Kalamazoo County cider mill bakes up farm-fresh treats throughout fall season

KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI -- After driving through a tunnel of mammoth oak trees, visitors are transported to another world when they arrive at VerHage Fruit Farms & Cider Mill at 8619 West ML Ave., just west of Kalamazoo.

Don’t be alarmed when your phone loses signal upon arrival — that’s part of the charm.

VerHage Fruit Farms offers Southwest Michiganders a local source to buy and eat fresh produce and baked goods. Beyond the food, weekends at the farm have live music, hayrides and kid-focused activities.

“We want you to enjoy yourself when you’re here,” said Kelly VerHage, daughter of the fruit farm’s founders. “That’s not hooked to a telephone or a tablet. That means looking at the birds and seeing the trees and enjoying it.”

VerHage Fruit Farm is open from May to December, in line with Michigan’s growing season. In spring, the farm grows and sell asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries. In the fall, it specializes in apples, apple cider and doughnuts.

The farm has a 125-year-old apple press where mashed apples are crushed into a liquid. The liquid from several apple varieties is combined to make the cider that visitors can buy at the farm. Because the cider isn’t pasteurized and no preservatives are added, customers can only buy it at the farm.

The farm preserves its crop through the year to offer baked goods in October, November and December like pumpkin rolls, rhubarb pie and apple quiche. Workers also prepare stuffing and Thanksgiving turkeys that community members can order for holiday dinners.

“Everybody here is joined at the hip ‘til Christmas,” VerHage said.

Day to day, the bakery features honey, maple syrup, soup mixes and a plethora of doughnut varieties. The doughnut flavors are creative, with the website showing toppings like bacon, cookie pieces, gummy bears, fancy whipped cream, maraschino cherries and more.

About 75% of the fruit farm’s food offerings are made and grown on the farm, VerHage said. The others are provided by other Michigan farmers.

“We all work together whenever when we can,” VerHage said. “I don’t feel like we’re in competition with each other in our rural area around here. I feel like we’re farm family with everybody and if they need something and we’ve got it, we help them.”

The “farm family” connection is an extension of the relationship VerHage staffers have with each other.

The family farm started with Kelly VerHage’s parents in 1962. Kelly VerHage now runs day to day operations on the farm. Her brother helped manage growing at the farm until he died in 2022.

Many of those who work at the farm now are old family friends, VerHage said.

“Even if they’re not family by blood, it’s like a different type of farm family, because we’re here more than we are at our own home,” VerHage said.

VerHage said she prefers to hire retired seniors because they work best with kids and have the most free time.

But in the wake of the pandemic, maintaining staff has been a challenge.

The farm used to have a popular 950-foot zipline, VerHage said. But after the pandemic, the six men who staffed the zipline no longer wanted to work with large crowds. Since then, VerHage hasn’t been able to find others to run the zipline.

“I don’t usually ask for labor,” VerHage said. “They usually come and go, ‘Hey, I’d like to work that crew, or I’d like to work this.’ They already know that they’re going to shine there because that’s what they want to do.”

As for the next generation of the farm, many family members are deterred by the pay, the long hours and the lack of holidays off, VerHage said.

However, VerHage has a daughter and very young granddaughter who have show an interest in farm life.

“(My granddaughter is) already putting on the gloves and wanting to help,” VerHage said. “Reaching the doughnut counter is kind of fun, but challenging for her, but she thinks she’s helping.”

The farm is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until December.

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