Today we’d like to introduce you to Zeke Berg
Zeke, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Fresh Acres was founded in 2016 when two crazy corporate types decided to take a leap into farming. Our founding mission is to produce healthy, locally grown food to feed your family, as well as our own. We are not certified organic, but we grow in an organic manner. We purchase non-GMO seeds from carefully sourced seed companies. We also raise animals on the farm, closer to the way God intended them to be raised – free-range / pasture-raised, and supplemented with soy-free, transitional-organic feed.
In 2018, we added to our mission by sharing the farm with others through our Fall Festival, centered around a corn maze and pumpkin patch. We have many of the additional activities one would expect at a Fall Festival, including a petting zoo, inflatables, combine slide, yard games, corn cannon, bale mountain, and more. We also have food trucks onsite each weekend. Keeping with our mission, our corn maze is grown with non-GMO seed and we avoid using chemicals as much as possible (we have used synthetic chemicals when there is no other option to irradicate a certain weed type (cough cough – thistles!), but we minimize this as much as possible by weighing the pros and cons).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Shortly after buying the farm, we realized it was tough to get our business off the ground while we were both working full time career jobs. After much discussion, Zeke left his corporate job so he could focus on building the farm and agritourism business. Dana still works her Monday through Friday job, but the Fall Festival has grown to the point where she is needed every Friday through Sunday in the Fall to ensure a great customer experience.
New farming equipment is very expensive, so we buy used. As one can imagine, used farm machinery comes with a different price – repairs! This past year it seemed that all of our equipment went down at least once during the year, but everything was desperately needed to keep things going on the farm. So while repair bills were high, we needed to figure it out to keep things going.
Growing organically also has its own challenges, especially when repurposing land where synthetic fertilizers and chemicals were previously used. We have been tinkering to find the right amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and lime to add to the fields to make the growing environment ideal for our corn, sunflowers, and pumpkins. We use a tractor to cultivate (aka, weed) the field before the corn gets tall. However much of what we do to prep the soil and grow the corn is also subject to the conditions of the field. For example, if it’s too wet, it’s hard to get out into the field with the tractor to till in the fertilizer or cultivate without getting stuck. Too much moisture can also make it difficult for some things to grow to their ideal size. If it’s too dry, there isn’t enough moisture for things to grow. If it’s too cool during the summer, the corn doesn’t grow tall. If we used “conventional” growing methods, some of these issues could be minimized. But we are committed to our mission and don’t want to stray from it. As a result, we have had years with short corn and weedy fields. But as we explain it to our customers, they seem to understand and appreciate the efforts we go through to provide the experience for them.
Additionally, we have learned that when it is dry, the thistles tend to take over, which is also a challenge. After tons of research, we have learned the only way to irradicate thistles in a field our size is to spray chemicals. One theory from an organic growing standpoint is thistles help break up the ground below to allow for better growing conditions, but at the same time they are not ideal in a corn maze. So again, we have to balance that with our values and our customer expectations to determine the best course of action. We did end up using a synthetic chemical to help address the thistles, but we applied it once and early in the season so it had time to wash away before people were walking through and playing in our fields.
Raising animals has also proved an interesting learning experience. Where some people have seemingly had a really easy time raising animals, we have certainly had our own challenges (do people really have that easy of a time, or do they just not share their challenges?). Chickens have proved to be the easiest, but we have had issues as we branched out with alpaca, turkeys, goats, and pigs. One would think it’s fairly easy to keep animals alive, but they can be wiley and have a mind of their own. We have struggled with things like heating lamps, parasites, and fencing. There’s nothing like being on vacation, your home cameras identifying movement, viewing your camera, and seeing your pigs on your front door step! Thank goodness for neighbors! Or trying to load up turkeys and pigs for processing and them having a different idea. It certainly makes for interesting stories to tell. Like the one year one of the turkeys flew away. We weren’t able to find it in time to bring it to the processor, so Dana and our son, Anton, had to hunt it down and process it using YouTube as a guide for our Thanksgiving dinner that year.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Fresh Acres?
Please tell us more about your business or organization. What should we know? What do you do, what do you specialize in / what are you known for? What sets you apart from others? What are you most proud brand wise? What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
We are very much a small business. While we have a nice size space, allowing for sunflower fields, a pumpkin patch, and a 5 acre corn maze, we are not large like some of the other fall festivals in the area. Our visitors have commented they really like our size. There is plenty to do so they are able to spend hours at our place, and it’s small enough where they can sit and let the kids run while fairly easily being able to keep an eye on them.
Our largest attraction is our Fall Festival, which is open from September through October on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as the Thursday of MEA. We strive to be a destination where everyone feels welcome – little kids and “big kids” alike. While there are a lot of activities for young kids, there are also plenty of things for the “big kids” to enjoy. Each year we also try to add new things to add to the adventure. The festival includes a 5 acre corn maze that has two mazes within it – a shorter one for the younger kids with about 0.5 mile of paths, and a longer one for the “big kids” with about 3 miles of paths. Additionally, we have a corn cannon, corn pit, slides, petting zoo, inflatables and more activities for all ages. On Saturday and Sunday, we have food trucks on site – the schedule can be found on our website calendar. We also host school groups and other community groups during the week for field trips and group bonding.
Pricing at events like this varies greatly from one place to the next. As former parents of young ones (our kids are now 16 and 18), we did not like going places and having to shell out money for each activity. So our pricing structure has each person pay a flat fee at the door. We do charge a modest additional fee at the corn cannon and petting zoo, and we sell pumpkins and other products, but otherwise we don’t charge for other activities. Even our special events are included in the price of admission (e.g., axe throwing, Sustainable Safari’s exotic animal petting zoo, 321 launch pad, etc.). Granted it means everyone has to pay to get in (ages 4-69 have to pay), but then there are no other charges after that.
In August, we have sunflower fields. The sunflowers typically bloom in mid to late August and last for 4 weeks. The fields are open sunrise to sunset 7 days a week. Customers are able to walk through the fields to enjoy the flowers and wildlife, take pictures, and we also invite customers to cut flowers to bring home. In the time leading up to the Fall Festival, we do not staff the fields, but ask guests to pay via a paybox.
From the farm standpoint, we are busy throughout the year. We sell eggs from our pasture raised chickens, maple syrup from sap we collect and boil down on our property, fresh pasture raised heritage breed turkeys for thanksgiving (or freeze it and eat it whenever), pasture raised pork, and goat. We also procure and sell straw bales, which are used for things like animal bedding, decorations, lawn cover, parties, and straw bale gardening. They can be picked up at the farm, or we also offer a deliver service for customers who don’t have the right type of vehicle for hauling straw bales.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Each year, we choose our design based on an anniversary. We have celebrated the anniversaries of things like 4H, Charlotte’s Web, the Wizard of Oz, and the NFL to name a few. This year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, which our son, Anton, joined this year.
Bale Art – we invite five organizations each year to decorate a straw bale. Not only do these provide great photo opportunities, but our visitors then each receive a raffle ticket to vote for their favorite design. The organization with the most votes at the end of the season receives a $1,000 donation from Fresh Acres.
Action TrackChair – We have partnered with Sand Pine Pheasants to lend us an Action TrackChair for use by people with mobility issues. The Action TrackChair is an all terrain wheelchair designed to be used in rougher terrain, using tracks versus wheels, making it perfect for use on our property and in the maze. The chair can be reserved for a two-hour period and is free to use (with paid admission). We have been so inspired by the people who have come out – young and young at heart – being able to navigate the corn maze when they otherwise would not be able to. We even have several return customers each year!
Organic – to the best of our knowledge, we are the only organically grown corn maze in MN. We also use transitional organic corn in our corn pit, and the straw bales used for the corn pit and bale mountain are also grown organically. We use untreated seeds when available for our pumpkins, sweet corn, sunflowers and corn field. Instead of using synthetic chemicals for fertilizer and weed control, we use organic fertilizer and cultivating. These options take more time, but they are better in the long run for our land, our family, and our customers.
Heritage Breed Turkeys – We are one of the few farms that sell Heritage breed turkeys for thanksgiving. These birds take longer to grow than the broad breasted turkeys one may purchase at the local supermarket or farm store, but the quality and taste is notable – we have several repeat customers who attest to the taste and quality difference.
In the corn maze there are two different mazes – one geared for “big kids” and one geared for the littles. Each maze has a game. In the little maze there is a crayon rub game where the littles can rub the tracks of animals at various stops within the maze. In the large maze we have a game similar to Clue where you have to figure out Who Did It, Where, and with what Weapon. Our visitors have enjoyed having a purpose and goal while in the maze vs. just wandering around aimlessly.
Pricing:
- $12 per person
Contact Info:
- Website: https://FreshAcresMN.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshacresmn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshAcresMN
