We started planting our 5½ acre diversified orchard in 2009 in southern Dunn County in western Wisconsin, and continued planting over the next five years.  Our farm now includes several species of tree fruit, berries, and table grapes -- see What We Grow for a complete list and schedule.  We began marketing fruit and some specialty vegetables in 2011, though our production was still very small.  In 2013 some of our early plantings started to reach maturity, and we expect our harvest to increase each year.  In 2016, we began planting a 2nd orchard block, with several hundred apple trees -- more of our tried and true varieties, as well as heirloom and cider apples.  Since then, we’ve gradually replaced old plantings and added a few more berries!

At the time of purchase, our 60-acre parcel of a former dairy farm had been a hay field for many years.  All of our infrastructure we built (and are still building!) ourselves. Our latest project is a packshed that will include a larger capacity cooler, for our growing apple harvest, as well as a farm office. We meet our electrical needs with solar power and we catch rainwater for irrigation.

As we increase our land use in plantings and buildings, we make sure to preserve wildlife habitat in our fencerows and edge spaces, and improve our soil and water conservation by maintaining perennial groundcover with diverse species.