Field to Fork

By Angie Johnson-Schmit

Perhaps most famous for their annual Pumpkin Festival and Corn Maze event, Mortimer Farms has been offering up acres of family-friendly activities, food, and fun for more than a decade. Located in Dewey, Arizona and named after the family that owns and operates it, Mortimer Farms is committed to sharing farm life with locals, with an eye to fostering a strong community connection between the land and the food that ends up on our tables.

The Pumpkin Festival is an annual fall favorite for locals. Families come to the farm to pick out their pumpkins and enjoy a range of activities. “We have shows, and entertainment, and fall food,” said Ashlee Mortimer, Chief Marketing Officer at the farm. She pointed out that they also have, “fire dancers at night and barn dances and karaoke and the corn maze… all of the things that make fall really special, we include in the festival.”

At any given time of the year, guests will find a wide variety of things to do at the 60-acre farm. It is an actively working farm, but it's more play than work for visitors.

Games and farm-inspired rides are scattered throughout the farm park area and are hugely popular with families with children. From farm animal encounters to picking your own seasonal fruits and vegetables straight from the field, there is something for everyone.

After enjoying the grounds and activities, guests can head over to the Windmill Kitchen restaurant and taste some of that delicious farm fresh food on site. Chef Brett Vibber and his crew serve up dishes every weekend at the Windmill Kitchen. Made with fresh fruits and vegetables from Mortimer Farms and beef, pork, chicken and turkey from their nearby ranch, they are commited to field-to-fork cuisine.

Mortimer Farms keep their Country Store and Bakery stocked with produce and berries, as well as preserves, jams, salsas, pickles and candied jalapeños. In addition, the store carries essentials like pasta, rice, beans, coffee, and tea, as well as frozen prepared foods like pot pies, lasagnas, and shepherd’s pies. These prepared foods are made with farm ingredients by the same chef and staff behind the Windmill Kitchen restaurant.

It has also become a popular location for weddings, birthdays, and corporate events. There are four different on-site venues to choose from. The Barn and the Grove venues are popular for formal events. The Barn is an indoor/outdoor venue, with one side of the building opening out onto a large patio. The Grove is an outdoor venue with a pergola and large patio encircled by 100-yearold trees.

Located in the midst of farm inspired games, rides and activities, the Campfire and Farm Park venues are popular for less formal events including birthday parties and baby showers. Mortimer Farms has a full-service approach to events hosted at their venues. They include farm-to-table catering and staff, as well as handling table, chair and linens rentals with their venues.

The farm is very much a family affair. Ashlee Mortimer, the eldest daughter of owners Gary and Sharla Mortimer, spent her childhood growing up on Mortimer Farms.

She was in middle school when her parents, who already had years of agriculture and ranching experience, were approached to take over the farm.

Once home to Young’s Farm, the land had been sold to a development company. When that development company was unable to get their project off the ground, the property languished and began to fall into disrepair. The family agreed to lease the farm, with the understanding that they would open it to the public and improve the property. The Mortimers lived up to that promise and made steady improvements.

They also quickly realized that the best way to make sure the farm was successful was to diversify. The farm grows over 40 varieties of berries and vegetables, but they also have cattle, hogs, chickens and turkeys. “Really it’s a full circle,” said Ashlee. “We have all of that agriculture side of it, where we grow and raise food, and then we bring that into our Country Store and also into our kitchens, catering, and farm-to-table food.” The whole Mortimer Farms experience is designed to give visitors a better idea of “what a farm is, why we do what we do, and how food is grown,” said Mortimer.

While the family has been running Mortimer Farms for over a decade, they were leasing the property until 2021. They were informed the farm was up for auction at the end of 2020 and the family had no idea what would happen. When the auction date rolled around on December 31, 2020, the Mortimers walked in wondering if they would still have a farm. “We went anyways, just so that we firsthand knew what our fate was going to be,” she said.

Fortunately for both the Mortimer family and die-hard Mortimer Farms fans, the stars aligned in their favor. There were no other bidders at the auction and the family won by bidding one dollar over the starting bid price. “By miracles, everything fell into place in order for us to be able to make the purchase and get the deed for the farm,” said Mortimer.

Now that the property is officially theirs, the Mortimers are moving forward with more permanent upgrades and projects. “We’re slowly but surely making all of those dreams that we’ve been having for years come true,” said Mortimer. And, the family is thrilled to continue bringing the farm experience to the community that has been so supportive. “They are just as invested in the farm as we are and have been coming to the farm for generations…it’s a tradition for a lot of families,” said Mortimer. It’s a tradition the family behind Mortimer Farms hopes to continue for several more generations to come.

Photos courtesy of Mortimer Farms.