Located in Montezuma, Iowa, Ashley & Zachary Wenke provide meat, produce, eggs & honey to surrounding communities through farmer’s markets, cooperatives and other direct to consumer channels! What started off as a journey to fill their own freezers quickly turned into an adventure to meet the needs of supplying others with nutrient dense, chemical free products as well!
How Pleasant Grove Homestead was named
Originally, the 6.5 acre plot was in Pleasant Grove township in Barnes City, Iowa. Long story short, the land north of the “Welcome to Barnes City” sign actually sits in Montezuma, and physical address was changed to Montezuma. Technically that put the property in Jackson township, but the LLC was already named “Pleasant Grove Homestead!” It seemed catchy enough, so it stayed!
Originally, it was mostly for selling woodworking and craft type items. Our homesteading journey began with egg laying hens, beekeeping, planting our 80 fruit trees. Over the years, we have gained more experience to offer other items for sale like pork and poultry! Each year we more than double our production in all of those areas. As of 2023, we raised over 1,500 meat birds, 300 laying hens, and added three high tunnels to our large market garden!
Our beliefs about the land and our bodies
In 2023, we aim to write more extensively on our blog about this topic, but the bottom line is this: Healthy Soil leads to healthy people.
We want our community to be full of vibrant and healthy people who are nourished by the food they eat. We are committed to using no chemicals in our soil, no antibiotics in our livestock and using our complete system of livestock and compost to continue improving the cycle over the years.
Where you can find PGH Products
Des Moines residents can shop in store or order online through the Iowa Food Cooperative. It is a bi-weekly online order. Located on Franklin Street, it’s easily accessible!
Tell them you were sent by our farm and there’s a credit for both of us to shop there!
Grinnell – new site coming soon!
Montezuma, Oskaloosa, Barnes City shoppers can use our convenient barn2door site to see all our farm pickups or community pick-up options.
Sometimes you may see products not listed on particular sites that offer our products. This is likely due to license or supply and demand. Use the contact page to ask a question about how you can get a product that’s not listed on another vendors site!
Meet the Wenke Family!
I’m Ashley Wenke and my husband Zachary, along with our kids live on a 6.5 acre homestead in rural Iowa. We focus on raising produce, pork, poultry (both for meat and eggs!), & bees. We also own a family milk cow and a herd of 10+ dexter cow/calves on a rented pasture. Whether following alongside us in your own homesteading journey, or purchasing our products, we hope to inspire you to eat seasonally, locally & deliciously! We provide resources if you are looking to learn how to do something yourself, and recipes if you are looking for ways to use our products!