Young Acres offers apples, trees and more

GREAT RIVER ROAD Young Acres Family Farm, formerly Nesbitt’s Nursery, opened its doors three weeks ago under the new name. New owners Rachel and Tucky Dias Bandaranaike recently moved to Wisconsin from southern California and are excited to be part of the Prescott and Pierce County communities.

See ORCHARD Page 9 “This community is so strong and supportive of each other,” she said.

The orchard is operated by Rachel Dias Bandaranaike’s family; they all contribute to the everyday operations. Young is her maiden name and acres is actually an acronym of her siblings' names.

“So my maiden name is Young and that is my side of the family and Acres stands for Amy, Carrie, Rachel and Eric. It was kind of a meant to be situation,” she said.

Her sister Carrie Young helps with harvesting and other operations around the orchard, while her other sister Amy Young will be moving from Washington to help the family as well. Rachel Dias Bandaranaike’s parents Dennis and Rita Young round out the operation with maintenance and harvesting.

“My dad wanted to find an investment that could be a legacy to his kids and his grandkids and we found this, so Tucky and I were the first ones to get out here and really start and hop right in,” she said.

The orchard is 203 acres, features 17 varieties of apples and has been a rural Prescott destination for many years. The family is still finding more to explore on the property every day. “We have trails back in the woods along the edge of the apple trees and prairie we hike through there and they are so pretty” she said.

The orchard also sells honey made from bees on the property; the family works with a local beekeeper. They also make fresh cider at the farm, and sell maple syrup and lotion made from local vendors.

The goal is to keep expanding their store area and feature more products in the future. The family has already started with harvesting and connecting with other local businesses as well as attending the Red Wing farmers market every weekend.

“All of the pressings have a different recipe,” Rachel Dias Bandaranaike said. “It is based on what we are currently picking and harvesting. The apples go into a grinder and then they fall into a tray and then it is wrapped in fabric and then there are 12,000 pounds of pressure that push the juices.”

The cider is a favorite product sold here, but the process can be lengthy and take a lot of harvesting to produce enough product.

“It is roughly eight bushels to do 20 gallons so we can get about 20 gallons from each pressing we do,” Tucky Dias Bandaranaike said. After leaving southern California, the couple started traveling in an RV across the country and settled here close to family. They also felt like this would be a good place to raise their children and focus on family.

“When COVID hit we hopped in an RV,” Rachel Dias Bandaranaike said. “He was furloughed and my studio shut down so we traveled around with our son and my family lives around here.”

The family has many plans for the orchard’s future, such as a restaurant opening in the spring that will feature fresh produce from the farm and from other local farmers. During the winter months, the Christmas tree farm will be open, along with other holiday activities.

Young Acres, located at N4380 State Highway 35, Prescott, is open on weekends 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and during the week by contacting the owners. Each weekend they are featuring “U Pick” and anyone can come pick their own apples and explore the orchard throughout October.

“We are really trying to get our arms around the apples this year and once winter hits, we will do the Christmas trees and after that we can focus on everything else to be ready for spring; we have a lot of ideas,” said Rachel Dias Bandaranaike.

For more information visit youngacres.com or visit the Facebook Page at Young Acres.

The apple freezer at Young Acres Family Farm, where all apples are separated by type and grade. Photo by Melissa Thorud

This is the machine used to press the apples when making apple cider at Young Acres Family Farm. Photo by Melissa Thorud

A Honeycrisp apple tree loaded with apples ready to pick and harvest at Young Acres Family Farm, located along the Great River Road between Prescott and Diamond Bluff. Photo by Melissa Thorud

Rachel Dias Bandaranaike, one of the owners and operators at Young Acres, is picking some Honeygold apples. Photo by Melissa Thorud