Rachel and David Barnard met when they worked together in supply chain management in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They each worked in the corporate world close to seven years before they packed up their stuff and moved to Rachel’s family's hometown of Traverse City, Michigan.
“After a weekend visit to local orchards and cideries in the area, we fell in love with what northern Michigan had to offer! We decided that we wanted to call this place our future home and start building something with our hands from the ground up,” David says.
Barnard's putting up their Trellis poles.
Early in 2022 the Barnard’s found 10 acres of land just to the west of downtown Traverse City. This is where they planned to start the next step in their lives and grow their own apple trees.
They spent last summer improving the land to help prepare them for planting this spring. Included in those improvements was an eight-foot-tall deer fence around the property to protect their crops from any damage the deer may cause. The couple also added in ten-foot trellis poles that will help support the trees as they grow older and allow them to produce fruit earlier than non-trellised trees.
Trees that were planted at their house in Spring 2023.
In April they plan to plant 2,000 apple trees, and currently have thirty trees planted at their house to help get them started on their operation.
“We are ready to plant those 2,000 trees here in the next few months! The land is prepared, we have purchased all of the necessary irrigation equipment, and we are actively working on the well and incoming power. In the meantime, we did plant thirty trees at home last year, this allowed us to gain first-hand experience with IPM management, soil testing and water treatment before our large order arrives in what seems like a few short weeks” David laughs.
You may be wondering why the Barnard’s left their corporate lifestyle to become first-generation apple farmers, and Rachel says it best, “we just wanted a change of pace from the corporate day-to-day. I've been coming up here for years and years, ever since I was a little kid. We got married here two years ago and we even had a little baby girl last year. We're excited to raise her outside in the orchard and teach her the blood, sweat, and tears of the operation. We want to show her the hard work and work ethic that comes with orcharding and farming.”
Apple pressing Fall 2023.
Since the couple lacked knowledge about the cider industry and all the challenges that may occur with the operation, they participated in the Cider Institute of North America’s - Cider & Perry Production Foundation online course. With help from GreenStone’s CultivateGrowth grant, they were able to offset a portion of the course fees and focus more on increasing their knowledge of the apple cider industry.
“I don’t think we both would have taken the course if it were not for the grant,” Rachel explains. “David and I have different business responsibilities, so this gave us the opportunity to learn from the production perspective as well as the customer experience standpoint.”
The kit that received from the Cider & Perry course.
During their 12-week course, they were able to gain an understanding of how cider production works from tree to consumer. The course offered different sessions on orcharding, apple pressing, cider making, and cellar hygiene. The couple soaked up all the knowledge they could during the course and achieved their certification in production.
In addition to weekly discussions, there were virtual tours such as a tour of an orchard at Cornell University, one of the leading educational institutions in the apple industry. The host offered a wealth of knowledge and answered all of the questions the group had during the experience.
“We were able to ask them specifically about their irrigation system, what sort of drip lines they used, and how they had their well set up. The openness of the educators on this virtual tour was one of the biggest takeaways from the course in particular,” David reflects.
Barnard's preparing the property for planting season.
The Barnard’s are still working on growing their operation each day. In addition to the trees they'll be planting this spring, this summer they also plan to begin construction for their storefront with hopes of opening their Cidery in 2025! You can follow their journey at heartwoodciders.com.
With the help that the CultivateGrowth Grant provided, the Barnard’s are now another step closer to opening up their Cidery. GreenStone understands the importance of advancing education for young, beginning, and small farmers. We work to provide the educational and financial resources needed to help establish a solid foundation. To apply today, visit CultivateGrowth Grant | GreenStone FCS.
