“I firmly believe they are like a bonsai tree and have the potential to outlive me,” says Van Driesche whose book about the farm will be published in May.Ī Christmas tree growing out of the stump of another tree at Pieropan Christmas Tree Farm.Īlthough we humans have shaped our woodland habitats with coppicing since prehistoric times, the practice was primarily used for broadleaf trees, not evergreens. He believes it to be the oldest continuous operation growing Christmas trees from stump sprouts, and he sees no sign that his stumps are slowing down. Van Driesche, who sells about 500 trees each year, took over the farm from its original owner, Al Pieropan, almost a decade ago. “It’s a very rich ecosystem-that’s a big part of its value,” Van Driesche says. Different plant and tree species commingle with the evergreens, and insects and other animals are more than welcome. A single stump can support an older tree and a younger tree at the same time, thereby increasing production. By contrast, Pieropan’s owner, Emmet Van Driesche, doesn’t fertilize, spray or irrigate his trees, most of which were planted decades ago. Most conventional Christmas tree farms require intensive land management with fertilizers and insecticides, and after a tree is cut down, its stump must be dug out and a new tree replanted. Pieorpan Farm’s trees are grown using a land management technique called stump culture, or coppicing-cutting down trees to allow new shoots to form from the stump. In fact, it might take a good 10 minutes of hiking before they spy a tree with the classic skirted triangle shape-and when they do, they’ll realize that it’s a few feet off the ground, growing off a stump. Customers who walk the maze of paths through Pieropan’s hillside balsam grove won’t see a single row of trees. That image wouldn’t be far off for most of the 15,000 or so Christmas tree farms in the U.S., but it’s not at all what you’d see at Pieropan Christmas Tree Farm, located in a speck of a western Massachusetts town called Ashfield. Henry and the Cooked Meats plant in Van Wert.Even if you’ve never been to a Christmas tree farm, you can probably call up a mental picture: a field of shapely evergreens growing in orderly, well-spaced rows. The two locations that are a part of this division are Processing in St. All of our operations are located in Northwest and West Central Ohio- an area rich in agricultural tradition. The Food Processing Division is responsible for the production and packaging of our high quality meats. The two locations that make up this division are the Hatchery in Oakwood and the Feed and Animal location in Fort Recovery. The Live Animal Division is responsible for overseeing the care of our animals while they mature, and for manufacturing the feed that keeps our animals healthy and strong. As a part of this we provide our team members with a variety of great benefits, including:Ĭooper Farms is looking to fill a variety of positions over the next few years, throughout our four locations.Īs a diverse, vertically integrated company, Cooper Farms consists of two divisions involving four locations, each with an important role. Our motto is to be “more than a workplace” and we do all we can to fulfill that every day. Today, with the help of our more than 2,000 team members, Cooper Farms is a leading food supplier, selling a variety of delicious fully cooked and ready-to-cook turkey, ham and chicken products to customers throughout North America.Ĭooper Farms raises live turkeys, chickens and hogs in northwest and west central Ohio and produces quality meat products for a variety of private label and foodservice brands.Ĭooper Farms is a family owned and operated company, and we strive to treat our team members as a part of the family. Growing healthy live turkeys, chickens, egg layers and hogs and producing great food products has been a tradition for the Cooper family of northwest Ohio for over three generations. Founded in 1938 by Virgil and Virginia Cooper, Cooper Farms is still family owned and operated.
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