field day The Cider Farm hosted with the Division of Extension. Birmingham welcomed about 25 people to the orchard to learn about growing and processing cider apples.
She says this unique agriculture venture is sparking interest among new growers — questions from attendees ranged from grafting to harvesting.
Looking ahead to the harvest, Birmingham says last year was an excellent year for apple orchards. The Cider Farm saw its largest crop ever in 2022.
“We were up 2.5 times from 2021. That was because in 2021, we had three freezes. So everybody’s crop was knocked back, and then the trees rebound. Since they weren’t making a lot of apples, they were making a lot of fruit buds for the following year.”
She expects this year’s production to be slightly lower.
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