Pete had gone to Penn State University, to study Business, he still had a part time job and Susie was a nurse at the old Mercy Hospital. In the 1980’s, the farm had grown enough with Paul, and his brother Pete, that their dad purchased property in Lucasville, OH for the apples. This property was the highest in elevation in Scioto County to help with the growing conditions for apples. Although the farm originally started with retail in local stores, at this time, they decided they wanted to switch to being primarily a wholesale orchard (Big Bear, Festival Foods, Kroger). Unfortunately, with the passing of brother Pete at a young age in 1990 and father Karl Peter, who died of Lou Gehrig’s Disease in 1994, that left Paul, Leanne, and Susie. They continued to work and run the orchard. With the changing landscape of the retail grocery industry, some local grocery stores going out of business and other stores only buying through wholesale, they decided to do more of their own thing, transforming into a primarily retail business. Paul’s mother, Susie, continued to work at the orchard until the day she, too, passed away unexpectedly in 2007 at the age of 70 due to a medical error.
Now encompassing over 120 acres, Paul and Leanne Fuhrmann and their five adult children (Lora Lee, Abby, Melanie, Andrew, Jeremy) take great pride in growing some of the best-tasting, freshest, locally grown fruits and vegetables for the families of the OH-KY-WV tri-state area. The Fuhrmanns are passionate about the fruits and vegetables they grow because farming is their life and full time job. Paul and Leanne are graduates of Purdue University where they met and fell in love through the Horticulture Club, both specializing in Horticulture Production & Marketing, and Agriculture Economics.
Paul and Leanne’s children are all in varying stages of their lives and involved in various activities and jobs. Jeremy graduated from Purdue University majoring in Horticulture & Sustainable Agriculture and works at the farm full-time. He married his wife Selena in June 2025 and they live down the road from the farm. Jeremy is also an officer in the Indiana Army National Guard. Lora graduated from OSU and South Carolina and was an athletic trainer for collegiate softball for 10 years, and now works in Ohio as an injury prevention specialist. Abby graduated from OSU in Education and Ohio University in Organizational Communications. She married Nick in July 2023 who is a collegiate football coach at Temple University. She teaches remotely and works at home every two weeks to aid in picking produce, setting up at farmers markets and running our social media. Melanie graduated from OSU, majoring in Community Leadership-Community and Extension Education. She currently resides in Michigan as a MSU Extension Educator with the Master Gardners. She married Christian in August 2025 who is a pilot for Endeavor Air. Andrew graduated from Middle Tennessee State Univ with a major in Fermentation Sciences and currently works for the Jim Beam Company. He and his wife Sierra welcomed the first Fuhrmann grandchild Avery August 2025 and they live in KY. He could open a brewery or distillery back home in Portsmouth, Ohio; where he also wants to create Hard Apple Cider, peach brandy and plum brandy.
The Fuhrmann Family all help out during the year with the production and selling of the produce they grow. During the months of May-December, it is all hands-on-deck as they attend 3 farmers markets weekly, deliver to restaurants and businesses, and run the home farm retail sales area. All of the produce grown is hand-picked, washed, boxed and sold by the Fuhrmanns and 2-8 employees. They have made it their life goals to educate the community about fruits and vegetables, eating healthy, and what it means to grow produce locally and support local Agriculture.
“Thank-you for taking the time to learn about our family and choosing to support our family-run business. By choosing to buy local every week May-January you are helping to keep our business around for future generations. We hope to see you at the orchard and farmers markets!” -Leanne Fuhrmann
