PLEASANT GROVE HOMESTEAD
Ashley and Zachary Wenke
Pleasant Grove Homestead, LLC, was started in 2018 and is owned and operated by Ashley and Zachary Wenke. Each summer, the farm near Montezuma raises 1,000 pastured poultry, which it sells to individual families, retail stores and farmers market customers. Currently, the Wenkes travel a long-distance multiple times each summer to have their chickens processed prior to selling. The Wenkes are very involved in their community and purchase all their feed and chicks from local producers.
Pleasant Grove Homestead’s Choose Iowa grant project will increase production and distribution. This will be achieved by building cold storage and processing space for direct-to-consumer sales of pastured poultry, pork and honey. The farm will construct a building that will include a kill room, processing area, walk-in cooler and freezer, bathroom, staff lockers and office space. This will allow Pleasant Grove Homestead to add value to its products by processing its chickens on site.
Pleasant Grove Homestead expects to increase sales and profits, expand its market and increase customers to meet the growing demand for its products. The Wenkes are extremely passionate about agriculture and serving the community, and this project will support its efforts.
