Stade's Farm in McHenry celebrates 40 years

McHENRY – For as long as he can remember, Vernon Stade wanted to be a farmer.

His dreams were confirmed in high school when he took an aptitude test and ‘dairy farmer’ came up as a possible career choice. Stade chose to follow that path, and on April 1, 1977, he began farming on the land that is now Stade’s Farm & Market, 3709 Miller Road, McHenry.

He first milked dairy cows and grew soybeans, corn and hay. Then in the late 1980s, Stade was approached by a truck driver who wanted to buy a few acres of his land to grow crops and sell what he grew on a roadside stand – which was then located at the corner of Johnsburg and Ringwood roads. Stade was interested in the endeavor and the two got into business together. After the first year, the truck driver stepped away from the business but Stade continued.

He opened another stand on the corner of McCullom Lake and Ringwood roads in 1997, which still is open from mid-July into October. The main full-service market, which was part of a large expansion in 2006, is located on their McHenry property.

The markets, which are run by Stade’s wife, Gayle Stade, are stocked with in-season produce, fruit, baked goods, salsa, spices, soup mixes, eggs, honey and gluten-free products, among other items.

When the farm and market reopen for the season May 26, Stade, his family, employees and community members will get a chance to celebrate and reflect on 40 years of growth and change.

“It just all worked together,” Stade said, reflecting on what he has built over the past several decades. “It was God’s plan and it still is. We’re still having a good time with it.”

Although Stade didn’t live out his dream of becoming a “large scale” dairy farmer and stopped dairy farming in 2001, he took his business and love of farming down other avenues.

Stade was first introduced to U-Pick farming, a chance for people to pick their own produce, in the fall of 1996 when a family stopped by and asked if they could pick their own pumpkins. He became interested in the idea and officially started U-Pick pumpkins a year later. The farm now offers U-Pick raspberries, 17 acres of strawberries, green beans, sugar snap peas, tomatoes and new this year, apples.

Stade started planting apple trees in the spring of 2013 and 2014, and the farm now has more than 6,700. He also hopes to plant blueberries this year in hopes of them being ready to pick in about four years.

The farm also hosts the Shades of Autumn Fall Festival each year, an event that began in 1997. Previously named Harvest Fest, the only attraction offered at the time was a short ride to a one-acre pumpkin patch. The festival grew quickly and is now being held in conjunction with the Farmtractions theme park. The park, which first only had a petting zoo and small corn maze, now has more than 30 unique farm-themed attractions.

Stade said one of his favorite attractions on the farm is a 1922 Allan Herschell Carousel with 30 hand-carved wooden animals.

“The most fun thing is an October afternoon when its 70 degrees, no wind and the sun’s out and there’s thousands of people here, everybody is just having a good time,” he said. “That makes it all worthwhile.”

The farm tries to offer something for everyone, whether it be church services every Sunday from Memorial Day weekend until the end of October, a Tractors for Charity event that raises money for local food pantries and Feed My Starving Children, or the Acres of Hope 5K and 10K held in July.

Stade also said he has always made education a priority in his agritourism business as people continue to get further away from their farming roots. The farm started doing field trips in the late 1980s, and they’ve continued to host them.

“It used to be that everyone had a grandparent who was a farmer and that’s no longer the case,” he said.

Stade said he wouldn’t have been able to grow the business as much as he has without help from family members, friends, employees and customers.

“Through everything, it’s kind of always been friends, family and church friends that have helped me out, a lot of them still help us,” he said.

Through it all Stade said one of the challenging things in crop production is the weather. He said there will be times where he has to spend five days in a row staying up all night watering strawberries in order to make sure the flowers don’t freeze. The hard work always pays off, however, when it comes time for people to pick and enjoy them, Stade said.

Stade said the farm still is on track for a normal growing season despite some unseasonably warm weather in February.

Down the road, Stade hopes his children will take over the farm, but for now he hopes to continue making memories for at least another 40 years.

“Good things have happened here in the last 40 years, and God willing will continue for at least another 40 years,” he said.

For information about Stade's Farm, visit stadesfarmandmarket.com or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stadesfarmandmarket/.