Montezuma farm in the running for Grow Your Future Award

MONTEZUMA — A small Montezuma farm is in the running for one of three top prizes in the Farm Bureau Grow Your Future Award competition.

Zachary and Ashley Wenke, owners of Pleasant Grove Homestead, a small farm south of Montezuma near Barnes City, finished third in voting earlier this month with 1,586 votes to advance to the state competition.

They will join two other farm owners from Iowa at the Farm Bureau Young Farmers Conference Feb. 3 in Des Moines. There they will present a seven-minute pitch about their farming operation and how the prize money will be used to further the business.

The top prize is $7,500, second place earns $5,000 and third place finishes with $2,500.

The couple wants to use the winnings to purchase a new electric salad spinner that includes a dryer and can wash 50 bags of greens at a time. The new machine costs just more than $2,500.

Right now the Wenke’s operation has a small hand-turned salad spinner that can wash 10 bags of greens at a time.

“We need to be doing things faster,” said Ashley. “We spend much of our time packaging our fresh foods and these upgrades would make it a lot faster, giving us more time to do field work.”

Zachary and Ashley founded Pleasant Grove Homestead in 2017 as a cash roadside stand. It grew from there.

When the couple started growing more food than they needed for their growing family, they saw a need to reach out to others with their products.

“We saw a need for fresh homegrown food,” said Ashley. “We started with our neighbors, and it just continued expanding.”

Today, the operation sells goods at three farmers markets in Oskaloosa, Montezuma and in Sigourney as well as two cooperatives and other outlets.

The couple also offers a community supported agriculture option that is currently serving 40 families with a weekly subscription box of meat and produce.

“They (the families) pay us in February, and they get first call on all of our products throughout the year,” said Ashley.

The program starts at the beginning of May and runs for 22 weeks into the fall months.

Pleasant Grove Homestead consists of 6.5 acres and includes 80 fruit trees, one-quarter acre of strawberries and four tunnels (greenhouses) that allow the couple to grow fresh vegetables year round.

There are also two 200-by-400-foot garden beds.

The couple grows and sells 42 different kinds of produce, including cut lettuce, potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes and strawberries.

They also offer honey, pork and chicken products and fresh eggs.

“Everything is 100% homegrown,” Ashley said.

Ashley is a native of Oskaloosa; Zachary is from Douds. The couple met in 4-H while in high school and have been married for six years.

They have three children and a fourth child due in the spring.

For more information on Pleasant Grove Homestead, check out their website at plesantgrovehomestead.com or contact Ashley at ashley@pleasantgrovehomestead.com.