Wright Farms features mixture of diversity and fun

By WHITNEY NESSE

The Land Correspondent

Paul and Heather Wright of Wright Farms have always been ag advocates, promoters and educators and very entrepreneurial — looking for unique ways to diversify. From harvesting fish oil to processing and packaging thousands of miniature straw bales, they’ll try anything once! So with a desire to promote agriculture, offer learning opportunities for consumers, and diversify the farm, their entrepreneurial spirits led them to open a storefront right on the farm! “We needed to figure out how to visit more with consumers,” said Paul. “We do a lot of consumer education and ag promotion, so the concept of starting our own little store came around.”

The Wrights opened Wright Farms Market in April of 2022.

Both Paul and Heather were raised on farms, and after they married, farmed with Paul’s parents before the farm transition began. They purchased the farm from Paul’s parents. “Back then, it was a split between dairy and corn and soybeans,” Paul recalled. “Then we started dabbling in different things.”

Making the miniature straw bales was the first time Wrights entered the niche market. “We purchased a baler that makes miniature straw bales and started carrying them into different lawn and garden centers in the Twin Cities,” said Paul. “They went over like crazy! Now we make a few thousand of them!”

“Somewhere along the line, we got introduced to Aronia berries,” shared Paul. He said they learned about Aronia berries in 2016. The purple berries are native to the Midwest and are high in antioxidants, and it piqued their interest. “We went down to Iowa and visited with some people [who grew the berries], and pretty soon, we put in a 10-acre orchard, roughly 12,000 plants, of Aronia berries,” he said.

Wright Farms is one of Minnesota’s largest growers of Aronia berries. Paul said they recently capitalized on the opportunity to grow Aronia berries organically. “We’re now certified organic, and that has opened up a number of markets for us,” he stated.

Recently, Wright’s purchased an Aronia berry harvester in cooperation with two other growers rather than having the berries custom harvested. “It’s worked a lot better,” he said emphatically.

According to the Wrights, the Aronia berry is not very well known and is still working to find its place in the market. However, Wrights hope to provide face-to-face educational interactions with consumers and that is where the store comes in. Wright Farms

Market offers Aronia berries and a whole host of locally grown and produced products for consumers to choose from.

Wright Farms Market offers locally grown and produced products such as beef, ice cream, pizza, candles, honey, soaps, coffee, and more. “We promote our beef, and the store provides us with the chance to sell smaller portions,” Paul said. “Last year, we decided to try popcorn!” added Heather. She said the popcorn, Aronia berries and beef are all grown by Wright Farms. “We’re really trying to maintain the local piece as much as possible,” said Paul.

“This has been quite a learning event, and the whole family has been involved in it,” Paul said. The Wrights have four young adult children who actively participate in all of the endeavors.

“Whether it’s in the store, the barn, or the tractor, everyone is able to diversify and do what we have to do,” Paul explained. “Fortunately, they all live close by and everybody pitches in. The kids were all raised helping in the barn, so whether it’s milking, feeding, or driving skid steer, it’s pretty easy to find somebody to switch in. At this point, everyone is still having fun with [the farm], so we’re just going to go with it!”

Diversity is the name of the game for Wright Farms. In addition to raising beef, Aronia berries, and making miniature straw bales, Wright’s milk 45 cows and have the ability, with the help of a “Bale Baron,” to make small square bales of hay and straw for hobby farmers and horse farms. “That has helped with the diversification of our crop acres,”

Paul noted. “Last year, we had about 120 acres of hybrid rye, which generates an amazing amount of straw, and we’re able to sell every bit of it. And the soil quality that is left behind is amazing. So it’s a benefit all the way around.”

Opening the storefront has come with challenges, agreed Paul and Heather. “There are a lot of regulations,” said Paul. “We opened a couple of months after our target, just getting through all of the [regulatory processes]. Really, we’re pretty basic here because we don’t package anything,” he added.