Check out Santa at our opening day at the Christmas Tree Farm http://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/525110/santa-soars-over-ulster-county/

Try this fun, healthful snack today!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Grab your books and this crunchy, sweet breakfast treat as you dash off to school.

1 Granny Smith Apple
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2½ tablespoons golden or black raisins
1½ tablespoons dried sweetened cranberries
1 small bunch of fresh chives or fresh parsley (optional plate garnish)

Cut apple into four quarters, starting at the stem. Remove the core by cutting away to leave a flat surface on the apple quarter. Be careful not to cut too much of the edible portion of the apple away. Drop and slightly spread the peanut butter on apple quarters. Mix together the raisins and dried
cranberries then sprinkle on peanut butter. Cut chives into
one inch pieces and garnish.

Serves: 1
1 Cup of Fruit per Serving
Fruit and/or Veggie Colors: Purple, Green, Red

Nutrition Information per Serving: calories: 272, total fat: 8.1g, saturated fat: 1.5g, % calories from fat: 25%, % calories from saturated fat: 5%, protein: 5g, carbohydrates: 50g, cholesterol: 0mg, dietary fiber: 6g, sodium: 79mg

Each serving provides: An excellent source of fiber and a good source of vitamin C.

Check out this great profile of Susan done by her alma mater, The College of Wooster. Beautiful Photos!

We know you want the freshest, crispest apples for your family! Click here to learn about New York’s apple varieties and their availability during harvest season.

1/2 Peck: $5
Peck: $10
1/2 bushel: $18

For Activities:
Weekday admission: $5
Weekend admission: $10
(Children under 2 free admission)

Meeting New York State Learning Standards
During Your Visit to Hurds Family Farm

Hurds Family Farm will help you meet your teaching goals for your ELEMENTARY and MIDDLE School Students!

HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, AND FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCE
• Personal Health and Fitness: change of scenery, fresh air and exercise is plentiful. The exercise includes walking mazes, hiking trails and walking through the orchards to pick fruit.
• A Safe and Healthy Environment: There are hand washing stations and first aid kits on the premises.
• Resource Management: Clearly labeled recycle/garbage receptacles.

ECONOMICS (from the farm to the table)
• There will be a presentation covering the four seasons of the apple growing process.
• At the Hurds Family Farm there will an opportunity to practice exchanging money for apple goods where students can purchase small items in the historic Dutch barn. Students will see some of the many apple products there are on the market and how they are presented to the consumer.

UNITED STATES AND NEW YORK HISTORY
• New York City: site of the state’s first apple orchard planted by Peter Stuyvesant!
• Handpainted panels depict the history of Hurds Family Farm from 1820 – present. Part of the 3-6 grade tour.
• The many uses of apples and apple products in Colonial times
• Antique machinery, tools and implements
Apple barrels, cider press, picking ladder (Colonial Era)

WORLD HISTORY
• Art and Architecture of the Dutch Barn

GEOGRAPHY
• Students will follow a map with visual and language clues as they plot their way through the 4 acre maze to each interactive station.

THE ARTS (creating, performing and participating in the Arts)
• By walking through the 4 acre maze and 2 labyrinths students can experience crop art designs along with the various art visuals along the trail and at the many stations.
• The ABC’s of Agriculture maze has hand painted visuals and a hand created corn teepee.
• Kid’s Corral Activities include a giant sandbox, mini village (NEW), stationary tractor, slides, a hay jump that all encourage creative play.

THE ARTS (knowing and using arts materials and resources)
• The Storyteller will do the ‘Four Seasons to Grow Your Apples’ using hand crafted art visuals in the presentation.
• There is a hand painted panels display in the Dutch barn.

MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
• Analysis, Inquiry and Design: the Maze Master will explain how to design a corn maze, transfer the idea to graph paper and finally to large and small square areas on the field. Students are encouraged to ask questions so they can learn the process.
• Information Systems: GPS navigational systems & trail.
• Mathematics: demonstrated through the corn maze graphic design.
• Science: planting, growing and harvesting crops (apples, pears, corn, pumpkins, raspberries, tomatoes, winter squash and more. Sunflower labyrinth contains honeybee colony information.
• Interconnectedness (common themes): Taking a raw product and developing a value-added one and the corn maze activities.
• Interdisciplinary Problem Solving: is accomplished by following one of the mazes, locating the interactive stations, reading the information found there and doing the related activities.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
• Language for Information and Understanding: exemplified through the Hurds Family Farm presentations and the visuals around the farm, the mazes, in the labyrinths and in the barn.
• Language for Literary Response and Expression: accomplished by reading the stations and seeing connections among flora and fauna along the Eco-trail.
• Language for Critical analysis and Evaluation: this is accomplished through field trip follow-up. Many times classes practice their writing skills by sending thank you notes and testimonials to the farm.
• Language for Social Interaction: The student groups communicate back and forth with each other as they travel through the mazes, the labyrinths and over the trails.

LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH
• Communication Skills: accomplished through the practice of the Spanish language found in the activities of the ABC’s of Agriculture Maze. Pride of New York products are written in Spanish.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND OCCUPATIONAL STUDIES
Students will learn about the skills necessary to pursue a career in agriculture.
It will be noted with our 3-6 grade groups how all these fields are valuable to agriculture: plant and soil science, entomology, meteorology, biology, chemistry, computer science, carpentry and truck driving are some of the skills needed and used in agriculture.

Try this new flavor combination!

Ingredients:

2 bananas

1 Hurds Gala apple

1 Hurds Bartlett pear

1 cup of kale (optional)

1/2 cup water

Makes 2-3 servings

Click here to check out this article about the Hudson Valley Apple Trail, including a list of participating farms and their contact information.

Charles Hurd & Allison Parker, U.S. Apple Association Director of Consumer Health and Education

By Coral Beach
The Packer
2/14/11

Hurd’s Family Farm, Modena, N.Y., is the first marketer to ever win the Golden Apple Marketer Award, according to an announcement from the National Apple Month Program.

The presentation of the award kicked off the North American Farm Direct Market Association’s annual convention in Baltimore.

To view the rest of the story click on the following link:
Golden Apple Marketer of the Year Honored

To learn more about the U.S. Apple Association click on the following link: www.usapple.org

These are some Hurd family favorite books that we recommend for the wee ones:

Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey

Sunflower House
by Eve Bunting

The Legend of Spookley
by Joe Trioiano

Apples
by Gail Gibbons

Ten Apples Up on Top!
by Dr. Seuss

The Honeybee
by Paula Hoganese

Click on the Link to see the Hudson Valley Apple Trail and Hurds Family Farm featured on YNN (Your News Now). Footagehttp://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/all_news/516463/hudson-valley-apple-trail/