A Stellar Strawberry Farm
Some farm markets’ first day of business might be slow. But when there’s a fresh crop of sweet strawberries on the line, it may be quite a different story—just ask Chris and Kylie Demases of Pecan Creek Strawberry Farm in Pilot Point, Texas.
“We shut down the entire county road,” Kylie said, recounting the first day of business selling their original crop of strawberries. “My friends had come over just to see it, and I was throwing them T-shirts that had our logo on them. They had to help us pick and sell. Chris looked at me, he said, ‘I think we’re onto something.’”
An enormous turnout to the humble 3,000-plant strawberry field had the Damases quickly considering plans for expansion. Luckily, they had family more than willing to help.
“I called for my weekly call to my grandma, letting her know, ‘Oh, this is crazy,’ this is what was going on,” Kylie said. “And that’s when she said, ‘Well, I’ve got 78 acres over here I’m not using for anything. Why don’t you come over here?’”
For Chris, those 78 acres of Pilot Point land offered the perfect location to access a customer base in the suburbs of Dallas. What he didn’t expect was just how much of a continued appetite locals would have for u-pick strawberry fields.
“We started on a half an acre, 10,000 plants, and thought we were really doing it big,” he said. “We just realized that wasn’t enough strawberry plants. [We have] almost 100,000 plants this season, all planted by hand.”
Purposeful Partnership
The high demand for strawberries required machinery upgrades to the operation. When searching for a lender, Chris sought out AgTrust Farm Credit.
“When Chris came to us looking for equipment, he wasn’t even sure if we financed that,” said Hannah Baker, the Demases loan officer. “I was able to tell him that, ‘Not only can we do the equipment loan, if you ever are going to expand and buy land, we’re able to help you with that. Or if you’re going to build a barn, we’re also able to do that.’”
The Demases are now customer-owners of AgTrust, which, like all Farm Credit institutions, is a cooperative owned by its borrowers. This means that Chris and Kylie contribute to the organization’s strength and share in its success.
For Kylie, patronage and Farm Credit membership provided a feeling of purpose.
“Getting that check and the payback to members of [AgTrust] was something super exciting for us,” she said. “We were invested in something, and we felt like it was a community that we had never been a part of, and it’s something we’re really proud of.”
A Family Farm, Through and Through
Along with strawberries, family, too, is deeply rooted in the farm. Chris is a fourth-generation farmer — despite the best wishes of his father, who knows well the challenges of running an agricultural operation.
“My dad honestly said, ‘You don’t want to be a farmer. It’s too much work,’” Chris said. “But as you get older, you realize how important keeping family traditions alive is. And so I took what he taught me and my mom taught me, and just grew it into a different style of business.”
Today, the farm is a favorite of families across the state. The lines can be long, the crop can sell out fast but the experience, and strawberries, are guaranteed to be sweet.
“It’s really promoting a family bonding experience and also it’s getting people outside,” Kylie said. “I think that’s a great thing that we can do for our community.”
