Wilson’s Orchard & Farm has announced plans to open a second farm in the Des Moines metro area.
The new location is being planted in Cumming, a town of about 500 people southwest of Des Moines. Visitors will find many of the same amenities available in Iowa City, including an orchard, restaurant, bakery and cider pub — all in a single facility with a large indoor and outdoor seating area.
Unlike the Iowa City location, the Cumming location will produce its hard cider on site — part of a goal to reestablish a “cider culture” in Iowa.
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With 115 acres, the second orchard will have about 30 acres of pasture devoted to raising livestock. The rest will be fruit, berries, pumpkins, flowers and vegetables, owner Paul Rasch said in a social media video announcement.
The expansion comes after Wilson’s Orchard & Farm committed to sourcing 100% of its food locally by 2030 in Iowa City.
“Eventually, as our kids got into the business, our vision for the farm as a family really started to broaden. We wanted to focus on doing something more meaningful, something that would leave the world in a slightly better place than where we found it,” Rasch said online in the announcement. “And we knew that there were serious issues in agriculture as well as great opportunities for how to improve it. We just wanted to plug in and do our part.”
With 80 percent of the farm’s current food secured within a 20-mile radius in the growing season, Rasch told The Gazette in May that the goal of 100 percent is “imminently doable” by 2030. This year, the farm added hogs to the livestock it raises, alongside sheep and chickens.
“It’s a determined objective,” he said in May of the farm’s commitment to regenerative farming.
www.thegazette.com
The new location is being planted in Cumming, a town of about 500 people southwest of Des Moines. Visitors will find many of the same amenities available in Iowa City, including an orchard, restaurant, bakery and cider pub — all in a single facility with a large indoor and outdoor seating area.
Unlike the Iowa City location, the Cumming location will produce its hard cider on site — part of a goal to reestablish a “cider culture” in Iowa.
Advertisement
With 115 acres, the second orchard will have about 30 acres of pasture devoted to raising livestock. The rest will be fruit, berries, pumpkins, flowers and vegetables, owner Paul Rasch said in a social media video announcement.
The expansion comes after Wilson’s Orchard & Farm committed to sourcing 100% of its food locally by 2030 in Iowa City.
“Eventually, as our kids got into the business, our vision for the farm as a family really started to broaden. We wanted to focus on doing something more meaningful, something that would leave the world in a slightly better place than where we found it,” Rasch said online in the announcement. “And we knew that there were serious issues in agriculture as well as great opportunities for how to improve it. We just wanted to plug in and do our part.”
With 80 percent of the farm’s current food secured within a 20-mile radius in the growing season, Rasch told The Gazette in May that the goal of 100 percent is “imminently doable” by 2030. This year, the farm added hogs to the livestock it raises, alongside sheep and chickens.
“It’s a determined objective,” he said in May of the farm’s commitment to regenerative farming.
Wilson’s Orchard expanding to Des Moines metro
Wilson’s Orchard will brew hard cider on-site at its new Cumming site, with 115 acres dedicated to furthering regenerative agriculture.
www.thegazette.com
