Hail to the 2021 Apple Grower of the Year Winners

Fittingly, Brookdale Fruit Farm is located on Broad Street. From the heart of Hollis, NH, the diversified fruit and vegetable business knows no bounds. Its footprint, since the day the Hardy family began operations 174 years ago, has continued to spread across New England.

You want apples? There are 175 acres of them on the farm. You want more than apples? The Hardys also grow other tree fruits (24 acres), strawberries (8), raspberries (3), blueberries (5), and a never-ending variety of vegetables (219).

You appreciate history? Brookdale made its debut in 1847. So, too, did the U.S. postage stamp. Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell were born that year.

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You prefer innovation? While the farm is old, it never mails in its reputation. A legendary inventor would feel right at home here.

Lastly, you need supplies? Brookdale separates itself from most growers with an onsite farm supplies division that caters to the entire Northeast. As the house rally cry goes, “Not only do we grow crops, but we can help you grow them, too.”

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Add it all up, and American Fruit Grower® and Western Fruit Grower® magazines could not ask for more from its 2021 Apple Growers of the YearTM — Chip Hardy and sons Trevor and Tyler Hardy.

On Aug. 19-20, at the U.S. Apple Association’s annual Apple Crop Outlook and Marketing Conference in Chicago, the Hardy family — now seven generations into the fruit-growing business — will formally accept the award, sponsored by Valent USA.

“Brookdale has been an industry leader since I was first working in orchards in the ‘60s,” says Stephen Wood, the third of 33 Apple Grower of the Year recipients since 1989 (when the award was established) and the only previous winner from New Hampshire. “They’re good people and deserve this award way more than I ever did in 1991.”

“The Hardys are innovators in agriculture,” adds Amy Papineau, a Program Team Leader with University of New Hampshire (UNH)Cooperative Extension. “They run the largest, most diverse fruit farm in the state and are committed to continual improvement in production practices. Their farm is a staple of the community.”

Brookdale Fruit Farm in the field of research

Brookdale Fruit Farm hosts various case studies on its property in partnership with local agencies. Here, George Hamilton (left) of University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and Brookdale’s Trevor Hardy compare the photosynthetic benefits of green biodegradable plastic mulch over its black counterpart.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz

HERE TO STAY

Visit the town of Hollis, in South-Central New Hampshire, and it is impossible to miss Brookdale Fruit Farm and its influence.

“It’s the diamond in the middle of the town here,” George Hamilton, the local Fruit and Vegetable Field Specialist, Emeritus, with UNH Cooperative Extension, says. “Such a beautiful, active farm with these modern apple trees. It’s kind of unbelievable that we have such a resource.”

Better yet, Brookdale will not be leaving anytime soon, thanks to the Hardys.

“Their foremost contribution to the town of Hollis was securing and preserving the development rights of the home farm, 162 acres,” Hamilton says. “By securing and preserving the development rights of the home farm, the town center will maintain the open farm feeling for the future, in a town that is a prime location for housing development.”

“We’re very fortunate that we’ve been able to keep the family tradition going for years,” Chip Hardy says. “And we hope, for years to come, to keep the family farm going.”

“You don’t find many other picturesque apple orchards like ours throughout the Northeast right here in the center of an old town,” Trevor Hardy adds. “So, we keep things mowed and tidy and try to put our best foot forward for the public because it’s those folks that we’re serving and are buying our products, and that is keeping us in business.”

Radishes on the grow at Brookdale Fruit Farm

In addition to more than 20 varieties of apples and eight other types of fruit, Brookdale Fruit Farm grows more than two dozen types of vegetables, including these freshly pulled radishes.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz

INNOVATE TO IMPROVE

Brookdale began in 1847 as a general farm and cooperage, specializing in making apple barrels. As the cooperage business declined, the family’s interest in farming expanded. In 1911 the farm started a conversion from dairy farming to orchard and vegetable production. By 1950 the dairy portion of the farm was sold.

