Mequon / Wisconsin / United States
About our farm and family... For us, farming is much more than a job. The Barthel family has been growing fruit since 1839 when great-grandfather August Barthel arrived from the German province of Pomerania. He and his family farmed and raised dairy animals, but he was also known for his interest in his orchard and tree grafting. In 1907 his son, Joseph Barthel, purchased a farm next to the homestead and planted another orchard. The Barthels continued to produce dairy products and fruit until 1956. At that time, Josephs son, Armin Barthel and his wife, Nora, decided to expand their fruit-growing operation while eliminating their dairying business. The orchard was expanded to 28 acres including apples, pears, plums, and cherries. Strawberries also became an important crop. Most significantly, a large portion of each years crop was sold by the pick your own system. In 1978, Armins son, Bob Barthel, came into the business and added asparagus, pumpkins and the cider mill. Currently Bob is tending 30 acres of orchard, 15 acres of strawberries, and 40 acres of various fruit and field crops. We have installed "state of the art" systems for monitoring insects, disease and environmental conditions. As you see, growing healthy fruit is our heritage.
