BERRIEN SPRINGS, Mich. – A family-owned Michigan fruit farm has taken a major step aimed at continued growth just one year short of its 100th birthday.

Hildebrand Fruit Farms didn’t waste time putting its new and much larger packing facility to use after a July 16 ribbon cutting. Peaches were packed beginning the next day in the near 30,000-square-foot building, which has twice as much space as the previous 60-year old facility.

Owner Mike Hildebrand, a fourth-generation owner/operator of the farm near Berrien Springs in the southwest part of the state, said there was barely any room left in the old packing facility to take in more fruit.

He said the packing facility used to be owned by Dave Pagel, who was in the business of packing fruit for area farmers for 40 years until retiring. Hildebrand said the farm purchased the packing facility eight years ago.

At the time, it was large enough to pack fruit from the Hildebrand farm and other area growers but as more growers were added, the packing facility – just over a mile from the Hildebrand farm – became too small.

“We were just out of space and kept growing. Eventually, our building was going to be a limiting factor on growth,” he said.

The $4 million project was assisted with a $175,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD).

The funds were taken from MDARD’s Food and Agriculture Investment Program aimed at providing financial support for food and agriculture projects selected based on their impact on the industry in the state.

MDARD Director Tim Boring said expansion projects like the one at Hildebrand Fruit Farms strengthen regional food systems, support jobs and, ultimately, drive economic impact.

“With a rich history and dedication to community, farms like Hildebrand are the backbone of Michigan’s agriculture industry,” he said.

The new packing facility also has a more efficient layout along with increased capacity and equipment options.

The roots of the Hildebrand farm stretch back to 1912 when Adolph Hildebrand, a German displaced by war, immigrated from modern-day Ukraine to the U.S. He settled in nearby St. Joseph where he met his future wife, Alma.

Both worked in a factory but they purchased the original 40-acre farm in 1927 because of dust in the workplace causing respiratory problems.

Alma grew up on a fruit farm and taught her husband how to grow peaches, apples, strawberries, raspberries, grapes and other fruit.

Most of what they grew was sold at a farmers market about 25 miles away from the farm across the Indiana state line in South Bend. Eventually, more land was added to the farm, which now has about 300 acres of apples, peaches, pears and grapes.

“We’ve been very blessed to have more customers. More business,” he said.

Hildebrand said the new ground includes a farm purchased when he decided as a senior in high school that he wanted to join the family’s operation.

One of the reasons he had the new packing facility built was to continue growing the business for his three children after they recently expressed an interest in becoming the next owner/operators of the family farm.

“So, it’s like, let’s go. It’s now or never,” he said.

The old packing facility has been turned into a market for selling fruit.

Hildebrand said the new packing facility was going to be constructed, regardless, but the grant helped soften the financial blow. “Every dollar helps,” he said.