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ABOUT
THE FARM
Maurer Farms grows fruits and vegetables for both
wholesale and retail markets.
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Strawberries
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Black Raspberries
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Peaches (2009)
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Sweet Corn
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Tomatoes
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Peppers
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Pumpkins
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Beets
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Green Beans
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Muskmelon (in season)
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Watermelon
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The Maurer
Family sold their first strawberries in 1950, from a
small plot of land on Highland Avenue in the north end
of Wooster.
The farm
operation was moved to the present location
at 2901 Batdorf Road in Wooster Township in 1961. The farm
operation has been expanded over the years. Presently
David, Carol and son Roger Maurer operate the family farm.
Strawberries, raspberries, sweet corn and all kinds of
vegetables are our specialties. We follow the latest
cultural practices so that we can provide our customers
with the best quality produce possible. We follow
integrated pest management practices meaning that we
scout our fields for pests; plant resistant varieties;
and employ cultural practices that minimize the
necessity of using pesticides. The farm has a written
food safety policy which all employees follow.
Many individuals and families enjoy picking their own
berries in the pleasant surroundings of our strawberry
and raspberry fields. We furnish containers at no charge
in which you may pick your berries. The strawberry
containers hold about 6 pounds and the raspberry buckets
hold 7 to 8 pounds.
Our farm market on Batdorf Road is open in season for
10am to 6pm Monday through Saturday and is closed on
Sunday. The market features strawberries, raspberries,
sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, melons, and squash
all of which are grown on our farm. We also sell some
items we do not grow but are grown by other local
growers.
Waynes
Sunday Paper
The Beacon Journal
BERRIES
- David Maurer began raising them in Wooster
Fruit picking had its heyday in the early 1970's.
After declining for several years, Maurer has noticed a
slight resurgence in those who want to pick their own
fruit.
Maurer's interest in strawberries goes back to his high
school days. In 1949, he entered Wooster High School
with dreams of becoming a farmer.
"My granddad farmed and I wanted to be a farmer ever since I
was born," Maurer said.
Maurer signed up for the vocational agriculture course as a
freshman with teacher Glen Boling. The course required
students to focus on a project.
Maurer decided to work with strawberries because they were a
high-income crop that could be grown in the limited
garden space behind his Highland Avenue residence in
Wooster.
But what began as a high school project in a back yard has
developed into one of the largest fruit and vegetable
farms in Wayne County.
Although the Maurer's continue to feature strawberries on
about seven acres, they also grow things like green
beans, squash and sweet corn. They employ 20 people each summer to help with the labor-intensive
tasks.
David and Roger Maurer divide responsibilities in the field.
Roger Maurer, who
gradated from Purdue University in 1984 with a degrees
in agriculture, manages the cattle, raspberries,
tomatoes and melons. David Maurer looks after the
strawberries and sweet corn.
Carol Maurer oversees the fruit stand and serves as the
central nervous system to the operation, communicating
by walkie-talkie with her husband and son in the fields.
And it is those fields of sweet corn and strawberry plants
where David Maurer is most comfortable.
After graduating from Ohio State University in 1956 with a
degrees in horticulture and vegetable crops, Maurer got
sidetracked, opting for a job at the Wayne County
National Bank. But Maurer never gave up his dream of
farming and purchased some land along Batdorf Road where
the produce is grown.
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