Aronia are among the fruits grown as part of the Northern Hardy Fruit Evaluation Project at the Carrington Research Extension Center. (NDSU photo)

CARRINGTON, N.D. (NDSU Extension Service) – The Northern Hardy Fruit Evaluation Project orchard will be the site of a tour and orchard-equipment program during the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center’s annual field day set for July 20.

The field day program will begin at 9 a.m. with coffee and a welcome. The fruit project tour will depart at 9:30 a.m. and return to the main area at noon. Lunch will be served at noon. No preregistration is needed.

The fruit project tour will be led by Kathy Wiederholt, Carrington Research Extension Center fruit project manager. The tour also will include an equipment demonstration and presentation by TrimTab Agriculture, Sioux City, Iowa.

TrimTab Agriculture provides precision equipment, organic inputs and custom services to niche crop growers throughout the U.S. As the exclusive distributor of Jagoda JPS equipment, TrimTab Ag offers a full line of farm implements for small to midsize fruit, vegetable and vineyard growers. The equipment includes precision planters, weeders, mowers and harvesters.

The Northern Hardy Fruit Evaluation Project was established in 2006 to introduce and demonstrate alternative, economically viable fruits that will grow in North Dakota. The project features demonstration plantings of University of Saskatchewan cherries and haskaps, as well as apples, aronia, red and black currants, grapes, honeyberries/haskaps, juneberries and plums.

The fruit project tour is one of several tours happening during the center’s annual field day activities that day. Other tours will be on agronomy, beef production and organic/sustainable agriculture.

For more information on this year’s field day tours, contact the center at 701-652-2951 or visit its website at www.ag.ndsu.edu/CarringtonREC.