The Hort 317 (Landscape Contracting and Management) and Hort 318 (Field Production of Horticultural Crops) visited several horticultural businesses on September 7th. Leaving campus at 7:00 am, with only a couple of complaints of an early Saturday morning, the classes first travelled to Van Drunen Farms in Momence, IL. Van Drunen is a large, international company that produces frozen and dried food products, including many herbs. After learning about the company, the students were taken to the field to learn about basil harvesting. All of the students had the opportunity to ride along on the harvester to see first-hand how harvesting the herbs happens on a large-scale farm. After learning about harvesting the herbs, the students were taken to a newly planted field of cilantro where two tractor-pulled laser weeders were in operation.
The next stop was for lunch at the Cowfe at Fair Oaks farms. Following lunch, Ashley Clark gave a tour of Clarkâs Cutting Edge in Remington, IN. After a brief discussion of the history and details about the company, the students were able to learn about the equipment and tour the facilities.
After a short drive, the final stop was at Carpenter Creek Cellars, where a tour of the facilities was given by Ed Courtright. The students learned about the challenges and opportunities of growing grapes in the Midwest and the wine-making processes at the winery.
A special thanks goes out to the companies for making a memorable experience for all the students.