Produce makes for fair display

By KATIE SEMINARA

Local farmers buff produce in preparation for the Canfield Fair.

GREENFORD — The owners of Huffman Fruit Farm are expert apple pickers, but when the Canfield Fair comes around they become apple artists.

Using reds, yellows, pinks and greens, the Huffmans design an apple mosaic with a little bit of oil and a lot of love.

John and Emily Huffman have been produce farmers just south of Greenford for 22 years, but the history of their farm goes back to 1922 when John’s grandfather started planting seeds.

Around the 1930s the Huffman family began displaying their produce at the Canfield Fair, and John still does it today because he says “it’s a tradition.”

“We do this to promote agriculture in general and local fruit growers,” said John of displaying his best apples in the hay, grain and fruit building at the fairgrounds.

To a passer-by the process of preparing the apples might seem simple, but the Huffmans, along with family and friends, spend extra hours polishing and picking the perfect produce for display.

“It’s just plain old-fashioned effort,” said Arlene Hess as she sat rubbing bunches of red apples with a cloth Monday at the farm.

Hess, who is a friend of the family, was volunteering her apple-shining services that she called “a labor of love.”

Hess and Emily Huffman’s mother, Dorothy Yoder, sat among more than 2,300 apples and picked those looking most uniform in shape and size and without bruises.

Each apple is then rubbed for nearly a minute with a lightly oiled rag, bringing out the natural oils in the skin to reach its glossy appearance.

“They are so particular about their choice,” said Hess.

Sometimes Mother Nature adds to the daunting choices the Huffmans make when selecting their competition produce.

A hail storm that hit the farm a few weeks back left marks on the apples and peaches, said John, and factors such as that make the selection process more difficult.

As if apple selection isn’t hard enough, the Huffmans also pick peaches out of almost 3,000 baskets.

“The trick is to get a nice looking basket,” said John, as a place to start when selecting the rosy pink peaches for display.

More than 100 extra shared hours are spent by the Huffmans and their helpers on picking, polishing and packing the fruit that will be judged according to size, uniformity, color, condition and pack.

The Huffmans’ daughter Melody, 24, who is largely involved in the fair preparing process, said her family also enters an apple into the largest-apple competition. This year they are entering an Eve’s Delight that weighs more than 1 pound.

On Tuesday, the competition produce was loaded up and brought to the fairgrounds where even more time was spent polishing up the produce for the finishing touches.

The only worries for the Huffmans after travel and final display setup will be the judges and their competition.

Jim Schaade of Shady’s Orchard said his family started displaying apples at the fair in the early 1960s, and he and his family were shining just as vigorously as the Huffmans on Tuesday.

Ultimately, the choice will come down to the judges. Emily said the judges could be from Ohio State University, a produce buyer for a large grocery store, or just another local grower who is not participating in the competition.

“The judges can go up to a display and pick an apple to inspect it,” said Emily of the close attention that her produce will receive at the fair.

Winning would be nice, but letting fair attendees know that there is exceptional produce sold by local farmers is also important to the Huffmans.

After their produce is judged, the Huffmans send their fruit to a local food bank, said Emily.

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