By Dan Burden, AgMRC, Iowa State University, djburden@iastate.edu
Overview
Falcon Orchard is a "you-pick" and "we-pick" fresh cherry orchard with a craft store that sells country folk-art-related gift items. Cherries are available in season, and the operation stresses the camaraderie of picking fruit together. Other fun activities and amusements include a seed-spitting range and life-size soft-sculpture figurines.
Business Development
Don and Marifern Hill purchased the orchard in 1980 as a "retirement project." The Hills had been commodity corn and soybean farmers near Ellsworth, Iowa. Marifern Hill had grown up in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, and had family ties to that area. Sister Bay is in Door County, Wisconsin, on the Door Peninsula that juts into Great Lake Michigan. This land mass partially separates Green Bay from the rest of Lake Michigan.
Falcon Orchard is located near Sister Bay, near the terminus of the peninsula roughly equidistant from the northwest and southeast shores and corresponding shore roads that are major traffic routes.
There was no existing orchard on the site when the land was purchased by Don and Marifern Hill. However, at one time there had been an orchard on the site, and two small private guesthouses and remnants of migrant-worker housing from earlier decades are testament to the history of the grounds and the area. The Hills began the business as a productive way to deal with an untimely death in the family. This event forced them to find an avenue for Don's creative energies, which resulted in the craft business. Marketing the crafts led them into reestablishment of the orchard. New trees were planted and the first harvest was conducted within a few years, the first large-scale mechanical harvest following within five years. The you-pick business was started about 13 years into the venture.
The cherries are primarily "you-pick" or "we-pick" harvested. This affords tourist groups, families and couples the pleasure of an outing in the orchard. Freshly picked cherries harvested by the Hills or their part-time seasonal employees are available for those passers-by that stop in at the gift shop, are in too much of a hurry to spend time in the orchard, or are physically unable to pick the fruit. Toward the end of the season, the trees are shaken with a mechanical harvester and all remaining fruit is then taken to a commercial processor in nearby Egg Harbor. This company makes a number of value-added products from this late season fruit including juice, frozen cherries, jams, baking ingredients and similar products.
Besides cherries, the Falcon Orchard store also includes an outlet store that sells unique woodcrafts and gifts, most of which are one-of-a-kind creations from Don Hill's workshop. These include handcrafted wooden bird feeders, butterfly houses, and collectable boxes. Don's creativity extends to metalwork. Metal fabrication, an obvious skill perfected around the farm during his many years as a commodity corn and soybean farmer, results in model lighthouses for patio deck installations, lawn ornaments, and wall sculptures that depict old mill and outdoor scenes. The cherry business began as an offshoot of the craft business, as a way to reconcile a seasonal sales business with existing zoning regulations that required an agricultural production component.
There is no print or other media advertising, other than handout-type recipe cards that have a cherry food item recipe on one side and the equivalent of a friendly greeting and business card on the other. Falcon Orchard is located in a very high-traffic tourist area and is popular with drive-by tourists. It is also well frequented during the cherry season by repeat customers.
The Door Peninsula has more than 250 miles of scenic shoreline dotted with bustling harbors and quiet coves. The area offers a wealth of water-based and scenic recreation and is a preferred getaway for the residents of regional population centers that include The Fox River Valley, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Chicago. Door Country attractions include sailing, cruising, canoeing, kayaking, and world-class sport fishing. Additionally, sandy beaches, rugged shorelines, rocky overlooks, and remote reefs and islands attract visitors. There is a car ferry to beautiful, remote Washington Island at the tip of the peninsula.
The area's attractions are seemingly limitless: eleven picturesque and challenging golf courses; countless bed and breakfast and cottage operations; horseback riding, winter snowmobile touring and ice boating; scores of festivals; fantastic sunsets, vistas and scenic lanes; history and maritime museums, historic-shipwreck dive sites, ten lighthouses, numerous wineries, memorable restaurants from the quaint to the exotic; and pampering accommodations. Throughout a dozen quaint harbor-side towns and the pastoral interior of the county, quality art galleries and studios reflect Door County's deserved reputation for culture in the country. There is a rich performing arts scene that encompasses classical and jazz music to renowned theater. Additionally, five state parks and more than a dozen county parks offer some of the best hiking and biking opportunities to be found in the Midwest.
Door County also is traditionally known for sour (tart) cherry production. The area is jokingly referred to as "Cherryland," a play on Wisconsin's "Dairyland," with the product receiving ongoing national recognition. For example, television celebrity Martha Stewart has featured tart Door County cherries in cooking and on-location features on her shows. Other than traditional Wisconsin Door Peninsula tart cherries, the Falcon Orchard operation produces Washington State Raniers and other sweet cherry varieties.
