Specialty Crop Tour for Young Growers - Massachusetts Fruit Grower Association Annual Meeting

Several members of the Young Grower Alliance attended the MFGA Annual Summer Meeting which was hosted by the Tougas family. Andre Tougas, a YGA member and president of the MFGA, led a tour of his family's 120 acre pick-your-own farm. Andre highlighted some of the new equipment and techniques he has adopted, including an Italian platform used for tree training, pruning, and harvesting. Participation in the YGA by these progressive growers has inspired research on orchard innovations at institutions such as Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, and Washington State Universities.