Blue Raeven Farm in Amity, Ore., responded to plummeting berry prices in 2007 with a pop-up tent in a parking lot to sell fruit.

That quickly turned into a farmstand with a commercial kitchen. A few years later, pies were added.

“We were just making five to 10 pies a day and we were super excited,” Katie Sauers recalled.

Fast forward and Sauers, manager of Blue Raeven Pie Company, estimated she’ll sell 25,000 pies the week of Thanksgiving.

“The pie company is now the main driver of all our entities. It’s unreal,” Sauers said.

Thanks to the pie company, Blue Raeven Farm has a buyer lined up every year for 100,000 pounds of fruit.

Many family farms in the Northwest turned to value-added products to diversify, and pies evolved into the heart of some agricultural operations.

Turkey day is pie day, too

According to the American Pie Council, 186 million pies are sold in U.S. grocery stores every year, enough to circle the Earth.

Sales surge during the holidays but farmers said Thanksgiving was their most important day.

Sauers said Thanksgiving pies account for 40% of Blue Raeven’s annual income.

Katie Gonzales, owner of Hiatt Farm near Philomath, Ore., said her business sells 800-900 pies the week of the holiday.

“Pumpkin pie is always toward the top of the list. Hazelnut Marionberry and caramel apple pecan are next in line,” Gonzales added.

A shift in focus

Hiatt Farm started a fruit stand in the mid-2000s and began selling chicken pot pies, dessert pies and cinnamon rolls from its kitchen in 2013.

“As we added more baked goods, people really seemed to enjoy it,” Gonzales said.

Close to 90% of Hiatt Farm’s annual income now comes from its bakery, and dessert pies represent 25%, Gonzales added.

That’s resulted in a shift in mindset and planting practices for the farm, which has always raised produce and livestock.

Zucchini is destined for zucchini bread. Strawberries are picked for pie.

“We’re still farming, but these are the products we sell really well,” Gonzales said.

Reducing food waste

Fry Family Farm in Medford, Ore., faced difficulties finding a baker and hired one with pie season weeks away.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” said Amber Fry, general manager, who said half of yearly pie sales are for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The weeks of the holidays the farm will sell 500 to 700 pies.

Fry Farm’s commercial kitchen was added around 2015 to make jams, sauces and pickle produce — and to cut down on food waste, such as berries too ripe to go to market or fruit with blemishes.

The 100-acre farm includes row crops, mixed vegetables, berries and grains.

“We try and supply our kitchen with everything off the farm,” Fry said.

Quitting her day job

Linda Swenson of Prairie Home Farm in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho was a critical care nurse who operated a pumpkin patch on the side until 2016.

“I knew if I added pie, I could easily leave nursing altogether,” Swenson said.

Her income is almost evenly split between the pumpkin patch and Lil’ Punkin Pie Co. — and she even teaches classes on making the desserts.

With a focus on agritourism, Swenson is making more money than she did as a nurse.

Swenson said Thanksgiving, when she had 110 pre-orders on the final day for pickup in 2022, is similar to Saturdays at the Payette Farmers Market. She’s limited by her capacity.

She has two women who help with prep, but she does the baking, typically for 19 hours on Fridays.

“It has to be done the day before,” Swenson said.

Her competitive advantage is farm fresh handmade pie.

“It’s not a fancy recipe. It’s literally that I grew it, processed it and baked it myself,” Swenson said.