54-year operation named Farm Family of the Year
On an chilly early March day when freezing drizzle was raining down on the area, the Wenger family was gathered in a warm space in their business’ greenhouse along County Road 29 in rural West Liberty, busily filling planters and hanging baskets with flowers to sell on upcoming sunny spring days.
Under the cover of the greenhouse, their chatter and laughter was welcoming and light-hearted as several generations worked together on the hands-on project, tending the earth’s soil side-by-side as their family has done for the past 54 years.
Wenger’s Produce and their diversified farm operation been named the Bellefontaine Examiner’s 2020 Farm Family of the Year. The family grows field corn and soybeans on the majority of its 950 acres located between Bellefontaine and West Liberty, and also produces fruit and vegetables on 60 acres, offering “you pick” options with some of the produce during the summer and fall.
Their produce market storefront at 3836 C.R. 29 is slated to open for the season May 1, and in addition to the items grown on site, other locally made products also are offered for sale.
Kenny and Donna Wenger first established Wenger’s Produce in 1966 to sell produce to support their family, and the business flourished into a full-time job that supported them financially. Now the farm is run by their son, Jerry, and his wife, Dawn, alongside their sons and daughters-in-law, Steve and Shannon Wenger and Scott and Kara Wenger. Jerry and Dawn’s grandchildren also have been involved in the operation as the fourth generation working the grounds.
Jerry, a record-setting runner during his days at Benjamin Logan High School who competed at the state level, could’ve continued that pursuit in college. However, he knew he instead wanted to stay put on the family farm and put down roots, he said.
Similarly, his son, Steve, said growing up in this farming environment spurred his interest to continue this livelihood when he raised his own family.
“I knew from a young age that this was what I wanted to do,” the 1991 Benjamin Logan High School graduate said while tending to the planters alongside his wife and family members. “Growing up, my whole family was here — my grandparents, parents, aunt and uncle and my cousins.
“It’s something that you wake up eager to do. I love working on our farm. I have friends who say they hate going to work, but I just can’t relate.”
His wife, Shannon, a 1990 Benjamin Logan High School graduate, said the farm brought the couple together as well, as she began working at the Wenger’s Produce market at the age of 13. An unusual happenstance also presented a fateful interaction between the pair in their younger years.
“We actually were in a four-wheeler accident out on the farm, where we ran into each other,” Shannon said with a laugh. “But that turned out for the good and here we are today.”
Scott and Steve related that their grandparents, Kenny and Donna Wenger, operated by farm until the early 1990s with their sons and daughters-in-law, Ron and Marcia and Jerry and Dawn. At that time, Jerry and Dawn took over the operation when Kenny and Donna retired and Ron and Marcia moved into the construction industry.
Then in 1992, Steve and Shannon joined the family farm, and in 1997, Scott and Kara also entered the business as well to bring Wenger’s Produce to what it is today, the family said.
Dawn and her daughters-in-law, Kara and Shannon, each related how working the farm and at the market has been a very family-friendly way to raise their children.
“When my kids were young, I could have them right here with me at the market. They were sort of raised in a play pen set up in here,” Shannon said of her sons, David and Logan, now ages 24 and 22, respectively.
“If Scott was working late in the fields, we could take the kids out to ride with him. It’s very easy to integrate the kids into farming life ” said Kara, a Greenville native. She and Scott met at the University of Rio Grande, where they both ran cross country and track. Their oldest children, Landon, 19, and Emma, 17, worked alongside their family on the planters in the greenhouse. The couple also has two younger daughters, Estella, 13, and Lucy, 11.
While she has semi-retired from farming life, Dawn said she still keep busy with various tasks, including making quilts that are sold in the market, she said.
Jerry and his sons each have designated roles for the farm. With the father taking care of the fertilizer, chemical and spraying along with the planting, Steve is charged with running the combine, irrigation and planting and he also manages the employees who work for the family in the summertime.
Steve said their fields are a close 50/50 rotation of corn and soybeans each year in no-till soil.
Scott takes care of the greenhouse, farm market and the bookkeeping. In addition to the produce sold on site, he travels to sell the family’s products at the Logan County Farmers’ Market, Mary Rutan Hospital Farmers’ Market and the Worthington Farmers’ Market.
“These are just a few of the specific tasks we do, but everyone helps out in all aspects of getting our produce to the consumer’s table,” the family said.
The flowers that the family was preparing in the greenhouse will be ready for sale when the business opens back up in May, in time for Mother’s Day, Scott related.
Then during the summertime, the fruit and vegetable crops grown by the farm includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, sweet corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, peppers, onions, zucchini, cucumbers and several types of fall squash and pumpkins.
The “you pick” options are available for strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and pumpkins, “allowing families to make life-long memories and giving them the experience of harvesting their own fresh produce,” Scott said.
Other local products available at the market include honey, maple syrup, Curly’s Custom Meats, and homemade baked goods. The business is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during May, and then June through Labor Day, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The market’s number is (937) 592-5726 and Wenger’s Produce also provides updates via its Facebook page about its products.