62± Acre, Private Treaty Sale | Le Sueur County

Irish Mountain Orchard

Dr. Dwain Merickel first planted apple trees in 1970 at his family’s farm in the southern Minnesota hill country. Dr. Merickel was a dentist in Mankato who grew up on a farm near Mapleton, and he never lost that farm boy interest in watching things grow. He chose apples, and over the years, his orchard grew into a retirement project with a few hundred trees, and then into a business in the 1990’s. Grandsons in the area grew up helping and learning from Dwain, and the oldest grandson has been managing the orchard for the last several years. Irish Mountain Orchard now is about 30 acres and thousands of trees and transitioned to a u-pick orchard in 2022. We also have about 120 pear trees, and the pears have been a huge success. Varieties are Nova and Parker, and people absolutely love em. We also sell pre-bagged apples and pears at our farm stand in the orchard for those who don’t want to pick their own. Families are our biggest supporters, and many stop out with their kids. It’s fun to watch the kids have the experience of picking their own fruit and eating it straight from the tree. Most of them are thrilled and come back chewing on apples with big smiles on their faces. They also really enjoy the space to run around and the photo ops; climbing on straw bales is one of their favorites. Many parents have commented on what a neat experience this is for the kids and return year after year; many of those kids are now enjoying the orchard with their own kids.

Original apple varieties planted included Fireside/Connel Red, Regent, Haralson, and Sweet 16, with Haralson still grown today. When Honeycrisp apples were released from the University of Minnesota in 1991, we were one of the first orchards in Minnesota to plant them. Since the first few trees began to bear fruit, our commitment to Honeycrisp has grown to include thousands of trees, and our customers love them!

Zestar! trees were planted on a large scale during the 2000’s, and along with Honeycrisp, served as the primary apple in our orchard expansion project. Many people who love Honeycrisp, but want apples sooner in the season, choose Zestar for their apple fix in late summer. Chestnut crab apples are also becoming a favorite; they were originally planted as pollinators but are prized now for their sweet flavor and perfect size for snacking.

Sale Price: $778,000

For Additional Information, contact:
Chuck Wingert, ALC Auctioneer #07-53 
Direct: 507-381-9790

Goeff Mead, ALC Auctioneer #52-23-020
Direct: 507-317-6266