GALESVILLE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – Tonight, we spotlight Ferguson’s Orchards; a family-owned business growing thousands of apples each year across western Wisconsin and Minnesota.

So, here at Fergusons, we’re all about fall. This farm, we actually started here about 22 years ago in Galesville. Since then, my brother and I (and originally our parents) have grown the family business to, now, we have six different orchards in Minnesota and Wisconsin. One thing that’s really big for us is providing a place for people to actually experience life on the farm and get to know their farmer.

People are increasingly removed from agriculture, so we kind of see it as our responsibility to create a place where people can come and immerse themselves in that while having tons of fun and making a lot of memories. And of course, tasting some really good donuts while they’re doing it. Our name is Ferguson’s Orchards, but we’re so much more than just an apple orchard.

So, we have pumpkins and really everything that you would need in a fall destination from farm animals to a cow train, a giant pit filled with corn that you can play in and then when you’re done playing, you know, you can head inside and try anything from caramel apples to apple cider, donuts for lunch, foods for the grown-ups.

We have wine that you can take home and try. That’s our apple wine. So it’s really fun for the whole family. And we try to make a place where the whole community can come and spend the whole day together. Tried to create a destination for the family. And so, we loved seeing all the different kids running around and that includes our own family. So, we’re a true family business. I have five- and seven-year-old daughters and they’re kind of our focus group for everything that we add here. If they like it, then we know that other kids will like it. So that’s great. Running a business with our family for other families.

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year because that’s when all our hard work kind of comes to fruition and we get to watch everyone come enjoy what we’ve been working on all year.

So, for harvesting heroes, you know, that’s really a great honor for our family. We are farmers at our core in apple pie, but yeah, that’s kind of that’s what we see ourselves as farmers at the end of the day. And to be recognized in our community for that is just really great. There’s always something really cool going on at the farm really year-round. So, even though we’re only open in the fall, you can stay up to date on what we’re up to on our social media and our website, Fergusons Orchard Icon and on Facebook and Instagram. The one thing if you come to Ferguson’s, you cannot leave without trying one of our apple cider donuts that really become famous. And you know I taste-test them daily for quality control but they’re a big favorite.