Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeter Mountain Farm.
Hi Kelsey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Jeter Mountain Farm is a first-generation apple orchard, though brothers and owners Jared and Tyler are the 5th generation in their family lineage of farming. The Hunsader brothers and their father, Mike Hunsader, planted the first apple trees on Jeter Mountain Farm in the winter of 2014. In the following years, Mike and his sons patiently tended to the growing orchards, bearing more than 20 varieties of apples and peaches, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, elderberries, pumpkins, and more. In 2020, Jeter Mountain Farm opened for its first u-pick apple season. Each u-pick season, the family aims to add something new for other families to enjoy, including the hard cider taproom, coffee house, a large market, an indoor play area, and the 1813 BBQ Food truck. Jeter Mountain Farm is a completely family-owned and operated initiative. The value of family and a commitment to glorifying God remains the cornerstone and inspiration for all they do. While a love for farming is woven throughout the generations, a love of family inspires the Hunsaders to find ways to invite the local community to join them in enjoying all the farm has to offer.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Any path to building a business is full of challenges, but we have taken each bump in the road as an opportunity to learn and develop grit to face the next challenge that surely awaits. After years of working full-time on the side to support ourselves and fuel the orchard endeavor, we were thrilled to finally open our doors to the public in the fall of 2020. Of course, 2020 also brought with it a global pandemic. As with so many businesses at that time, we were forced to reinvent our apple experience by keeping our visitors healthy and safe; being an outdoor-centric experience, apple picking was a welcomed excursion for many by the fall of 2020. We survived our opening year amidst much uncertainty. Happy to be over that hurdle, the following year brought an unprecedented late freeze, wiping out 90% of the apple crop in the entire region. From a global pandemic to mother nature’s unpredictability, we’ve had to face each challenge with creativity and a sense of humor. We are so grateful for the community’s support as we navigated each circumstance and have come out of each stronger than before. Weather is challenging for every farm family and will continue to be so for our future story. We’ve learned to be extra grateful for plentiful harvests and sunny days!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Jeter Mountain Farm offers an opportunity for families and friends to make memories together. First and foremost, the farm is a u-pick orchard, and our u-pick apples, berries, pumpkins and flowers are the primary draw that brings visitors to our fields. That being said, we have tried to offer experiences that every member of the family can enjoy, such as enjoying a flight of our hard ciders in our taproom, playing in our 6,000 square foot indoor playground, sipping on a hand-crafted coffee from our Coffee House, eating in-house smoked BBQ from the 1813 Smokehouse or shopping in our large farm market and shop. Everything that we do, we strive to do with utmost excellence, and we hope that shows in every aspect of our operation. From the fruits you pick in the orchard, how clean our bathrooms are, we hope guests find it easy to enjoy their time with us.
Being family owned and operated, Jared, Tyler, Jocelyn and myself (Kelsey) all wear a lot of hats in order to make things work! While brothers Jared and Tyler head up the farming, hard cider making, and various projects around the farm, Jocelyn and I (the farmers’ wives) take care of everything else behind the scenes. Our days are filled with everything from staff management, inventory ordering, HR, accounting, marketing, social media, merchandising and more.
Contact Info:
- Website: Jetermountainfarm.com
- Instagram: Jeter Mountain Farm
- Facebook: Jeter Mountain Farm
Image Credits
Corrine Elaine Photography
