It’s no big secret that the current state of American agriculture has seen better days considering the decline of production, disappearing farmland, and families losing their livelihood. But, there ARE stories of hope. This is one of those stories. Now in their 60th year, three generations of Jackson family farmers have found a way to produce acres upon acres of orchards, all while welcoming you to “good food and great memories.”
Cathy Jackson Otis was still a baby when her parents, Bill and Shirley Jackson, picked up the family and moved to Bowling Green from their Michigan home. Bill was an agricultural chemical salesman for FMC and Shirley was a school teacher back then. It just so happened that Bowling Green was part of Bill’s territory where an elderly Ed Hudgens’ orchard had fallen somewhat fallow. “So, they bought the farm. It was kind of a hobby for my parents in the beginning. You might say more of a money pit,” Cathy says that every tree had to be bulldozed, a lake had to be dug for irrigation purposes, and so on. “Everything extra that they had, which at the time in the 1960s, there wasn’t a whole lot of extra, they put into the farm,” she says that even the one-lane gravel road leading up to the farm needed dire attention, but they were determined.
The fruit that the Jacksons grew was sold at a small open-air market on Louisville Road for the first couple of years. When they had accumulated enough money to straighten out their driveway situation, it was time to share the fruits of their labor.
“It's quite a climb, and that's part of the fun of coming out here. People love coming up the hill,” Cathy says of one of Warren County’s highest elevations – 700 feet. Over the years, the Jackson family has grown exponentially and have more than doubled the farm’s acreage with the purchase of an adjacent cattle farm, featuring a river bottom where more fruit trees have replaced the cattle, along with a pumpkin patch in late summer.
Just as the family and actual farm grew in size, the Jackson’s tree planting program that began in 1969 has evolved to more than 7,000 trees in today’s orchard – including heirloom varieties such as the Redhaven peach, and Arkansas Black apple. Not only is the fruit sold to the public, Bowling Green restaurants such as Montana Grille and Hickory & Oak feature Jackson’s Orchard fruit on their menus. What’s more, the Warren County school system has joined the Jackson’s customer list via Kentucky’s Department of Agriculture Farm-to-School program, along with Feeding Kentucky – an organization with the mission to end hunger in Kentucky.
But, by far, Cathy says that their events are a major mainstay for the farm’s success.The Jacksons first added agritourism to their business plan back in the 90’s after visiting a pumpkin festival in California. “We had always had an apple festival, and the peaches sold themselves,” but when the family added the pumpkin festival they knew they had something.
The Pumpkin Festival grew in popularity to the point that now the celebration runs five weekends from the end of September through the entire month of October. “Selling the apples is not an issue anymore, because we have such crowds. They come and pick their pumpkin, they run through the corn maze, they pick their own apples until the trees are bare, and enjoy our fresh cider and shop in our store. It's become quite the annual tradition for a lot of families.”
If you go, start with hopping on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch in the back pasture where you can also pick your own apples, wander through the corn maze, and snap that most Insta-worthy shots. Up at the barn, you can buy any variety of apple you can think of, along with Kentucky Proud Jackson’s Orchard Apple Cider. There’s also a snack bar, petting zoo, playground, and many other activities to complete your family’s day of fun on the farm.
There are several other events that happen throughout the growing season starting with a free tree pruning workshop on the first Saturday of March led by Cathy’s son, Jonathan Price. The celebrations continue with Peach Tastin’ Days, Independence Day, Apple Fest, and wrap up with Pumpkin Fest each year. You can literally take your pick.
See for yourself why Jackson’s Orchard is truly a success story. And, the state of American family farms can improve with your support. Buy directly from local family farms, shake their hands as often as you can, and, by all means, nurture the next generation by taking them out to farms such as Jackson’s Orchard.
