Our network of growers spans more than 11,000 acres of prime apple-growing land. They are passionate people who take pride in producing quality, flavorful fruit. Many of our growers come from multi-generational family farms and were born with “green thumbs”.
Walter E. Swindeman, Sr. was a grocery wholesaler bothered by the poor-quality apples he’d see in his customers’ produce sections. “When I retire, I’m going to raise good apples as a hobby,” Walter told his wife. “Then, I’m going back to call on my old customers and supply them with quality apples.” This one thought sprouted Applewood Orchards, which was founded in 1935. Today, eight decades and 450 acres later, Walter’s third and fourth generations run the family-owned business.
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When Patrick was younger he worked with his father, Bill, on their small family orchard. In 2004, he began renting orchards in the area—subsequently, purchasing additional farms and taking over the family farm from his father. Patrick has steadily planted new trees of popular varieties such as Gala, Honeycrisp, and Fuji. He has also invested in fans for most of his farms to move warmer air from above to prevent frost damage to blossoms in the spring.
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Steffens Orchards is a family-farm operation currently operating over 300 acres of apples. The Steffens family arrived from Germany in 1846 and settled in Alpine Township in 1852. The parcel where the farm market is, was purchased in 1983—at that time, not even one apple tree existed there. Today, Rob and Christine Steffens, the fourth generation, own, operate, and manage the farms and market.
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In 2011, Ryan purchased his first 40 acres of open ground where he planted all apples. Then, in 2015, he purchased an additional 80 acres of apples trees. He’s now a fifth generation grower on 120 acres!
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Busy Picking Apples – Look for more information soon!
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Fifth generation farmer who bought his first farm in 2009. Since then, he has added 100 acres. Randy enjoys all aspects of farming, from planting the trees, harvesting the apples, to filling his controlled atmosphere storage and trucking the fruit when it is sold.
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Rodney is a fourth generation farmer with 300 acres! In 2018, their farm became a Centennial farm. Rodney is blessed to farm with his two sons, Ryan and Randy.
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We represent an amazing group of growers that inspire our mission: to bring quality apples and amazing flavor to market. At Applewood Fresh, we consider ourselves more than just customer service (but we excel at that too). We are in the business of cultivating relationships. That means our strategy to representation is not a one-size-fits-all. We approach each one of our growers uniquely. We start with listening, learning, and understanding. Then we take it from there.
