Our History
Beginning in 1939 Winton Etchen was 16 when he planted 50 apple trees in northern Iowa. In 1960, he and his wife Dorothy moved to Des Moines and started Iowa Orchard in 1975. Even though it has been over 40 years, a lot of Iowan’s still don’t realize, we are located right in the middle of Urbandale – 4 acres of apples and pie bakery.
In 1991 Bryan, Winton’s younger son started as the manager/part-owner of Iowa Orchard. With Winton’s retirement in 2000, Bryan became the sole owner of the orchard. Along with his mother Dorothy and sister Denise, they envisioned the origination of the orchard bakery.
In 2014 we opened our 2nd location in Granger Iowa on highway 141, offering 7 acres of U-Pick Apples and 5 acres of U-Pick Strawberries.
Our Bakery
Here at Iowa Orchard, we make over 25 kinds of pies and cobblers. We consider ourselves unique, as all of our pies made by hand with an actual rolling pin. The result is the flakiest crust ever! And only real fruit, no canned filling!
Our Community
In the summertime, we attend a lot of farmers markets (Downtown Des Moines FM, Valley Junction FM etc.) offering our seasonal produce and baked goods.
Iowa Orchard is a proud vendor at the Iowa State Fair since 2012. 5% of our net fair sales are donated to Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association every year.
We are IPM growers, which allows us to use a minimum amount of pesticides and still grow a beautiful fruit for our customers.
Our Commitment
Iowa Orchard is a strong supporter of young farmers all around the world. Every year we offer internships to 4-5 students from countries like Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, South Korea, China etc. They stay for a growing season to learn English and modern farming techniques, which helps them to find a good job back at home or start their own agricultural business.
Be sure to say hi when you stop by!
