Dubuque for wedding packages to fit your needs - Julien's Journal

of trees. Some other varieties are grown from
only a couple of trees. One unique apple he
grows is the Russet apple, which has a brownish,
rough skin like that of its namesake potato.
Another lesser-known variety Henkels favors is
the Winesap.
Apples are not the only fruit Henkels grows – he
also has a few pear trees and some Concord
grapes as well as traditional vegetable garden
goodies – but apples are his favorite and what
he is best known for in the area. He is a Dubuque
Farmers’ Market fixture at his 13th Street spot
mid-block between Iowa and Central and
becomes more popular with the arrival of early
apples in August and remains so through the
fall as new varieties ripen and are brought each
week. He supplements his garden produce in the
first half of the market season with produce he
buys from out of state and brings back with him
to Dubuque, like blueberries from Michigan and
peaches that he buys from a grower in Calhoun
County, Illinois.
Henkels notes that the popularity of the Dubuque
Farmers Market has exploded in the last five
years due to what he says is a heightened, “Consciousness
about buying local and eating fruits
and veggies.” The excitement building around
the Dubuque Food Co-op is further evidence
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
of this sentiment as area residents demand
more local options. “There’s some money to be
made now,” he notes, “but it’s still a lot of work.”
Henkels has tried to sell through grocery stores
in the past but was dissatisfied with the results
and has since relied on the farmers’ market and
visitors to the orchard.
Henkels’ orchard is not organic and he uses
chemicals, primarily insecticides and fungicides,
but according to him, not nearly to the extent
that large scale commercial growers would.
Early on, Henkels made a trip into Wisconsin
to visit an organic orchard. He was told by the
producer that making a living on an orchard
was tough, but making a living on an organic
orchard was even tougher. One reason is that
consumers are used to seeing unblemished
produce at traditional grocery stores and cast a
skeptical eye on anything else. Henkels believes
in organic methods but balances his belief with
the demands of consumers who want to see the
perfect apple they are used to seeing at HyVee.
Henkels is already on his second career and
will not be growing apples forever. He notes
that none of his children have an interest in, or
disposition for, taking over the orchard so until
the right person comes along he will keep on
doing what he enjoys. For now he is still having
fun and enjoying the challenges and rewards
that the orchard offers. He loves the seasonality
of the operation – the early and late pruning, the
blooming trees in the spring, the summer growth
and then, of course, the harvest.
Agriculture in the state takes many forms and it
would be a mistake to talk about Iowa farmers
and their farms as though they were all cut from
the same mold. It’s easy to drive around the tristate
region and see lots of corn and beans and
come to the conclusion that that is all there is
around here, but the truth is that there is a huge
variety if you look closely, and that contributes to
a stronger, more vibrant food system. The farms
and growers profiled in this summer’s series,
while different in many respects, share a strong
work ethic and an almost all-consuming passion
for what they are doing. Being successful
growing food is not easy and every time we sit
down to enjoy a good apple, some terrific pork
or produce grown close to home, we should
take a second and recognize the hard work of
the men and women who made our enjoyment
possible. ❖
Co-op
Update
The Dubuque Food
Co-op held its first Annual
Meeting on June
28th and approximately 150 members
showed up to get updates and hear from the
Oneota Community Co-op’s, Steve McCargar,
who has been advising the DFC Board,
and Jude Becker (profiled in the July Julien’s
Journal) who spoke about the importance of
the DFC in serving as a catalyst for the growing
local food movement in the Dubuque
area. The DFC continues to recruit new
members, having raised their pre-opening
membership goal to 1,500 thanks to the
early response from community members,
and to raise funds through the member
loans, the purchase of preferred stock and
donations. ❖
August 2012 ❖ Julien’s Journal ❖ 37