Sep 8, 2024

Three Springs Fruit Farm’s evolution and postharvest markets

Three Springs Fruit Farm, a seventh-generation family farm in picturesque Aspers, Pennsylvania, offers fresh tree fruit, berries, tomatoes and vegetables to markets all over the Mid-Atlantic region. 

“We’ve been concentrating on apples as our primary crop since the 1960s,” said Ben Wenk, a partner and grower with Three Springs, who graduated from Penn State’s Agroecology program in 2006.

The company’s history dates back to 1901, though its origins go much further. “Our family immigrated here from Switzerland in 1818 and established a blacksmith shop, and married into the Baldwin family, which had a large farm nearby, and started farming sometime around 1820,” Wenk said. “We’ve been farming within a half mile of there ever since.” 

Today, Three Springs is known for its commitment to progressive, sustainable growing practices and land management. The company maintains a full-time staff of 12 for harvest and labor, with another six in the office and market management.

Going to markets

When Wenk returned to his family farm in 2007, he started managing weekly trips to farmers markets in Philadelphia, and the Baltimore and Washington D.C. region. Today, attending those markets is a big part of the business. It’s a year-round endeavor with approximately six markets a week.

Those include Headhouse Farmers Market in Philadelphia; Farmers On the Square in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and in Maryland, Kenilworth Farmers Market in Towson; Field Fresh Farmers Market in Frederick; Greenbelt Farmers Market in Greenbelt; and FRESHFarm Silver Spring Farmers Market in Silver Spring.

“That changed a lot of the trajectory of the farm in terms of what crops we were offering,” Wenk said. “All of the markets we attend are producer-only so that means we have to grow it ourselves, so we learned how to grow things like vegetables and small fruit to diversify our offerings.”

As Three Springs started attending more urban farmers markets and meeting chefs, it led to restaurants asking for some of its items by delivery, so the company initiated its own delivery wholesales operation.

“In a lot of ways, that has helped us balance the volumetric needs of our weekend markets versus the lack of demand for volume during the week,” Wenk said. “Our ability to work with chefs and learning what they want to buy has helped us shape the variety of things that we grow.”

Through some of the chef connections, Three Springs launched an alcoholic cider enterprise in 2016, Ploughman Cider, and many of the restaurants in Philadelphia carry the brand.

Wenk has seen a lot of change in farmers markets over the last 15 years, but one constant is that success comes down to having great quality.

“Another thing I have found is that because there is a demand, you can be a little bullish on price, but at the same time, we maintain the idea that it still needs to be fair and accessible,” he said. “We understand that we can provide a quality better than what people can get in a grocery store, and we take a lot of pride in that, and we come up with a price that is fair.”

Having a nice display is also of utmost importance at the farmers markets. This includes having clear signs, keeping product at eye-level and displaying an abundance of fruit.

“Show some effort and let people know their business is important to you,” Wenk said. “We want people excited to shop with us. I’ve never seen that effort not pay off in the end.”

Agritourism events

A lot of Three Springs’ agritourism events are concentrated around the cider product and the history of the area.

“Being here in Adams County still attracts a large volume of Civil War-based tourism,” Wenk said. “For us, we want to play off of what already is a draw to this area, and pivot to make sure people come here and leave having good experiences around agriculture, apples, cider and live music, which is a big part of our brand as well.”

So, instead of the typical pick-your-own that other farms rely on, Three Springs is encouraging people to interact through music and cider. For example, it hosts an annual Dig My Earth Festival, which features local and regional bands, and raises money for the Land Conservancy.

“We also recently revived the PA Cider Festival, which attracts over 25 cideries in the state, and attracts more than 1,000 guests,” Wenk said. “It’s a really special event and we’re proud to carry the tradition on, giving people good experiences around apples and cider.”

A third event happens on Ploughman Cider’s anniversary, hosted by the National Apple Museum in Biglerville. It’s known as Cidernalia — an all-day indoor music festival welcoming cider enthusiasts from the region and benefits South Mountain Partnership.

A healthy orchard

Three Springs is intentional and principled in its pest management approach to orcharding. With Wenk’s background and degree, over his career he’s spent a lot of time learning about conservation spraying, using more target-specific applications, adopting different methodologies from organic practices and doing insect scouting.

“We’re always adapting our natural environment for the growing of tree fruit in our area,” he said.

When it comes to technology, Wenk is a big proponent of the Darwin Blossom Thinner in the peach orchards, which helps reduce labor and increases quality by reducing excess blossoms. “A lot of our plans for the future are more along the line of vertical integration and being responsible for how our fruit gets processed and trying to keep as much of that in- house,” he said.

Postharvest, the company has always enjoyed good relationships with some local cold storages that it rents to hold product longer.

Sustainable mindset

Three Springs has a long history in Adams County, but remains dedicated to its future. In fact, the overwhelming majority of the farmed acreage (335 acres) are now preserved farmland, ensuring its agricultural heritage for years to come.

The company also does a fair amount of its own processed fruit with the Three Springs Fruit Farm label through co-packers, which helps extend the shelf life and reduce waste, creating product that can be sold year-round.

Through it all, leadership remains active in such groups as the State Horticulture Association of Pennsylvania, the Mid Atlantic Master Farmers Association and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture to ensure its future is a viable one.

Article written by Keith Loria, contributing writer

A graduate of the University of Miami, Keith Loria is an award-winning journalist who has been writing for almost 20 years. View his recent writing at keithloria.contently.com.