Farm Overview and History

Champaign Berry Farm, located in Mutual, Ohio, has grown from a family-owned farm with only five acres of berries in 1995 and has continued to expand over the last five years to its current size of 30 acres. The Pullins family, including Mike, Cathy, Matt and Kent, grows 30 acres of raspberries and half an acre of blueberries and half an acre of blackberries.

Location and Crops

• Champaign Berry Farm is situated within 45 miles of major cities and towns, such as Columbus, Dayton, Bellefontaine, London, Marysville, Sidney, Springfield, Piqua, Troy and Urbana.
• Varieties of raspberries grown include Bristol, Haut, Jewel, Lauren, Mac Black and Titan.
• In response to customer demand, Champaign Berry Farm has planted Mac Black, a late season variety that has extended the black raspberry harvest season to four weeks.

Clientele

• Sixty percent of Champaign Berry Farm's raspberries are sold as pick-your-own.
• The farm draws customers from as far as Kansas, Colorado, Virginia and New York.
• More than one-third of the customers come from the Columbus area.
• The customer base is quite diverse, representing young professionals, homemakers, retirees, urbanites and rural residents. The oldest customer was over 95 and the youngest just 2 weeks old.
• Wholesale berry sales focus on farm markets located in central and western Ohio.

Cultivation, Irrigation and Conservation

• Each row of raspberries is planted on beds 2 feed wide, 8 inches high with rows 10 feet apart. The beds are designed to promote drainage, a key to producing quality berry crops.
• 100% of Champaign Berry Farm's production is irrigated.
• The borders are planted with prairie grasses and prairie flowers.
• Champaign Berry Farm is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve filter strip program.