By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Texas students learned how apples grow during a virtual Farm From School visit with Idalou Harvest Company.

Kindergarten through fifth-grade students across the state joined the monthly virtual session hosted by Texas Farm Bureau to meet Lucinda Mann  and learn about apple production.

“This session was a fun way to connect science and agriculture,” said Carson Read, Texas Farm Bureau education coordinator. “Students learned how apples grow and the care it takes to produce them from the orchard to the table. Farm From School is all about helping students make those real-world connections to Texas agriculture in fun and engaging ways.”

During the 30-minute virtual session, students toured an apple orchard and learned how apples are used in products that are found on grocery store shelves.

“We have a 55-acre orchard where apples are grown,” Mann said. “It all begins with a seed. We grow different varieties of apples. Apples aren’t just brilliant red. We have many other types and colors such as yellow and green.”

The farm grows nine apple varieties, including Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and Granny Smith, though some are harder to grow in Texas because of the state’s warm climate.

Mann explained how apple trees grow best with plenty of sunlight and winter chill hours. It takes about four to five years for a young tree to mature and begin producing apples.

“The apple tree needs a lot of sunlight,” Mann told the students. “You need to plant it where it’s going to get sun all the time, not shaded by houses or shaded by other trees. It needs lots of sunlight. It also must have so many freezing cold hours, or it won’t produce apples at all. The biggest factor in the apples is your weather.”

Younger trees can produce 10 to 12 apples and older trees can grow hundreds, she said.

Once harvested, apples are cooled, washed, sorted by size and packed according to federal produce safety standards administered by Texas Department of Agriculture.

“We allow the fruit to cool off before we do any washing, sizing and packaging,” Mann said. “Once it’s cooled off, we run it through the assembly line. It’s run through a water wash, and then we sort them by size. We package it and send it back to the cold room where it’s sent out in trucks to go to the grocery stores.”

Inside the farm’s kitchen, students saw how apples are transformed into pies, butter, juice and even dehydrated apple slices.

“We make all of our products right here in our store,” Mann said. “Our apples go to grocery stores, but the products we make ourselves are only available here in Idalou.”

Nothing goes to waste on their farm. Mann said apple peels and cores are composted and returned to the soil.

“We take from the soil to get our fruit, so we take our fruit and put it back into the soil,” she said.

More information about Farm From School
Farm From School spring 2026 registration is now open.

Educators can register at texasfarmbureau.org/aitc.

Additional details about the program, including dates and commodities featured, will be added on the Ag in the Classroom webpage as they become available.

For questions, contact the Education team at edoutreach@txfb.org or 254-751-2258.

More information about Ag in the Classroom resources is available at texasfarmbureau.org/aitc.