Meet the Latest Apple Grower of the Year Award Winner

2020 Apple Grower of the Year Bob Black

Congratulations to Robert Black of Catoctin Mountain Orchard, the 2020 Apple Grower of the Year Award winner.

When the American Fruit Grower Apple Grower of the Year Award was created 31 years ago, the Editor of American Fruit Grower® and Western Fruit Grower® magazines at the time, Gary Acuff, said the industry needed a national award to acknowledge top growers.

“The Apple Grower of the Year Award recognizes apple growers who have reached outstanding levels of success through their efforts in innovative production, marketing, horticultural, and management practices,” Acuff wrote. “Winners demonstrate commitment and leadership to their field by producing high-quality fruit, being actively involved in associations, and taking a strong role in shaping the direction of the apple industry.”

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Robert Black fits that description to a T. Just ask a few of those who nominated him for the award, such as Brad Hollabaugh of Biglerville, PA. He has first-hand insight, as Hollabaugh himself was the 2000 Apple Grower of the Year.

“He’s well-known for being very progressive with not only his commercial plantings but also his direct marketing. I don’t know any other grower who has more variety trials in progress,” he says. “Bob is also always willing to share tricks, techniques, and the results of his many production endeavors. Equally, he’s an avid listener to other growers, always looking for ways to improve his operation.”

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Or ask Mark Boyer of Ridgetop Orchards in Fishertown, PA, the former chairman of the U.S. Apple Association, and the son of Dan Boyer, the 2006 Apple Grower of the Year.

“Bob Black has been a staple in the Mid-Atlantic fruit-growing region for decades,” Boyer says. “He has served on almost every board position available both in fruits and vegetables to social and community. Always the first to help and the last to complain.”

It is only fitting, then, that Black, co-owner of Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont, MD, be named American Fruit Grower and Western Fruit Grower 2020 Apple Grower of the Year, sponsored by Valent USA. Black follows in the footsteps of such early award winners as John Rice and Grady Auvil, the first two winners of the award, in 1989-90, and the most recent winners, husband and wife Phil and Judy Schwallier in 2018, and cousins Bill and John Borton last year. Black is the second Maryland farming operation to win the award, as Evan Milburn and his late son Nathan were honored in 2008.

Scenic view of Catoctin Mountain Orchards

Catoctin Mountain Orchard is located about an hour’s drive northwest of Washington, D.C., in Thurmont, MD, “Gateway to the Mountains.”
Photo by Dan Gross

An Everchanging Industry

Back in the 1980s, Milburn Orchards was one of the first in Maryland to replace all standard-sized apple trees with trees on size-controlling rootstocks, the other being Catoctin Mountain Orchard, says Christopher Walsh, University of Maryland Professor of Horticulture.

Black says he got that urge to experiment from his father, Harry Black, who got his start from another selfless grower. Harry Black grew up across the street from Catoctin Mountain Orchard. His own father died when he was just 16, during the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s. The elder Black built a chicken house for eggs to sell or trade for goods as well as chickens.

“He also had bees and sold honey, though he usually bartered for goods. That’s just what you did back then to survive,” his son says.

Harry Black got his break when the orchard owner, Ira Kelbaugh, asked him to work evenings and weekends. That soon turned into a full-time job, and, eventually, to becoming orchard manager. Kelbaugh had no children, and upon learning Black was looking for a farm of his own, made him a generous offer. “Ira said, ‘If you do a good job growing a good crop, you and I will split the profits,’” his son recalls. “And that’s how Dad bought this farm in 1961.”

SLIDESHOW: A Look at Apple Grower of the Year Award Winners 1989-2019

That first year, a 7,000-bushel cold storage was built along with a 1.25-acre pond built just for swimming. Those plans were changed with the very dry 1960s. Water from this pond was used to irrigate peaches. Three more ponds were built over the next three years to secure enough water for the apples and peaches, plus other crops that were added to diversify the offerings at the retail market to attract more business.

In 1948, Charlie Dunbar, a county agent, told the senior Black to build a retail market and give customers a quality product with a fair price, which proved a prescient move despite the way it looked at the time. “You could count on your hands and toes how many vehicles went by in a day’s time,” Black says.

But as the area grew and traffic picked up, the farm market flourished. Today, Black’s sister, Patricia Black, the co-owner of Catoctin Mountain Orchard as well as the treasurer and secretary, runs the farm market. Other family members working on the farm include his son, Christopher Black, third generation, and granddaughter Katlyn Robertson, the first member of the fourth generation along with her sister Kylie, who is a senior in high school. Patricia Black has been absolutely critical to Catoctin Mountain Orchard’s success, her brother says.

“She is very watchful over the finances, and she stays home so I can do all the meetings,” he says. “I’ve traveled to several countries over the world, but I couldn’t have done it without her keeping the home fires burning.”

