Wisconsin Orchards Are Grateful for Banner Year of Fruit Production
In partnership with: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Wisconsin apple growers use the word “fantastic” to describe the 2020 season’s fruit production, sales and customer feedback.
Anna Maenner, executive director of the Wisconsin Apple Growers Association (WAGA), says many of the state’s approximately 300 commercial orchards reported a 25% increase in sales.
Sandy Jeffers agrees. “We had beautiful fruit and lots of it,” says Jeffers, human resources manager at Sunrise Orchards. The orchard produces 22 varieties of apples (up to 150,000 bushels annually) on a 200-acre, third-generation family farm in Gays Mills.
Core Challenges
Like many agricultural producers, Wisconsin’s apple growers weren’t sure how 2020 would unfold. Jeffers says Sunrise staff wondered if they’d be able to open their retail shop – which accounts for 50% of sales – during apple season.
“We were most concerned about the safety of our clientele and our employees,” Jeffers says.
Maenner says during a WAGA-sponsored webinar, the presenters advised orchards to discontinue offering samples, limit customers in retail stores and move as many interactions as possible outdoors. After communicating with other WAGA growers, the Sunrise staff developed plans to adjust to the new challenges. Some changes included offering curbside pickup of apples, apple cider donuts and caramel apples; introducing a new, smaller box of apples for mail order; and moving the apples with minor imperfections (but perfect for baking) to a tent outside.
“For the first time in 87 years, we had to limit the number of people inside,” Jeffers says of the Gays Mills store. She says staff wore whimsical shirts bearing mask-wearing apples holding signs that say “We Not Me.”
“People really got a kick out of that T-shirt yet understood our goal of keeping everyone as safe as possible,” she says.
These and other changes, particularly the many opportunities for contactless payment, helped Sunrise enjoy a banner year. “We took real satisfaction in being able to offer people many different ways to get fruit, especially those who needed assistance or who were nervous about being in crowds,” Jeffers says.
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A Successful Season for Wisconsin Apple Growers
At Ecker’s Apple Farm in Trempealeau, orchard manager Sara Ecker says 2020 yielded their biggest crop ever. She owns and runs Ecker’s with her mother, sister and brother-in-law on land that’s been in their family since 1945.
“I’m the worrywart of the family, so I was very concerned in the early spring about COVID’s effect on our business. But my sister, Jessica, who handles PR and events management, was already thinking about changes for safety and success,” Ecker says.
While the Honeycrisp Hootenanny, Ecker’s annual celebration of apples and bluegrass music, was paused in 2020, beer and hard cider flowed and outdoor concerts continued as guests spread out across the lawn at Hog’s Back Brew Farm, the on-site beer garden. Customers enjoyed the experience of walking out to pick their own apples instead of riding the farm’s John Deere train. The entire shopping adventure moved outside with points of sale at each entrance for caramel apples, honey and caramel apple pies (Mary Ecker, Sara’s mother, bakes and sells more than 7,000 pies a year).
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“Our customers had a more positive experience,” she says. As a result, the Eckers plan to implement many of these changes permanently.
Both Jeffers and Ecker say they feel fortunate to have enjoyed a bumper crop, favorable fall weather and the ability to offer customers a safe, outdoor option when many activities and entertainment venues were still closed.
“We are very thankful for our customers and staff,” Ecker says. “They made it a successful season for Wisconsin apple growers.”
