Decker Farm and Orchard History
Our farm and orchard is located on 10 acres in Metamora, MI and was established following our acquisition of the house and property in 2012. Our initial farm investment was the orchard, which was planted the first spring. It currently consists of primarily apple and peach trees.
In the fall of 2013 we acquired two 96’x 20’ hoop houses which allowed us to significantly expand our growing seasons and provide even more delicious produce earlier and later in the year. Unfortunately, one collapsed under the pressure of snow accumulation in 2019.
Early in 2014 we began leasing a mature apple orchard located about 10 miles northwest of our farm. The property contained almost 600 trees and several varieties including McIntosh, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious. Our harvest there led to the introduction of Grandpa's Grand Applesauce that fall. The variety specific, premium applesauce was made exclusively with our apples and included varieties Mighty Mac (McIntosh), Red Carpet (Red Delicious), Gold Rush (Golden Delicious), and Double Delicious (Red and Golden Delicious).
We invested for future harvests during 2015, with new plantings that included 200 feet of blueberry bushes, 200 feet of raspberries, and an expansion of our initial asparagus plot to a total of 400 feet. We also added a wash station to the pole barn to make produce cleaning, cooling, and sorting much easier and efficient.
2016 included additional strawberry and blueberry plantings and we finally broke down and fenced our small orchard to try and keep the deer away from the new apple trees! We also purchased a large two door commercial cooler to expand our post harvest storage.
In 2017, Wade (father and farm founder) made the decision to return to a full time position in finance and the farm took a back seat. For the past 8 years we’ve enjoyed sharing our smaller harvest with family and friends, growing experimental crops like sweet potatoes and peanuts, and beginning a cut flower expansion. We’ve also spent time in improving our farm ecosystem, removing invasive species and seeding native plants around the garden to help control pest pressure and support beneficial insects and wildlife.
In 2026, we resumed selling to the community at local markets and direct from the farm, with a new emphasis on fresh cut flowers and big aspirations for the future!