Apple orchard visit with Ben Rogers, Arthur Thompson and Harry Black

Dr. Ben Rogers, University of Maryland Extension (left), and UMD Professor Dr. Arthur Thompson flank Robert Black’s father, Harry Black, on an orchard visit.
Photo by Robert Black

Harry Black’s Lasting Memory

Another key move by the Blacks was in experimenting with new varieties. Dr. Arthur Thompson of the University of Maryland urged them to plant what was then a relatively new variety, ‘Gala’. They had a great flavor, but, more important than that to all those who stopped in at the farm stand, customers returned to buy more.

“When we planted ‘Gala’, people started eating more fresh apples,” Black says. “We want noisy apples – they have to crunch when you bite into them.”

Growing all those ‘Gala’ apples also led to an important discovery, and a bit of immortality for Harry Black. To ensure only top flavor and lots of crunch, orchard workers were advised to pick the ‘Gala’ apples that were ripe and to leave the green ones on the tree. ‘Gala’ was spot picked three to four times.

But in 1995, even after that fourth pick, there was one ‘Gala’ tree that stood out. “It was a couple weeks later, and there was one tree left with a limb with 60% red over yellow apples. ‘I thought, we picked everything down there, what the heck is that?’ It was a sport on that one limb,” Black says.

Even better, the apples on that limb were very hard. He called Rick Heflebower, his local County Extension Agent, to stop by to test the pressure and Brix on this new find. Ordinarily, they start picking ‘Gala’ about Aug. 20 and finish the first week of September. But on Sept. 15, the consultant measured these apples at 13 Brix with 20 pounds of pressure. “He said, ‘I’ve never measured a ‘Gala’ with this much pressure,’” Black recalls.

Harry Black, who was a regular at the International Fruit Tree Association (IFTA) meetings in the late ‘60s, had become friends with IFTA founder Wally Heuser, who came to look at the apples to confirm the Blacks had something new and helped them get a patent on the new variety. Harry Black died in 1998 before the patent was issued.

“Dad said it was just another apple and would probably never go anywhere,” says Black. The family decided to patent the apple “Harry Black Gala” in memory of their dad. Bob’s Ford pickup license plate is HB GALA. And many know his email, [email protected], which reminds him of his dad daily.

For marketing purposes, they called the variety ‘Autumn Gala’, says Black, who says it is still a winner. “It’s great for PYO [pick your own] in September and keeps very well too,” he says. “We never really publicized it, but I know people all over who grow and like them. It’s a hard ‘Gala’, and I love it.”

Black remains keenly interested in varieties and is a member of the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA), which was founded by growers to produce varieties available to its membership.

“[MAIA] develops apples for us small growers,” Black says. “Club apples are too expensive for smaller growers. It’s a great way to get access to great varieties for smaller growers.”

Leadership Personified

Walsh says Black has paved the way for his fellow smaller growers. “His desire to keep up to date with new varieties has led him to be a leader in the evaluation of new selections. He has grafted, tested, and is now planting ‘Premier Honeycrisp’ (DAS-10), ‘Evercrisp’, ‘CrimsonCrisp’, and ‘Daybreak Fuji’ and many others,” he says. “While many growers want to corner the market with new varieties, Bob does not. He freely passes on his information to his friends and neighbors.”

That willingness to help other growers extends to Black’s service on the board and the Research Committee of IFTA, Treasurer of the Maryland State Horticultural Society for more than 25 years, board member of the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, as well as other grower organizations, says Walsh.

“Some of the best attended Mid-Atlantic Twilight meetings have been held at Catoctin Mountain Orchard. At a twilight meeting (last year) at CMO, I noted license plates from farther than expected: North Carolina, New York, and Ohio. The last summer tour at his orchard attracted more than 100 growers and practitioners, including Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture,” he says.

That attitude is rubbing off among his fellow growers, Walsh says.

“He frequently encourages other growers in the area to open their farms for these programs and tours,” he says. “His leadership skills and persistence are amazing, and he is able to recruit even the most reluctant growers in the region to open their farms and talk about their management to this group audience.”

Because Catoctin Mountain Orchard is just 6 miles from the Pennsylvania state line — and because of Black’s tireless efforts — his influence has been felt in the Keystone State, say Extension farm advisors who also nominated Black for the award.

Tara Baugher, Penn State Extension Educator, says Black also keeps an eye on the future and is very supportive of Extension outreach and education for the next generation of growers from diverse backgrounds. Black and the Horticultural Society of Maryland regularly support the Young Grower Alliance and also the Penn State courses in Spanish. Baugher says Black’s influence extends far and wide, and the award is certainly well-deserved.

“Bob and his family are regionally and nationally known for sharing their production innovations and marketing entrepreneurship with other growers,” she says. “They also open their orchards to research and Extension efforts, and many of these initiatives have had major financial impacts for the industry.”

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