Robert Percival Nutter
Robert Percival “Farmer Bob” Nutter and his Maple View Farm have been instrumental in putting Orange County back on the agricultural map and establishing the area’s reputation for local ingredients and quality products. A fifth-generation farmer, Nutter began his dairy operation in Maine and relocated to a 400-acre parcel in the rolling hills of southwestern Orange County in 1963. The Southern locality offered two benefits: a strong milk market and the ability to “double crop”- grow corn in the summer and barley in the winter. The farm produces various dairy products - the chocolate milk is legendary - and has a large and loyal following. Nutter steadily expanded the
business, first opening an on-farm bottling operation to process two million pounds of milk a year. Started in 1996, it is now owned by son Roger and business partner Mike Strowd. Nutter saw another opportunity and attended Penn State’s vaunted Ice Cream Short Course to learn how to make the frozen dairy treat and understand the intricacies of running an ice cream business. He launched Maple View Farms Ice Cream in 2001 as a separate company, and today it makes ice creams and sorbets sold in retail outlets around the region, including the Maple View General Store, which Nutter co-owns with Allison Nichols-Clapper and Ross Poore.
In 2008, Farmer Bob co-founded Maple View Farm Agricultural Center with Nichols-Clapper out of a deep obligation to help people understand where their food comes from. Its four learning labs and educational programming provide hands-on learning about farming and livestock. Thousands of school children visit the center on field trips, and special events like the annual pumpkin and apple festivals
offer additional opportunities for learning. The 6,000-square-foot facility also serves as meeting space for civic groups and special
events. Maple View is a key player in the County’s growing agri-tourism industry and has received many accolades, including the
2011 Schley Grange Farm Family of the Year and Farmer of the Year awards. That same year, the family also won the statewide North Carolina Grange Farm of the Year award from the State Grange.
For his pivotal role in preserving Orange County’s agribusiness heritage and his integral presence in the area’s food and tourism sectors, we proudly induct Robert Percival “Farmer Bob” Nutter into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.
business, first opening an on-farm bottling operation to process two million pounds of milk a year. Started in 1996, it is now owned by son Roger and business partner Mike Strowd. Nutter saw another opportunity and attended Penn State’s vaunted Ice Cream Short Course to learn how to make the frozen dairy treat and understand the intricacies of running an ice cream business. He launched Maple View Farms Ice Cream in 2001 as a separate company, and today it makes ice creams and sorbets sold in retail outlets around the region, including the Maple View General Store, which Nutter co-owns with Allison Nichols-Clapper and Ross Poore.
In 2008, Farmer Bob co-founded Maple View Farm Agricultural Center with Nichols-Clapper out of a deep obligation to help people understand where their food comes from. Its four learning labs and educational programming provide hands-on learning about farming and livestock. Thousands of school children visit the center on field trips, and special events like the annual pumpkin and apple festivals
offer additional opportunities for learning. The 6,000-square-foot facility also serves as meeting space for civic groups and special
events. Maple View is a key player in the County’s growing agri-tourism industry and has received many accolades, including the
2011 Schley Grange Farm Family of the Year and Farmer of the Year awards. That same year, the family also won the statewide North Carolina Grange Farm of the Year award from the State Grange.
For his pivotal role in preserving Orange County’s agribusiness heritage and his integral presence in the area’s food and tourism sectors, we proudly induct Robert Percival “Farmer Bob” Nutter into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.