About Us
We are a family owned farm and retail market growing a variety of
fruits and vegetables to meet the demands of our fresh market customers.
Our mission is to be a productive and growing operation
which produces safe, high quality products at a profitable and fair
price.
It is important that everyone - customers, work
associates, and management - be treated with honesty, fairness, and
respect as a part of our operation.
Farm History
Having been farmers all of their lives, Harold and Julia Nelson purchased the 200 acre farm in 1945. Harold chose this farm because he felt it would be a good fruit location. Their son Carl, operated the farm and Harold worked at Continental Motors in Muskegon, Michigan. Harold and Julia helped son Carl whenever they could. The farm started out as a General Dairy Farm with milk cows, pigs and chickens to sell eggs.
The first fruit planted in 1946 were Peach and Apple trees inter-planted together. This orchard still exists today but only as an apple orchard. The reason being that peaches are "shorter lived" than apples and in 1965, the severe freeze killed the Peach trees.
The first Cherry orchard was planted in 1947, which was the same year that Carl married wife Phyllis. Fruit planting of Clingstone Peaches, Plums, Pears, Apples and more Cherries continued until 1965 when the bad freeze killed so many trees. Harold's health was getting bad and he retired from work. Carl gave up dairy cattle and went to work full time at Duffy Mott but also kept the fruit farm going with the help of his five sons; Dennis, Michael, Rick, Ron and Randy. They stared planting more fruit. Then came the time Duffy-Mott closed their plant near here and Carl came back full time on the Fruit Farm.
In March of 1976 there was a terrible ice storm which killed nearly all of the Tart Cherry Trees. They had to start a new Cherry orchard, along with planting various varieties of Peaches, Apples, Plums, and Nectarines. Carl and Phyllis's youngest son Randy and wife Bridjet joined the operation after their marriage in 1975. Carl's other four sons had already established careers of their own.
Carl had always dreamed of building a farm market to sell much of this own fruit and to grow some vegetables. In 1977, he along with the help of all his sons, started building what is now Nelson's Farm Market. In July of 1978, Nelson's Farm Market officially opened for business. Prior to this, much fruit was sold from the porch of Julia's big farm house. In 1979, another addition was added to the farm market. Carl and his son Randy continually plant more varieties of fruit and vegetables to supply requests from customers.
In 1989, Randy and Bridjet purchased the farm. Throughout the years they had a family of their own. With boys running in the family, they had 4. Carl, Chase, Justin and Jarret. In 1993, a barn was built and filled with Horses, Donkeys, Mules, Llamas, Goats, Chickens, Pigs, Rabbits, Cows and a male and female Peacock. The barn is a popular attractions for everyone! In the late 90's, the Farm Market added a Greenhouse.
In 2013, the Farm Market added a new parking lot, a garage for deer feed and a huge hay barn for extra storage. Nelson's Farm Market is forever growing and changing!
