WASHTENAW COUNTY --Jan and Bruce Upston have spent decades running Wasem Fruit Farm in Augusta Township.
Now the couple, both in their mid-to-late 70s, are looking to retire and pass the farm on to the next generation.
Wasem Fruit Farm, located at 6580 Judd Rd., is a family-owned and operated orchard located between Milan and Ypsilanti where people can buy apples, pumpkins, tart cherries, homemade cider and fresh doughnuts. The public can pick some of the fruits themselves.
With their children living out of state and showing no interest in taking over the farm, the couple is trying to find someone to keep its operations alive. There is a prospective buyer, but nothing has been finalized yet, Bruce said.
“(Jan and I) are both well past normal retirement age,” Bruce said. “Neither of us really want to completely retire, but we also came to the realization that we were unable to keep up with the pace of all of this.”
With a busy harvest this year, Bruce said him and Jan haven’t had time to sit down to figure out the farm’s potential new ownership, and that the couple will probably figure more things out after this fall season.
“As far as I know (we are) headed in the same direction,” Bruce said about the prospective buyer. “It’s just a matter that we haven’t really had time to pull all the business aspects together.”
Edward Wasem and Leola Talladay -- Jan’s parent’s -- started what became Wasem Fruit Farm in the 1950s. In 1978, Jan and Bruce joined the operations and eventually became owners. They added the farm’s doughnut kitchen and helped build the farm’s retail business.
Bruce said that he always wanted a farm and Wasem Fruit Farm was able to give him just that. He has seen how the farm has impacted the community, and that many people want it to continue its operations.
The fruit farm has experienced minor changes over the years, Bruce added, but it is still similar to what people have grown to love. He hopes the next owner can continue to keep Wasem Fruit Farm’s same ideals and continue it as a family operation.
Despite looking for new owners, Jan and Bruce are hoping to continue to have some involvement with the farm.
Wasem Fruit Farm is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and also occasionally sells produce at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. Find the fruit farm on its website, on social media or by phone at 734- 482-2342.
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