Couple incorporates orchard into retirement plan

Editor’s note: This is part of a series featuring winners of the Iowa State Fair Way We Live award for 2025. Iowa Farmer Today is a sponsor of the award.

STANTON, Iowa – Eric and Nancy Kutzli purchased property near Stanton, Iowa, to build their retirement home. At the time, they had no idea their neighbors would be dozens of fruit trees.

The couple moved to Montgomery County in 1987, when Eric started his work as pastor of Mamrelund Lutheran Church. He retired in 2022 after 35 years at the church.

“We bought this property to build a home and have a place of our own,” Eric Kutzli says. “The church owns the parsonage and we wanted something of our own.”

The family was named a recipient of the Way We Live award, presented at the Iowa State Fair.

For several years, the family shared a garden spot on the property. The owners eventually sold it to Eric and Nancy.

“Once we got out here we had several people offer suggestions about what we could do with the property,” Eric Kutzli says. “Someone suggested a vineyard, but that sounded like a lot of work and we have a lot of deer around here. We thought if we could make a little money to help pay our taxes that we should look into it.

“We started planting apple trees in 2011 and now we're up to 130 trees. We never did plant that vineyard.”

Whitetail Valley Farm consists of 50 acres, evenly divided between grass, timber and orchards. In 2015 they added a pumpkin patch.

The family uses the Swiss tradition of free growing called Streuobstwiese, or Meadow Orchard.

The family takes land stewardship very seriously. They use minimal spraying for the fruit trees, using it mostly to fight the Japanese beetle.

Recently, the major project has been establishing a winery, which opened this summer.

The 100 fruit trees includes 60 varieties. They specialize in vintage, antique and red-fleshed apple varieties. Apples are sold and used to make wine in the fall.

They offer six different bottles of wine. They are unable to sell glasses of wine as they wait on their insurance.

“We hope we get that figured out pretty soon,” Eric Kutzli says.

The farm has become a local agritourism stop, continuing the tradition the family has established over decades of service to their community.

The family was active in 4-H and FFA, and both Nancy and Eric served as volunteer EMTs. Eric was fire chief for 11 years.

“We give tours of the farm for preschool children and other groups,” the family states in their nomination letter. “(We) donate pumpkins to the local preschool. We plan classes and demonstrations on grafting, apple pressing and other horticultural topics.”

The retirement home was built in 2016-17, and Eric and Nancy moved to the farm in 2018. Their son Dan, his wife Stacy and their two children live in the original house.

Eric Kutzli says while it has been hard work, the result has been well worth it.

“This is such a pretty area out here and we’re so happy with our home and how everything is turning out for us,” he says. “It's a blessing.”