Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Zwald
Hi Andrew, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2012, owner Farmer Greg decided to switch from dairy to berry farming. He started with planting strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pumpkins, and a corn maze. We had two big events a year, a strawberry shortcake day and a fall family day. In 2013, we started hosting weddings in our remodeled wedding barn and in 2019, Andrew, Greg’s son joined the farm as a manager and added sunflowers, zinnias, Christmas trees, as well as expanded our event days and ag tourism activities. We added a farm store in 2020, which was actually one of our busiest years. 2024 is the first year Greg and Andrew are working full time together and we’ve added even more animals and activities.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A big challenge is always the weather and how unpredictable it can be. Especially this year with all the rain, we’ve lost a pretty large amount of strawberries. The weather also determines how many people will come out per day and if it’s stormy, we might have to close up for a whole day.
As you know, we’re big fans of White Pine Berry Farm. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are an organic U-Pick berry farm whos main focus is creating an experience for families and friends where farming and fun come together. Something that sets us apart from other berry farms is the fact that we ALWAYS have something going on. Whether its the family fun zone, food trucks, corn mazes, weddings, etc, there is never a dull day at White Pine. Farmer Greg’s General Store is also always packed with sweet treats like fudge and donuts, along with many other locally made products and goodies. We are very proud of our organically grown produce which include but is not limited to; strawberries, raspberries, currants, and blueberries. We are also very proud of our June bearing strawberries as it is extremely difficult to grow, which is why we are only one of the few farms in Minnesota or Wisconsin growing them.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Joining different organizations like Minnesota Fruit & Vegetable Association, Wisconsin Berry & Vegetable Growers, Wisconsin Ag Tourism Association, Minnesota Christmas Tree Association, and SCORE, along with reaching out to other local farms has helped us a lot with networking.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whitepineberryfarm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/white_pine_berry_farm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhitePineBerryFarm
