Today we’d like to introduce you to Troy Heald.
Hi Troy, 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?
After years of working in corporate America, we decided to move to Alexandria and bought a 60 acre farmstead to start an apple orchard. Troy had been at his job in network sales for over 25 years and I had been a stay at home mother with a background in banking and we knew we wanted to try something new. We also wanted to spend more time with our 3 children, Taylor, Tristin and Tiana, and show them the value of good hard work. From 2007 – 2009 we researched orchard production and properties and in 2009 we found the property in Alexandria which is now CBF. It had a run down 100 year old house and various out buildings in disrepair and 40 acres or tillable land which had been planted in corn and beans and 20 acres of woods. So we just jumped in! In 2010 we fenced 24 acres and planted 1,700 apple trees and put in a well to irrigate. Then over the next 6 years we planted honeyberries, raspberries, aronia berries, pumpkins and tons of veggies and traveled from Alexandria to Glenwood to Fergus Falls to sell our produce at local farmers markets to get our farms name out there. Over that time we learned a lot, failed a lot and just kept going. Then in 2015 we finished our retail and bakery and that fall opened the doors and hoped people would come! We opened the farm to the public and had outside agritainment activities in the fall, fresh baked pies and treats and of course fresh picked apples. Today we are still failing and learning but have grown our orchard to over 12,000 trees, planted strawberries for the summer and offer a wide variety of activities in the fall. We also have grown our bakery and sell wholesale pies locally and built a second production building that we package and store apples, press our own cider and make hard cider as well.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, there have been many challenges. To make ends meet Troy continued to work in Minneapolis full time until 2019. So for the first 10 years I struggled to keep things going and we also had young children so we had a lot of things to juggle. Looking back is a blur, but if you ask the kids they will say all they did was weed, pick veggies and fruit to sell at the farmers markets! In 2011 we had just put our high tunnel up and it got destroyed in a storm a few months laters and we had to rebuild it.
We have had several years of hail events that have damaged our apple crops.
The first year we opened in 2015 the winter temps were very low and with no snow cover and we lost over 2,000 trees. What fruit we did have, got hit by a hail storm so we had to purchase apples from orchards around Minneapolis to sell. And at that time we only had about 4,500 trees, so it was a big loss for our first year.
One year the birds ate right through the netting on the honeyberries and we lost the whole crop.
In 2023 we lost over half of our strawberry crop due to the gravel pit next door hauling on our dirt road. The constant dust destroyed the berries and we had to then till under 3 acres of damaged strawberry plants and move our plantings far from the road losing over $100,000 in revenue.
Things that happen on the regular are weather related losses, deer devastating our strawberry crop, crows eating the apples, robins eating all the blueberries, failures in refrigeration and other equipment, the struggles of staffing seasonally in a small town (need about 65 people in the fall) and running a small business where you have to wear too many hats to make ends meet.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We (Tracy & Troy Heald), along with our children, Taylor, Tristin, & Tiana Heald have operated the 100 acre farm, bakery and gift shop located on Interstate 94 outside of Alexandria, MN since 2009. Country Blossom farm is a fun destination for all ages. It features an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, corn maze, u-pick strawberries (June), u-pick apples (fall), u-pick raspberries (fall), gift shop, attractions galore, farm to table bakery, fresh pressed cider and hard cider on tap and bottled to enjoy at home. We are most famous for our fresh , homemade pies. We offer take and bake and fresh baked sweet and savory pies, cookies, sweet and savory hand pies, donuts and other delicious treats. Our pies are made from scratch starting with our delicious homemade crust which is then filled with fruit grown right here at the farm. We have also become famous for our hand pies to take and eat on the go. We also sell the wholesale at a few local markets so people can enjoy them year round.
We pride ourselves on offering a great orchard experience in the fall which includes; u-pick apples, u-pick raspberries, u-pick aronia berries, pumpkin sales, huge jumping pillow, 7 acre themed corn maze, huge corn pit, Bazooka Ball, pedal cart track, kids farmers market, bubble hut, gift shop/boutique and more! Our clean grounds and facility, along with friendly staff set us apart. .People can spend a whole day enjoying the farm with family and friends. Our bakery has breakfast and lunch covered and you can grab a glass of fresh or hard cider to enjoy on our outdoor patio.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
We love the ocean and swimming, so 10 years ago we took PADI test and got certified to scuba dive. We scuba dived in Cozumel for years in the winter. It is one of the coolest experiences we have ever had and highly recommend it!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.countryblossomfarm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/countryblossomfarmllc/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/countryblossomfarm
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