Market Wagon
Local Food. Delivered.
About
Randy and Carol Bowerman own and operate Bowerman Blueberries along with their children.
The blueberry farm began in 1954, when William and Winifred Bowerman bought blueberry nursery stock. They dug up the plants, and moved them to the farm, covering approximately 23 acres that first year. Since blueberries take 7-10 years to maturity, they also raised corn, and worked in real estate.
William's youngest son, Randy, worked on the farm after school until he was an adult, and left the farm for a short while. After marrying Carol, Randy began working on the farm evenings, weekends, and during the harvest, but the farm was not large enough to support two families. In 1976, when Randy started working full time, he and his dad started their own greenhouse to grow the blueberry bushes. They also chopped over 65 cords of firewood by hand, finally purchasing a front loader to help clear the land and neighboring farms.
Eventually, the blueberries began producing sizable quantities of delicious blueberries. In 1982, Randy bought the farm from his parents. He began to expand the sales toward more sale of fresh berries (instead of processed, frozen berries), and today, nearly 75% of all the blueberries are sold fresh.
The farm now has more than 90 acres of blueberries and an on-site bakery and farm store.
Working on the farm with Randy and Carol are their children. Tom Parker, Amy's husband, is responsible for farm operations. He directly oversees all of the picking and harvesting activities and pruning on the farm. Andrew VanTil, Kendra’s husband, works is responsible for packinghouse operations. Andrew is also our resident IT specialist and manages our online store as well as equipment maintenance and pest control. Kassie (Bowerman) Grasmanis manages the payroll, accounts receivable and payable, is responsible for food safety, and oversees the farm market bakery. Karl Grasmanis, Kassie's husband, is responsible for off-site farmer's markets, field maintenance and special projects.
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November 10th, 2021 person_outline Terri Doezema
