‘Change of heart’: Thomson Farms no longer for sale

The owner of Thomson Farms Cider & Winery isn’t going anywhere.

The 50-acre farm, famous for its strawberry picking and fall-time activities, is no longer for sale after the property had been on the market for two months, according to longtime owner Brad Morley.

“After some careful reconsideration and talking with the family, we decided to keep it,” he said. “When you build something up like that, you feel like you’re part of the community and you want to keep that going. It was a change of heart really, and we’re excited to keep going with it.”

Morley’s grandparents Wally and Martha Thomson originally purchased the land as a potato-growing farm in the early 1970s. Thomson Farms eventually added strawberries and opened the property for customers as a U-pick operation.

Today, the farm grows more than 15 acres of strawberries every year, among other berries, vegetables, and crops.

Formerly listed for just under $2 million, the Third Line family-run business includes a homemade cider and winery operation, an event venue for private functions, and a jam business that several retail grocers benefit from.

When SooToday last spoke with Morley, he expressed some concerns with keeping up to the growing demands of a business that large, which eventually led to his initial decision to sell.

But he’s hopeful that some newly formed partnerships will help alleviate those pressures.

“We partnered up with an event planner, so she’ll take on all of our events and weddings,” he said. “Because that will be off my hands now, I’m hoping that will free up more time for me to do the crops and the winemaking.”

Morley estimates seven or eight people had inquired about the farm when it was still for sale, most of whom were looking to continue the existing operations.

Now that it’s staying in the family, he’s hoping to revive some popular events of the past that would bring more live music, vendors, and family-friendly activities to the farm.

“We want to start introducing more family events,” he said. “Before COVID, we were having Family Farm Fest and other similar events. This year, we’d really like to get back into planning some big gatherings and getting more people out there.”