Rogers Orchards

Rogers Orchards, in Southington, Connecticut, is an agricultural-produce company owned and operated by members of the same family since its founding in 1807 and one of the leading agricultural producers in Connecticut.[1]

Rogers Orchards Incorporated
private company
IndustryAgriculture
Founded1807
FounderChauncey Merriman
Headquarters
Southington, Connecticut
,
U.S.
Number of locations
2
Area served
New England
ProductsFarm Store Products
ServicesWholesale and retail sales
Revenue$1,200,000 (Est. annual sales)
Number of employees
18 (Est.)
Websitehttp://www.rogersorchards.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

Totaling 250 acres (1.0 km2), it is Southington's largest farm and the largest apple-grower in the state, selling wholesale to local stores and retail at its farmers' markets.[1][3][4][5][6]

It harvests and sells twenty varieties of apples annually, with McIntosh, Macoun, Cortland, and Empire among its most popular.[5] Rogers Orchards also harvests and sells apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, pumpkins, and other fruits and vegetables in season, and sells baked goods, honey and syrups, cut flowers, other farm-specialty products, and firewood.[3][4]

Company history
Baldwin apple

Founded by Chauncey Merriman in 1807, this family farm began operating in 1809, after Merriman's son, Anson, and four-year-old grandson, Josiah, began its apple orchards by planting one thousand Baldwin apple trees by hand.[3] Once popular, now rare Baldwin apples, unlike other varieties, have been prized for the making of traditional New England cider.[7]

Spanning "eight generations", the family farm, which came to be called Rogers Orchards, expanded to a 250-acre (1.0 km2) operation split between two locations, the Home Farm and Sunnymount Farm, both located in Southington.[5][8]

John Rogers, the president of Rogers Orchards and the great-great-great-great grandson of Chauncey Merriman, runs the operation, which has an estimated 18 employees.[2][4][8]

Trade association memberships

Rogers Orchards is an active member of trade organizations of Connecticut fruit growers, including: the Connecticut Pomological Society; the Connecticut Apple Marketing Board; the New England Apple Association; and the New England Apple Council.[3] Rogers Orchards President John Rogers is a member of the board of directors and secretary-treasurer of the New England Apple Association[9] and a former president of the Connecticut Pomological Society.[10]

Site of Connecticut farm investment program launch

On July 25, 2008, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell used Rogers Orchards as a setting to announce the launch of a $500,000 investment program designed to aid Connecticut's farmers.[6] Rogers Orchards President John Rogers acknowledged in a newspaper interview that he did not know why the governor chose his farm as the setting for her visit and announcement, but that he was pleased by her presence and support of local independent farming operations.[4]

Notes
  1. Ken Byron (Staff writer) (2006-06-14). "Town's Largest Farm Granted Tax Break: Exemption OK'd for Rogers Orchards" (Web). The Hartford Courant (2 West Central Ed.). Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  2. "Company Profile: Rogers Orchards Incorporated". Manta.com. Dun & Bradstreet. 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  3. "Rogers' Orchards of Southington, CT, Orchard-of-the-Week" (Web). News from New England Apples (Hatfield, MA) (Press Release). newenglandapples.org (New England Apple Association). 2006-08-14. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  4. James Craven (2008-07-26). "Rell Visits Rogers Orchards to Announce Farm Aid" (Web). Bristol Press. BristolPress.com (Bristol Press). Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  5. Patricia Brooks and Lester Brooks. Food Lovers' Guide to Connecticut. 2nd ed. 2004. Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 2007. pp. 138, 303 (index). ISBN 978-0-7627-2861-9.
  6. "Local News: Connecticut Grown". The Southington Citizen. 2008-08-06. p. 1. Archived from the original (Web) on 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2008-08-14. Rogers Orchards family members and employees gather with Gov. M. Jodi Rell July 25 [2008] as she announces grants are available for Connecticut farms.
  7. "West County Ciders: Our Cider Selection: Baldwin". West County Cider. westcountycider.com (West County Cider). Archived from the original (Web) on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  8. "Welcome to Rogers Orchards" (Web). Rogers Orchards. rogersorchards.com (Rogers Orchards). Retrieved 2008-08-14.  'Fine Fruit Growers For Eight Generations.' 
  9. "About New England Apple Association". New England Apple Association. apples-ne.com (New England Apple Association). Archived from the original (Web) on 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  10. Battista, Carolyn (1986-06-15). "Chemical a Concern to Apple Growers". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
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References
  • Brooks, Patricia, and Lester Brooks. Food Lovers' Guide to Connecticut: Best Local Specialties, Markets, Recipes, Restaurants, Events, and More. Insiders' Guide ser. 2nd ed. 2004. Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press (Morris Book Publishing LLC), 2007. ISBN 0-7627-2861-2 (10). ISBN 978-0-7627-2861-9 (13). 138; 303 (index). (Google Book Search Limited Preview.)
  • Scannell, James W. Connecticut Pomological Society Records: Table of Contents (Archive Finding Aid). Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. University of Connecticut Libraries. Accessed August 14, 2008.
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