If you have recently driven past the farm you may have noticed some activity near our pack house, aka the old Market Barn. Cranes, roofing crews…a full on construction zone over there! So what’s going on? Why does it matter? And what does it mean for the future of our farm?

Let’s start from the beginning!

Stella

On February 8, 2026 we gathered for one last run of our beloved Stella – our packhouse grading machine.

Poppy Bill bought Stella back in 1977 and she has seen every apple harvested at our farm…that’s roughly 120 million apples. With minor upgrades made back in 1984, for the past nearly 50 years, Stella has kept our operation running and was a huge part of our farm. We decided to mark the moment together as a family because it deserved to be marked!

Our farm is growing so that growth means we need equipment that can grow with us!

How the USDA Made This Possible

The pack house expansion and equipment upgrade that we are undertaking would never have been possible without the outside support of the USDA.

We are extremely proud recipients of the USDA’s Regional Food Systems Initiative (RFSI) Programs Grant, which was specifically designed to help farms like ours improve operations, increase efficiency and expand their capacity to serve their communities. This grant is an investment in local food infrastructure and we take that seriously!

For us, that means investing in equipment and facilities that allow us to move more fruit, fastera nd with better consistency. We’ll be getting our farm’s best produce not just to our own Market Barn, but to surrounding grocery stores, food banks and educational institutions.

What’s Actually Changing: The New Equipment Capabilities

With Stella, we could grade approximately 25 bins of apples per day.

This new grading equipment and expanded facility will allow us to grade up to 60 bins per day, more than double our previous capacity! This new iteration will also allow us the ability to image every apple and select it for size, down to the gram and color! It will use AI software to image every apple and analyze and optimize that data.

While Poppy Bill and Ben are extremely excited to bring this new equipment in and the increased efficiency it will afford us, they know that change can be hard, too. With 50 years of being used to the old analog way of grading, this will certainly be an improvement and an adjustment!

Construction Progress

Things have been moving so quickly, which is a good thing! Harvest season is going to be here before we know it. So far:

• Ben had to climb the pin oak tree to cut branches because the height was taller than we expected
• The structural bones of the new expansion are in place
• The roof (matching the new Market Barn) is on
• Grading and site work are wrapping up which opens the door for interior buildout
• We’re well on our way to stage two of construction

Ben’s background as a professional civil engineer has been invaluable throughout this whole process. He’s been keeping the project moving efficiently. We are also extremely grateful for our team of contractors who have shown up every day to make all this happen!

Walking through mid-construction still takes some imagination. It’s a lot of lumber and dirt right now but we know exactly what our vision is for it.

Our Vision

Ben’s new office: For our growing farm, having dedicated office space on the pack house floor is a game changed for day-to-day operations and planning.

A new loft space: Additional storage and functional space

A proper home for Poppy Bill’s gator: If you know, you know! It deserves a real parking spot

New packing equipment: It will run the whole length of the new expansion

All this will allow us to continue doing what we do best: Bring fresh fruit from our farm to your table!

Don’t forget to follow along!

We’re doing our best to document every stage of this build on our social platforms and share updates here, too! Head to our highlight reel on our Instagram profile and give us a follow for more updates to come.

Check out our Spring Tours this April and May to get an inside look at this project as well!