Chip Hardy’s father, Elwin Hardy, who died in 2013 at the age of 92, planted the first semi-dwarf M7 apple trees in 1948. While Elwin was a student at UNH, Professor W.W. “Bill” Smith, the fruit specialist at the time, convinced him that dwarf trees were the future of apple growing. In 1957 the first true dwarf apple trees were planted, with Brookdale Fruit Farm being one of the first orchards in the country to have EM IX and EM 27 dwarf apple tree orchards.

Brookdale Fruit Farm was an early pioneer of on-farm controlled atmosphere (CA) storage for apples. And it was also one of the first orchards in New Hampshire, starting in the 1970s, to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) practices to reduce the number of pesticides used.

“Innovation is the key to growing the future,” Trevor Hardy says. “Generations before myself and my father, our grandfather and great grandfather had always been innovative in the industry. And if you’re not innovating, you’re not improving. Through those innovations, you have to be OK with trying something new and something different and working with your industry partners. And that’s led us to a lot of success. Everybody has some failures, but if you’re not innovating, you’re not going to improve, and you’re not going to succeed.”

Today that innovation applies to apple production and harvesting methods. “We’re now planting trees in much higher density — 2.5 feet by 12 feet,” Chip Hardy says. “We’re moving forward and getting three or four times the yield and better quality fruit. We’re also moving toward mechanization of harvesting.”

FALLEN LEADER

Tyler Hardy, the younger of Chip’s sons, in just his 30s, had already established himself as one of New Hampshire’s up-and-coming agricultural stars.

“Tyler was an emerging leader in the orcharding community, always pushing the latest techniques forward and generously sharing his knowledge with others,” Jeremy DeLisle, a Field Specialist with UNH Cooperative Extension, says.

“He had become an acknowledged leader in high-density production and a respected figure in New England apple growing,” Wood adds.

Tragically, Tyler, at age 35, died suddenly on June 15, 2019, due to post-injury complications. He is survived by his wife, Madison, and a 2-year-old son, Edwin.

To honor Tyler, his family, on the anniversary of his death, lines up 32 of its tractors along Broad Street.

Meanwhile, in the orchard, the high-density plantings that Tyler had always endorsed have become even more dense since his death.

“Tyler planted every one of those trees,” Chip says, pointing to a row of 3-by-12s. “He wanted them closer like that. Well, when we planted all of these new blocks this year, we planted them 2½ feet apart. We did it for Tyler. We’re growing a fruiting wall for him.”

“The farm really feels his loss, as a horticulturalist, manager, worker, and mentor,” Wood says. “But they soldier on. Chip is running the farm, Trevor is running the irrigation business, and everyone is working on everything. Brookdale will thrive.”

Scoping irrigation innovation at Brookdale Fruit Farm

The grower supplies division of Brookdale Fruit Farm distributes irrigation products across the Northeast. Here, Brookdale’s Trevor Hardy touts the benefits of an onsite filter system that filters water from an adjacent pond down to 100 microns to prevent clogging in drip emitters.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz

SUPPLY SIDE

Brookdale continues to excel, thanks in part to its budding venture in irrigation and growing supplies. Most of those products are in use at Brookdale Fruit Farm, allowing potential customers to attend live demonstrations.

“Part of the key to our innovation is we’re not innovative by ourselves,” Trevor Hardy says. “You have to have industry partners, and you have to work with your neighbors and other growers and be able to learn together. Part of the mission here is education and showing others through our supply business how they can improve as well.”

One of those growers is Daniel Hicks, the owner of Sunnycrest Farm in Londonderry, NH.

“Brookdale Farm and the Hardy family are a major contributor to the New Hampshire apple industry,” Hicks says. “Chip Hardy, Trevor Hardy, and the late Tyler Hardy are the type of people who want to do their best and rarely fall short. The level of knowledge this team carries is extremely impressive. The willingness to share this knowledge is what stands out above anything else. It has been a privilege to work alongside this extraordinary family.”

For a complete list of Apple Growers of the Year from 1989 to present, scan through the photo gallery at the top.

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