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Our Practices

STRIVING TO GO BEYOND CERTIFIED ORGANIC FOR YOU

Certification

White Pine Berry Farm is certified organic by Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA) We strive to go beyond the requirements of organic certification on our certified organic acres by growing most of our fruits and vegetables pesticide free. Many consumers believe “Certified Organic” means pesticide free, however many pesticides are used in organic food production.  The approved pesticides must be naturally found in the environment, but they are pesticides nonetheless. There is currently not a certification that will ensure pesticide free produce.  If you are curious not only about your food’s certified organic status, but also pesticide free, we encourage you to get to know your farmers and their practices.

To this day, White Pine has NEVER sprayed our Certified Organic Strawberries, Blueberries, Currants, Asparagus, Rhubarb, Pie Pumpkins and Squash. Due to a specific insect pest, Spotted Wing Drisophila (SWD), we have needed to spray our Raspberry crop with two certified organic sprays. If we did not spray against this pest, we do not believe we could raise a high enough quality fruit for our customers to enjoy.  We do not raise our decorative pumpkins, zinnias, and sunflowers certified organic.

This year (2025), we’re expanding our strawberry offerings to better serve our U-pick strawberry customers. We’ve made this decision with all of our customers in mind. Starting this season, we’ll offer both Certified Organic and conventionally grown (non-organic) strawberries. By growing both, we’ll be able to better serve our loyal organic customers with improved picking availability and fewer days where we’re picked out or have only modest picking. For those who value the experience, great taste, and a more budget-friendly option, we’re now better equipped to meet your needs, too. While we do use pesticides on our conventional strawberries, we follow Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to minimize spraying whenever possible. This means we carefully monitor our fields and only apply certain pesticides, like insecticides, when absolutely necessary.

Growing strawberries is a big undertaking—and Certified Organic even more so. It’s one of the reasons we’re among the few farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota growing more than an acre of organic U-pick strawberries. We’re committed to creating a great picking experience, just like in years past—now with more options and more consistent availability. As always, please remember to check field conditions before coming out, as either picking option may be picked out quickly on busy days.

Thank you for your continued support of our family farm! Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Weeds

Weed control without chemicals for our fruit and veggie crops is a constant battle.  We have multiple pieces of equipment to control weeds including a walk behind rototiller, cultivator, multivator, rotary hoe, and eco-weeder.  The ecoweeder is used to control weeds between young plants on strawberries and pumpkins and isn’t for the faint of heart using the machine.  It is a two person job, with one team member driving the tractor and one team member getting an upper body workout using handle bars to move tine finger weeders in and out between the plants as it is driven down a row.  The ecoweeder does a great job in between the plants, whereas most of our other equipment is designed to only control weeds in between the rows of strawberries and pumpkins.  Even with use of these machines, many weeds on White Pine are controlled the old fashion way, pulled out by hand or killed by a hoe.  This takes the work of a large group of team members braving the summer heat and working hard to keep the fields as clean from weeds as possible.

Healthy Habitats

At White Pine, we have taken steps to create a healthy environment for bees and other pollinators.  A portion of our land has been seeded down for pollinator habitat with multiple species of native wild flowers.  Our berry plants are also a favorite of both wild bees and the honey bees kept on our farm. Both honey bees and native bees are beneficial pollinators of the flowers on our farm. Every berry starts as a flower and needs pollination to become a delicious fruit!