Straight River Farm © 2023

​Fruit from our farm to your table

3733 220th St E, Faribault MN 55021

Telephone: 507-334-2226    Email:info@straightriverfarm.com​

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​About Us

Straight River Farm was started in 2002 when owner Bill Hein, recently retired from a 30-year teaching career, was deciding what to do with the next phase of his life. He tried several things in the Twin Cities, where he & his family lived, but nothing excited him like the idea of having a farm and growing food for people to eat. After much discussion and negotiation, wife Maggie agreed, provided that they could find a farm within an hour's drive of her work as a Librarian, and that Farmer Bill would hire help as soon as possible.

Because he had previous experience raising strawberries, it was a given that strawberries would be one of Bill's crops. Summer raspberries, ripening just as strawberries finish, seemed a natural fit.  An apple orchard, to produce a crop from late August through October, was also planned. The fact that Bill had no experience with apples didn't faze him at all; he enrolled in a farming program in the Minnesota State University system that gave him access to an incredible consultant and set about learning how to raise apples. Blueberries were added to the mix in 2011 & have rounded out the berries & apples theme of the farm.

Other things have been tried over the years: sweet corn, melons, and tomatoes, to bridge the seasons and generate income. But Farmer Bill is a few years older now and we're starting to cut back. From 2020 forward it has been 'just' the berries and the apples.

Our farm is ecologically managed to reduce the need for pesticides and be sustainable for the environment, the consumer, and the farmer. We are not certified organic but use many organic practices, such as IPM (integrated pest management) methods incorporating insect traps, pheromone lures, and field scouting. We try to raise fruit that tastes good and is good for us all to eat. We eat our produce, too! And we recognize the importance of caring for the land, using cover crops and other practices to maintain the health of our soil.