If they handed out long service achievement awards in the apple industry, Rick Bremer would be first in line. He and his wife Cheryl and their family have been hard at work nurturing, growing and building their apple orchard business in Lake City, Minnesota since 1983.

Tucked away not far from the picturesque shoreline of Lake Pepin, Minnesota and the quaint town of Lake City, Bremer Orchards today spans 50 well-planted acres of some of the best apples grown anywhere in the Mississippi River Valley. Varieties include RiverBelle, a regional favorite that always sells out in late summer, as well as Regents, Honeycrisp and of course, Pazazz, the star variety from Honeybear Brands, planted across 24 acres.

Over the years Rick’s played a key role in local as well as far flung apple growing. In the past his orchards were used by the University of Minnesota and visited by apple producers from France, interested in learning more about growing Honeycrisp. Today like all Honeybear growers in the region, he’s an active participant in Honeybear’s TruEarth program, a new protocol to protect the land.