Nationally, the cherry industry has received some promotion from recent scientific research that has demonstrated that cherries are an important healing and disease prevention fruit. Cherries are a rich source of antioxidants that can help fight cancer and heart disease. Additionally, they contain compounds that help relieve the pain of arthritis, gout and even headaches. These compounds belong to a class of natural dyes called anthocyanins and primarily are present in the red pigments that give cherries their characteristic colors.
Tart cherry production in the United States totaled 213 million pounds on 36,950 acres in 2004. Total U.S. production of tart cherries in 2004 was 106,500 tons. Less than 1 percent of tart cherry production in the United States is for fresh use. In 2004, three states produced 90 percent of the harvest. The top producing states were Michigan with 70 percent (149 million pounds) of total production, followed by Utah (22 million pounds) and Washington (17.5 million pounds). New York produced 7.5 million pounds in 2004. The total value of U.S. tart cherry production reached $70.8 million in 2004 (Source: AgMRC Cherry profile by Malinda Miller; and the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, December 2004).
The Wisconsin cherry industry is assisted by the State of Wisconsin and Door County. Both entities have a number of tourism- and value-added product-development programs that support the region's growers. They are assisted by the Wisconsin Cherry Board and the national Cherry Marketing Institute.
Wisconsin's cherry industry is relatively small compared to that of some other states; however, it is has a well-established and high-value market. Wisconsin's tart cherry production is forecast at 6.4 million pounds for 2005. This is down 4 percent from the 2004 crop of 6.7 million pounds, and down 52 percent from the 2003 crop of 13.3 million pounds. For the second straight year, unfavorable weather during bloom and pollination reduced yield potential. In early May, a hard frost hit Door County and caused significant crop damage. The cool weather that followed extended the bloom for several weeks, which usually is an indication of a late or uneven crop (Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, December 2004).
Barriers to Success and Unexpected Problems
As of July 2005, the Hills were watching their orchard deal with one of the most significant droughts on record for Wisconsin and the Door Peninsula. They had been hauling water to the youngest trees, but the largest established trees, their roots down to moisture-laden bedrock, seemed to be taking the strain. The fruit harvest was in full swing, and the quality of the product was first rate.
In general, the Hills consider the venture to be a very positive seasonal business. Their only problems establishing the operation were a few local zoning problems that were easily dealt with at the time. Currently, they have no expansion plans. The only complaint they have encountered is that a very limited number of customers are interested in purchasing an "organic product." True "Certified Organic" fruit production can be difficult to sustain by fruit producers attempting to counter business-ending disease or pest problems. The Hills use IPM (Integrated Pest Management) practices that include limited pesticide application as a treatment of last resort. Additionally, Door County in one of the oldest fruit-growing areas in North America. For this reason, much of the land has historically seen extreme accumulations of very persistent pesticides and fungicides.
For Additional Information
Door County Chamber of Commerce http://www.doorcounty.com/ Door County Chamber of Commerce website has business directories, sample itineraries, and Insider-Tip E-newsletter and an on-line store; as well as general, tourist, geographic and business-development information. Door County Chamber of Commerce, 1015 Green Bay Rd, PO Box 406, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235-0406, E-mail: info@doorcounty.com; 1-800-52-RELAX or (920) 743-4456.
SavorWisconsin.com http://www.savorwisconsin.com/ SavorWisconsin.com is an online directory and resource for consumers across the world to find food and agricultural products and services from the state of Wisconsin. SavorWisconsin.com offers you the most advanced search capabilities to find Wisconsin products. The website is maintained by the Wisconsin Apple Growers Association and ProNet Consulting, LLC.
Wisconsin Red Cherry Growers, Inc. http://www.wisconsincherries.org/ We are the Wisconsin Red Cherry Growers, Inc. located in Door County in northeast Wisconsin. We are the primary producers of Wisconsin red tart cherries. Our membership includes orchard growers, processors, and area roadside markets producing cherry products for wholesale and/or retail sale. A listing of our members is on present on a searchable map-based database. For further information about our organization, contact: Wisconsin Red Cherry Growers, Inc. PO Box 452, Egg Harbor, WI 54209; E-mail: mstasiak@facstaff.wisc.edu
Falcon Orchard, Don and Marifern Hill, June-September:, 111464 Hwy. 42, Sister Bay, Wisconsin 54234 (920) 854-9478. Non-season: 1848 Memorial Drive, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 54235 (920) 746-0028.
Prepared July 2005.