Today we’d like to introduce you to Fred Openshaw.
Hi Fred, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Our family farm was started by my Great-Great Grandfather Eli Openshaw who had agricultural background in his youth and then later became a medical doctor. He then moved back to Santaquin, UT from Arizona and set up his medical office there in town where he had family members living. The same time that he started his medical practice was when the Great Depression hit and so many families in the area couldn’t pay for medical help they needed. So Eli with his ag background bought 10 acres and planted trees so that people in the community could still get the medical help they needed and then help out on the farm. As Eli moved from Santaquin his son the first Fred then bought the farm and continued to farm and increase the acreage of the family farm. The first Fred loved being able to talk about the fruit that was grown on the farm. In Santaquin he would set up a little roadside stand outside of his house on Center Street in Santaquin and sell the apples grown on the farm. He personally loved interacting with customers and explaining to them how he loved the apples he grew and why they should get these specific apples. Fred the first and his son Fred the second continued to farm a diverse crops and animals at one point our farm had poultry where we raised eggs. As Fred the second continued to farm we also had livestock animals like cattle and pigs. Later as Fred the second and Fred the third continued to farm our family farm moved to focusing on fruit crops which included mostly tart cherries or (pie cherries), few apple, and some peaches. The one thing with our family farm is for all the past generations that managed the farm it was always a side business with all of them having other full-time jobs. So as Fred the third retired from being a high school principal the farm transitioned to having more fruit crops that could be picked and sold directly to consumers and less acreage was planted in tart cherries. In 2020 that when I came back and was running the farm full-time along with my Dad Fred the third and my Grandpa Fred the second. In that year was when we truly stated to realize that as a small family farm the way we could continue the family farm and also make a living was to transition to fruit crop that we could control from the tree to the consumer as much as possible. With that as a farm we go to 6 farmers markets throughout the year. We also with apples that are not good for fresh market sales we juice so that we can sell them at the farmers markets in 1/2 gallons or as apple cider slushes. Just recently we’ve started looking at ways to include agri-tourism in our farm to help not only promote our family farm but also have other revenue streams coming into our farming operation. As a family farm we hope to honor our families roots in farming, continue to offer quality produce into the future, and also have the opportunity for future generations to learn and grow from helping out on the family farm.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’d say the road has had bumps along the way. Since the family farm is multi-generational there is constant need to look at and change course on what fruit is produced and hoping that when you do plant that fruit tree that once those trees come into production that consumers will still be interested in buying them. As well for our family farm consumers preferences change as well in the past most people didn’t care if they had an opportunity to pick their own fruit. I feel like recently there’s been an increased desire from individuals to actually come and be apart of picking their own fruit right of the tree. By providing that option there is additional struggles that come with it from making sure people are safe but also have the experience they crave as well. Some of the other struggles is that even though growing fruit crops follows a similar pattern each year there are still events, and other things that come up that can bring with it unique struggles that you may or may not be able to plan for. Some of those can be related to weather like if we get a late season frost that comes in and kills fruit blossoms we can be left with a smaller crop size or no crop at all. Also depending on the season insect pest can also cause more damage compared to other years and all we can do is strive to monitor our fruit trees and prevent damage to the fruit each year. The other struggle that we face as a family farm right now is the fruit crops we sell are similar to other fruit crops grown by other farms in the area . So with that we’re always striving to find ways to sell to customers why our fruit is better compared to others and why they should spend their money with us.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Openshaw Acres which is also been known as Fred Openshaw Farms has been known for providing good quality fruit crops. As a business and family farm we specialize in raising fruit crops from apples, peaches, nectarines, sweet cherries, plums, pluots, and apricots. However what really sets us apart from others is our Honeycrisp apples and apple cider. We constantly have customers return to us to purchase our Honeycrisp Apple Cider and in the hot summer months get our apple cider as a slushy. As our Honeycrisp apples are sold fresh we constantly have people mention to us how much they enjoy the flavor, taste, and texture of our Honeycrisp apples that we grow. For myself and my Dad the most proud moments we have for our brand is when customers return or sample our fruit and mention how amazing it tastes. In those moments as a farmer it just gives us additional validation besides sales of what we’re doing when we spend 8 to 10 hours a day working out in the fields making sure that they crops grow and size well. What we would like readers to know about us more is that with our brand is that as family farm we want to continue to honor the past generations that have built our farm the way it is but also want to continue to adapt and grow our farm so that future generations can be apart as well.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
For our family farming operation somethings we like best about our city is the support that residents have in preserving the agricultural heritage of our town. So with that a lot of residents will come and support farmers in agri-tourism events that are occurring or purchase crops that are grown locally and available in either grocery stores, or farmers markets. The one thing that we don’t like about our city is that a lot of times resident’s love walk around the orchard blocks and with that occasionally we have people that will dump their trash in our blocks or will enter block without permission and take fruit off the trees. As well sometimes because our city has orchards surrounding it people can sometime won’t fully want to support agriculture in the area.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.openshawacres.farm
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fredopenshawfarms/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fredopenshawfarms
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OpenshawAcres
