History of Richland Hills & Sunset orchard
RICHLAND HILLS & SUNSET ORCHARD:
OUR STORY
1950
Sunset Orchard was Established
Sunset Orchard is a multi-generational family farm in Southwest Wisconsin where the whole family works together to produce our Richland Hills Farms fresh sliced apples. We are apple growers and processors. We work hard to provide the best quality sliced apples that we enjoy ourselves.
1991
The Vignieri family purchased Sunset Orchard
The company was initially run as a standard apple orchard.
1999
Richland Hills Farms was Born
In 1999, we made our first fresh sliced apple products, and the Richland Hills Farms line of products was born. We were one of the first companies to work with and perfect the application of Nature Seal™* to create an extended shelf life for sliced apples. That business has grown significantly since that time and now represents 95% of all our sales.
2021
Expansion and looking to the future
We currently have sixty-five acres of orchards, including five acres planted in 2020 and 2019. We are planting ten acres of new apple orchards this year and continuing through 2022. Our expansion will continue over the next four years at a rate of 12,000 trees per year and a density of 1,210 trees per acre. We plan to continue to expand and plant new trees beyond 2022.
1950
Sunset Orchard was Established
Sunset Orchard is a multi-generational family farm in Southwest Wisconsin where the whole family works together to produce our Richland Hills Farms fresh sliced apples. We are apple growers and processors. We work hard to provide the best quality sliced apples that we enjoy ourselves.
1991
The Vignieri family purchased Sunset Orchard
The company was initially run as a standard apple orchard.
1999
Richland Hills Farms was Born
In 1999, we made our first fresh sliced apple products, and the Richland Hills Farms line of products was born. We were one of the first companies to work with and perfect the application of Nature Seal™* to create an extended shelf life for sliced apples. That business has grown significantly since that time and now represents 95% of all our sales.
2021
Expansion and looking to the future
We currently have sixty-five acres of orchards, including five acres planted in 2020 and 2019. We are planting ten acres of new apple orchards this year and continuing through 2022. Our expansion will continue over the next four years at a rate of 12,000 trees per year and a density of 1,210 trees per acre. We plan to continue to expand and plant new trees beyond 2022.
Sunset Orchard
Apple Growth
Sunset Orchard primarily grows Honey Crisp, Empire, and Gala apples on our farm. In our opinion, the best apples produced in the nation are grown right here at Sunset Orchard in Richland Center, WI.
Sunset Orchard currently produces 20,000 bushels a year
The existing orchard produces about 20,000 bushels every year (40 pounds per bushel = 800,000 pounds).
The new plantings will soon yield 60,000 bushels a year
The new plantings on the orchard that we have been diligently developing are more modern tree configurations that should yield 1,000 bushels per acre at maturity. Every ten acres should yield 10,000 bushels per year. Once the new plantings have reached maturity, we should triple our production to 60,000 bushels each year.
Our expansion plan will eventually produce 2.4 million pounds a year
The Sunset Orchard expansion plan is on track to add 40 acres of new plantings, and when mature, we will produce 2.4 million pounds of apples per year.
Richland Hills Farms
Pre-Sliced Apples
Our sweet juicy apples are chilled, crisp, pre-cut, treated to stop browning, and rushed to you to maintain the highest level of freshness.
We grow and produce Richland Hills Farms pre-sliced apples on site
Our sliced apple production facility is located on our family apple orchard, where we make our Richland Hills Farms fresh sliced apples. Here, we use farm-fresh apples to produce our delicious ready-to-eat apple slices.
Our sliced apples remain crisp and fresh for 21 days from production
Richland Hills Farms pre-sliced apples are treated to halt browning. We use the organic formula of Nature Seal* that we feel maintains a crisp slice, free from a chemical aftertaste. Our sweet juicy apples are chilled, crisp, pre-cut, treated to stop browning, and rushed to you to maintain the highest level of freshness.
All-natural Nature Seal ™
And, of course, you may wonder what goes into our packaged sliced apples. First, they are all-natural, and the only ingredients we add are calcium carbonate and ascorbic acid (Nature SealTM), which are fancy names for the acid from citrus-type fruits that help prevent the fruit from browning.
*Nature Seal is a registered trademark. Nature Seal is a benign compound whose main ingredient is ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The ingredients of Nature Seal carry the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) designation from the FDA.