About Krupp Farms

Our Krupp family, (Dan & Elizabeth) originally started farming in 1864 in Alpine Twp on Vinton Avenue.

Then on February 18, 1916, their son Charles Krupp and his wife Mary (Bissot) purchased the first 80 acres of what would become Krupp Farms, on the east side of Krupp Avenue, from the Peckham family. They raised mainly potatoes and other field crops, along with an acre of strawberries.

Charles hauled his berries down to the wholesale market in Grand Rapids in his 1913 Model T during WWI. In 1920, they purchased the northwest adjoining 40-acre McDermott farm on the west side of Krupp Avenue, and

the house burned down in 1928. The current home was rebuilt by Charles and his brother-in-law Frank Bissot in 1929.

Charles also started milk cows in 1922, and bought his first tractor, a 1926 Fordson, which was one of the first in the area. He also was one of the first to try alfalfa, mowing with a side cutter and a JD-8. 

On March 17, 1935, they purchased the adjoining 40-acre Babcock farm (to the south). Charles died in April 1944, but not before teaching his sons (Roman and Ernest) to “take care of the land, and it will take care of you.”

My grandfather, Roman Krupp, left his cabinetry job (of 21 years) at Store Equipment in Grand Rapids at the time of his father’s death and took over the farm operation, along with his wife Teresa (Thomas) and children Richard, Rosemary, Teresa, Louis and June Ann. They then purchased the farm from great-grandma Mary in 1951. He built the silo for the dairy cows in 1946, and also added peaches and more strawberries.

Roman farmed the 160 acres with a Farmall M and a Ford 8N. During the winters he worked at Wagemaker Company in Grand Rapids building boats. Grandma Teresa actually had some strawberry customers start coming to the farm to pick in the early 60’s, and the berry business started to grow.

My brothers, sisters and cousins truly enjoyed working during berry season. Grandpa was a very kind man, and grandma made great cookies. And they paid well.

My father, Richard, and mother, A. Charlotte (Jones) Krupp, purchased the farm February 28, 1966 in partrership with his brother, Louis Krupp, when grandpa and grandma retired. Louis (Uncle Bud) died the next year, and his wife Mary Ellen sold her interest to Richard.

Dad also had worked at Wagemaker in the 50’s after WWII, and then became a journeyman sheet metal worker, which he continued during the winter months during his first 12 years of farming. He sold the milk cows,

 and started raising beef cattle and pigs. The old frame barn burned down in September of 1977, and that ended the cattle business.

They replaced the old barn with a new pole barn/garage, and a separate hay barn. Prior to that, they added a large machinery barn in 1970. Space was needed for all the new equipment added, like a mechanical straw spreader and uncoverer, berry planter, tillers, field and speed sprayers, hay wagons, gravity boxes and also irrigation equipment, needed after Richard put in irrigation ponds for the strawberry frost protection. They also continued to raise corn, wheat, and hay.

Mom and dad added asparagus and sold it, along with the peaches and the expanding strawberry business. The two of them had a little competition going as the years went on, as to who would sell more; mom to the u-pick customers, or dad to the already picked and wholesale market. But it was the beginning of a continuing trend of the public coming out to the farm. They grew our strawberry acreage to over 10 acres. And since they had seven children (Nancy, Janet, Chuck, Ken, Paul, Sue, and Dan) in their first 10 years of marriage before farming, they had plenty of teenage help. My brother Ken stayed and worked on the farm for our parents for over 20 years. They also employed some migrants for picking, along with some neighbor kids and cousins.

Mom, with a great Swedish cooking background, always kept everyone fed, including many of the workers. They always showed their appreciation to everyone for all the help they received.

Dad always bought a new or improved piece of equipment every year, or else, as he would say, “pretty soon all you’ll have is junk.” He sold the Farmall M and Ford and bought a new 1970 lnt’l 544, and then a new 1975 Duetz 4010. They also always kept the farm looking good.

After his father died in 1987, he farmed one more year, and then I bought the farm in 1989 when they retired. I married my wife, Nancy, in 1990 and I left the insurance business. Then we opened Antor Travel Agency in Rockford, as she had worked in the travel business since 1985. In 1990, we also leased the Fix family farm when Bill & Elsie Fix retired, the land located just north of our original 80 acres.

We added raspberries due to public demand, and for the past 20 years have converted to entirely retail sales. We maintain over 15 acres of strawberries and four acres of raspberries, along with wheat, corn, and hay. The public wants to come to the farm for the experience. We are very fortunate to have great adult help to handle the public, many in our family.

It’s been fun to see the changes in equipment over the years, going from small horsepower tricycle tractors to wide front/high-horsepower tractors, from side cutters and crimpers to haybines, from two bottom plows to field cultivators, from 4′ bushogs to 12′ finishing movers, and from Hardy stand-on sprayers to high-pressure speed sprayers, just to name a few.

And now we have the benefit of the internet and email. Calling all the pickers when needed, or deciding when to get the berry ads in the Grand Rapids Press has been replaced with an email to our workers or a 

 Facebook post to the thousands of customers who have registered on our website and Facebook page.

Probably the most enjoyable change has been the hiring of local kids. About 15 years ago we started concentrating on hiring local teens, and have gone from five, to last year having 72 teens and college youths working for us in June and July. They come from the five public school districts around us, with some home-schooled and parochial. They are great kids, eager to work, and stay until the job is done. They are a true joy, and they just keep improving with their senior student leadership.

With the grace of God, we are very fortunate to have a profitable farm that has continued in the family, with one generation helping the next, with each new generation building on the past. When someone compliments us on our crops, we simply say, we have great workers, and we had great teachers.

Sincerely,

Paul & Nancy Krupp

Krupp Farms